[54olds]

I have a '54 Olds 88 2 door with the 327 engine and power assisted brakes. I just purchased the car about a week ago, and the previous owner indicated there was problems with the brake system.

I noticed upon checking the brake fluid level that it was low, so I topped it off and started up the car. The brake pedal does not always spring back like it should and sometimes the pedal would remain close to the floor and not return to where it should be. On top of that, the brakes did a pretty poor job of stopping the car (the previous owner had put on new brake shoes and bled the system previously.)

I was working the pedal up and down about 8 or 9 times trying to loosen it up when the engine suddenly sputtered and smoke started coming out of the tailpipe. I noticed after I shut if off that the master cylinder was now leaking brake fluid. After re-starting the car and letting it run, the smoking eventually stopped.

Question: why was it smoking out of the tailpipe, and was the sticking pedal a sign that the master cylinder was getting ready to go out? If that's what it is, can your average repair shop rebuild the MS or will I have to special order something in?

Thanks for any help!

-Kevin