I have a 73 Maverick and all 4 wheels have drum brakes i would like to put disc brakes on the front. Will i have to change the master cylinder? If so will the master cylinder i need still work with the booster i already have?
Typically the reservoir on the master cylinder for the front disc is much larger than one for drums. Disc brakes require more fluid to operate that drums do and your fluid level drops quite a bit as your discs wear out. A drum master cylinder should work but you would always have to worry about running the reservoir too low and getting air in the system or even worse, having the brakes fail on you. If both reservoirs on your m/c are the same size, yes, I would change it out. The booster should work fine with either.
This might be a little off-topic, but additionally what you could do when you make the drum--->disc transition, is go ahead and make the jump to 5-lug wheels, since you've already got the rest of that stuff off anyway. Kill two birds with one stone. Apologies in advance if you already knew this/were already planning to do this.
I'm running a master cylinder (and proportioning valve) for a 4 wheel drum '73 on my '72 with front disc brakes. I've got about 28,000 miles on the setup with no problem. I always check my brake fluid level when I change the oil (somewhere around 4,500 miles usually). It's been a little low a couple of times, but not dangerously low. All '73+ Mavericks and Comets are 5 lug.
