I'm converting to manual brakes, and ILT lists a reinforcement plate for manual brakes, however I don't see this plate in the Assembly Manual. Was this plate used with manual brakes OEM?

 

Man, 56 views and no info,
The question is: did the manual brake cars 70-72 have a firewall reinforcement plate installed behind the master cylinder?
Thanks

 

Don't count this as actual information, but I've never heard of such a thing.

- Eric

 

I have disassembled a couple manual brake cars & have never noticed anything like this either.

 

Parts catalog Group 4.648 shows a reinforcement plate for some 1960-68 big car applications. Not for F85 series.

 

Thanks guys, I guess ILT just wants to sell an unneeded part...

 

Just for amusement, why not ask them what its original part number was, which cars it was installed in, and which it was not?

You can look at the Parts manual, Group 4.648 (page 4-114 in the '72 manual) to see the few cars it was installed in, and if they tell you different, ask for their source.

Here's an image of it:




- Eric

 

Guys this came off of my 64 F-85 manual brake. This is the reinforcement plate Lance is talking about.

 

OK, so I've never seen that on a manual brake car, and more importantly, I have no idea what it "reinforces".

Let's recap. The brake pedal hangs from a beefy stamped steel bracket under the dash. This bracket has ears that fit up against the inside of the firewall, along with four threaded studs that pass through the firewall. The M/C or power booster bolts to these studs. When you press on the brake pedal, you are pushing the M/C AWAY from the firewall. This puts the studs in tension, which is carried by the under-dash bracket. How does a flimsy piece of metal on the engine side of the firewall reinforce anything?

 

You got me Joe, that piece was on the outside between the master and the firewall. I cleaned it up but chose not to re-use it. Everything was rusty and crusty when I took the car apart, I assumed it was put on at Olds? Few images attached does not tell much.

 

That piece in question was made from 1/8 inch steel

 

Joe, you sound like some kind of engineer there.

"oh wait the tensile load is transferred to the triangulated juction by means of refabricated spurving bearings which translationally differentiate the integral of the torque via the strain according to Poisson's ratio..."

:-)

To me, the function appears to be more of a spacer than a reinforcer.

 

Which is great for ballast, but not terribly reinforcing if you are pushing the M/C away from the firewall. You'll also note that the "reinforcement" is no larger than the aft end of the M/C, so what does this "spacer" do that the M/C itself doesn't do?

 

I hate it when that happens...

 

I agree, this plate is not shown in the '71 assy manual..just another useless part from ILT..