Troys Toy 70

I have seen several references here that Brakeboosters did their boosters. What are the reviews from anybody that have had their boosters a couple of years? Likewise, any experience after a couple of years from venders selling new ones.

stevengerard

I'd like to know as well, I need one now. From my searching on the sites, the repos are crisper castings so you can tell they are a repo. Some say the newer repos bolt right in others say there are issues. The repos are cheaper and get to you much quicker.

I'm thinking of a repo because I'd like to drive my car more this season. The rebuild could take weeks to get here.

Del70

I replaced my factory booster last summer. No install issues. Looks good, functions fine. Seems like a good quality product. My car will never see a lot of miles so a lot of time will tell. I had my fenders off so it was the best time to replace it, and it was easy. With the fenders on, good luck..I was going to replace mine a few years back and could not get a wrench in there. Sure it can be done. One thing that stood out to me was the weight. Factory booster is much heavier. I held onto mine. It was working fine..

junior supercar

While I haven't had Steve Gregori at Brakeboosters.com do a booster for me (all my cars are manual brakes) I wouldn't hesitate to use Steve if I end up with a power brake car sometime in the future. However I have sent him some other parts to get plated and no issues.

droptopron

Not to hijack but does anyone have any experience with the smaller diameter boosters? I have M/T valve covers and they are right up against the booster.

Lady72nRob71

I would recommend having your old one rebult if not physically damaged. Steve did mine and I was pleased, despite my pickiness.

The new chinesium ones have crisp edges on the front indentation - easy to spot in shows.
Also one guy here had the MC studs snap off before even hitting the torque spec.

Del70

how much was the booster rebuild, any before pics would like to see how much rust it had.

thanks

Lady72nRob71

Here it is "before". Surprised as heck when I got it back! It cost 155 plus shipping mine there. I believe he paid the return shipping.
http://www.brakeboosters.com/

Oh - here is where he compares the repros with the originals!
http://www.brakeboosters.com/reprovorg.htm

Troys Toy 70

[QUOTE=Lady72nRob71;424646]Here it is "before". Surprised as heck when I got it back! It cost 155 plus shipping mine there. I believe he paid the return shipping.

According to the web site the$155 and he ships back is correct. I spoke to him day before yesterday. One thing to consider is if it is pitted, then there is an extra $45.00 per side prior to plating.

I have no idea if what I just pulled off of the car was original to the car or not. I cannot find any stamping or markings on it.

He also sells rebuilt units, for $250. Not sure if there is a core charge. If not, by the time consider shipping, and if he has to do extra work due to pitting, it maybe just as easy to buy one of his.

Lady72nRob71

Can you post a picture of it? Can you not see the Delco stamp anywhere? It could have been replaced. If so, he may not rebuild it due to possibly different internals.
I thought mine was nothing put small pits. However he clearly turned **** into gold!

Allan R

That works out well for all of you in the US. But would he ship back to Canada for free? I don't think so. Reason I ask is I can get an OEM BB from a 71 Cutlass in the boneyard. Everything is still there on the BB/MC. Is it WORTH paying 40.00 to buy it and then ship it off for rebuild? I (sadly) ditched my old BB/MC when I put in my new ones. I don't have any complaints about the new ones and they are not chinesium. One thing I like about the OEM MC is the bleeder valves. Most of the repros don't have that. Another way to compare for OEM....

The BB was sold by Crane Corvettes and claimed 'made in usa'. The check valve is a different color from stock too.




The MC also claimed "made in usa" from JustPowerBrakes and looks stock.

Troys Toy 70

I will post a picture if we get electricity back anytime soon, after the storms we had. I'm posting from my phone, and while there is a picture Of the BB I took with the phone, I can't seem to find a way to get it to the thread. I have tried shaking the phone back and forth really really fast, but that didn't work.

Alan, how long have you had your setup on? I've read a few complaints that after a year the aftermarket BB leak vacuum.

Aceshigh

Another option to consider. $115 plus shipping

http://www.boosterdeweyexchange.com/

Allan R

Less than a year. Went in last August. The car has really not gone anywhere in the interim.

Troys Toy 70

[QUOTE=Aceshigh;424690]Another option to consider. $115 plus shipping

http://www.boosterdeweyexchange.com/[/QUOTE

Aces, are you running one of his, or know anyone that has?

Lady72nRob71

According to his website, there is a separate 115 price for rebuild and a separate $50 price for plating. So therefore you would want to verify if the rebuild includes plating. At that price i guess not. If so, then it is a very low price!

dc2x4drvr

I had my original booster done by Steve about 10 years ago, and it stared looking bad within a year or two. I sent it back in 2010, and he did a replate at no charge, now the plating is coming off again...

Lady72nRob71

Ouch - bad news.... Do you know what caused the finish to fail? brake fluid? bad prep?

dc2x4drvr

The plating came off the top of the booster and the MC cover, I have no idea why the plating failed. The booster and cover looked beautiful-both times..The area under the MC still looks perfect, BTW my car is garaged.

Steve Gregori

Thought I should join your group and talk about dc2x4drvr's booster situation. After 29 years of doing boosters, the symptom that you are having on your booster is a text book example of moisture condensation under the hood of your car during storage. This can happen whether it's stored in your garage or not. Most of the times I've seen this happen, it's on cars that are stored in an unheated garage in the colder regions of our country. The car can have moisture condense on it in the winter or after you open the garage door in the spring and the temperature difference outside will cause things in your garage to suddenly have a coat of moisture on them. When you close your garage up, that moisture becomes trapped inside and starts to do it's thing. I'm not sure if dc2x4drvr's car is stored in a warm humid climate or what. Moisture left for long periods on this plating will change the look of your pieces whether it's warm outside or not.

Normally, cars with this problem show moisture damage in other areas too. If the plating were bad, it would deteriorate evenly, not just on the top surfaces of things. You first see a chalky white spotting and if left in that bad storage for long enough, you might see the plating break down all together. This is because the moisture gets trapped right under the hood and does it's stuff.

You may want to consider using a de-humidifier in your storage if this applies to you. Putting towels on top of the booster during storage only adds to the problem as they hold moisture right on the surface of the booster. (I've had customers with bad storage do that too!)

The plating I offer is from the same plater since I started this business 29 years ago and so far the record for a customer telling me their booster still looks good since I did it, stands at 23 years.

If I can answer any questions, please contact me directly through my site www.brakeboosters.com or e-mail me from this post. As always, advice is free from me.

I hope this helps shed a little light on the subject. Thank you to those who have let me be a part of their restorations since 1983.
Steve Gregori
Brake Boosters Inc
www.brakeboosters.com

ah64pilot

I DO!!! ME ME ME!!!

I got a 7" booster from www.summitracing.com and it worked great. But then I changed the engine and didn't have enough vacuum to use it so I converted to manual brakes and OMG I'm so glad I did.

After messing with all that crap of the booster and vacuum issues and clearance problems all it took was a manual brake rod and the master cylinder bolted right up to the firewall. I made some new brake lines because I installed a line lock at the same time. In all, I wish I would've done this a long time ago...it is so much cleaner looking. AND! When you fill the MC it is LEVEL not like those on the brake boosters...so you can fill it to within 1/4" of the top and it's even all the way around.

My442

Steve has done all of my boosters since the mid 1980's.

NEVER had an issue.

The current booster is 5 years old and still looks new.

I use a product called DAMP RID in and around my car. It is a dessicant that absorbs moisture.

Works well in the Northeast.

Lady72nRob71

I believe dc2x4drvr is in the Dallas area like myself. I will need to kepe an eye on my plating. I do not think I will have much issue, as the garage door is not often opened, so temp and humidity will be pretty constant.

dc2x4drvr

Maybe I need one of these..