Rickey1964

Well, things are going pretty good now with my '55 Starfire. Dad drove it around the block some after finally getting all the bugs out of our engine. He also got the electrical issues worked out with the power instruments.....top, windows, seats. Now something else has popped up, the below deck brake booster with master cylinder(Delco-Moraine) is not working properly. There was a receipt in the trunk where it was rebuilt, yet it isn't working. I can't find one online, not yet anyway, and outsourcing it to be rebuilt is expensive. So look me up if you have a spare and want to sell it.

redoldsman

Take the one you have and have it rebuilt by Karp's Here is a link. He is the best.

Home - KARPS POWER BRAKE SERVICE & CYLINDER SLEEVING (karpspb.com)

Tedd Thompson

#2 on Karps. They do great work, but because of that they are very back logged, may take a while till they can get to your unit. What are the symptoms you are experiencing? Is it in the booster or master cylinder? You may be able to do some repairs your self....Tedd

Rickey1964

Tedd, Dad drove it to church on Sunday. He said he had no issues with the 9-10 mile drive to church but coming back home the brakes heated up and wouldn't stop the car. He had to use the hand brake the last few miles to get it back to the house.

Are you familiar with Southeast Chevy? They are prominently advertised online for doing the same work. Do you know if they are they any good? They said I could send them mine and the return would be 3-4 weeks. They are much closer to home too, in Florida.

Tedd Thompson

I don't know anything about Southeast Chevy, kinda on the wrong coast for me, but maybe someone else will respond. A month would be pretty quick.

Your booster and master may not be your problem, that's not the usual way a booster and master act when going bad. If the brakes were truly hot, the problem may be bad brake hose collapsing from inside. When a booster goes bad peddle goes to the floor and there is no brake action, loss of vacuum. A quick test is after startup and run a minute, pull the hose from the vacuum tank and there should be a sucking sound if good, no suck no good... Tedd

Rickey1964

Tedd, Dad said the brake booster is jammed. He was unable to press the brake pedal forward with his foot on the way back to the house after driving it to church.

newmexguy

X3 on having the one you have already, fixed. You said it was Delco-Moraine. Original GM is almost always better. And you won't have an "extra" rolling around. What outfit did the reman, before it wound up in your dad's car? Maybe put their feet to the fire?!? A good number of remanufacturers out there, some advertise in Hemmings. Would agree with the earlier posters said about places such as Karp's and White Post. They are expensive, yes, but they know their stuff.

redoldsman

When I had the one on the 54 done several years ago, it was about $500. I talked to Karp's and he told me he had never had one come back. He puts a stainless-steel sleeve in the master cylinder.

Rickey1964

I will probably be able to answer who did the previous rebuild tomorrow, after I get home from being on the road working the past two weeks. Dad said he found the receipt for the previous rebuild in the trunk. Obviously we didn't have it done. I have only owned the car but for a few months.

Rickey1964

Southeast Chevy quoted $520. As I said they are prominently advertised online and I spoke to a lady about having it done. She said I would have it back in 3-4 weeks. I think that would be pretty good compared to Karps, who one of the replies indicated it would take much longer to get it back if I sent it there. Plus, I live in Georgia, the closer I can get the work done the better.

Rickey1964

Update on Brake booster/master cylinder repair process. Southeast Chevy emailed that the remanufacturing of the part is complete and they are sending it back today. The cost was $520 plus another $30 for shipping it back. It will have a 1 year warranty.