For a 1970 Ford Maverick, how would you go about getting power brakes set up? Unless they already have them. haha
As someone who has power brakes i'd advice you to do 4 wheel discs instead. Power brakes just cause too many headaches in these cars.
Washington State does have a large group of Maverick/Comet owners - It's a great state for car survival
I disagree with this statement if installed right they work fine .I have a set for sale if you want pm me if interested
Of course you would your trying to sell him parts..... Call the parts shops and ask for a booster. It's one of the hardest parts to find and it's not if it's going to give it's when. These are 30+ year old parts. And they're not cheap at all, even the check valve is expensive. They require a significant amount of vacuum, so that'll give you issues if your wanting to run a built engine with a big cam. Then there's the manual transmission swap. You cant swap in manual pedals. They wont fit no if ands or buts. So you cant run a factory mechanical or cable setup. And a hydralic setup becomes cumbersome because the brake pedal comes down on the left side of the column instead of the right..... then there's the whole aesthetics aspects. The factory system looks all wrong in that department....... Power Brakes are a nice thing to have, but messing with a 30 year old system will just have you replacing every item sooner or later. Which i've had to do on mine.... The route to go is the Geo Metro booster swap or the hydroboost(if you have PS) system that someone mentioned earlier. Both of those are miles ahead of the factory setup.
And I never said anything about how they perform(work). I just said headaches as to the many endless issues they cause, I've been running it for 7 years so I know. So next time actually read my statement junior.
So for that Geo Metro booster swap what all do I need to be looking for in parts and everything? And how would I go about doing it? You will probably have to break it down for me Barney style. haha
If I were you I wouldn't even be messing with power brakes right now. If your car still has the stock drums that's what you need to focus on. A disc swap will be one of the best things you can ever do to your car. And if you go to the Tech Article section there's a step by step process on how to do the swap.... But for sure swap to discs if you dont have them right now. They'll probably save you from getting into an accident.
I have 4-wheel disc brakes with a factory brake booster and it is awesome. My car stops so well it's sometimes dangerous for me to drive other cars after I've had time to get used to the Maverick because I brake too late. Damn the way it looks, I don't care. When you drive a car whose bumpers are basically trim pieces, you need good brakes. I'm convinced this car's brakes have saved my life. If I ever swap to a manual transmission I'll just use a hydraulic clutch, it's better anyway. It took me years of experimenting, trial and error, but I have arrived at what I consider to be the most ideal setup for brakes on a Maverick. Here's my recipe: Factory front discs from a Maverick, Granada or Monarch. Drilled and slotted rotors with ceramic pads. I also chamfered the leading edges and cut a slot in the middle of the pads like you see on modern brake pads, to limit the squeal. Factory rear discs from a late model Crown Vic/Lincoln Town car. Ceramic pads again. I used two left side brackets so the calipers are both facing the same direction. They bolt right on if you use lowering blocks, or you can "clock" the holes in the brackets as mentioned in the tech article on this site. Explorer brakes are similar and work fine too, but these are bigger. Factory brake booster with a '96 non-cruise Explorer/Ranger master cylinder. You'll have to convert the lines to metric or use adapters. This is easier than it sounds. I used this booster because it's for a 4-disc application, has no residual pressure valve, and because of its plastic reservoir is less leak-prone. Another bonus is the end of it presses up against the factory shock tower brace. This eliminates any flexing of the firewall or anything else that might "give" when you hit the brakes. It gives you something to push against and believe me it makes the pedal feel much better. You get less of that numb feel normally associated with power brakes. This master cylinder also has a 1 1/16" bore. I've tried several different bore sizes and I like this one best. If you're not using a booster you'll want a smaller one, but if you are then you might as well take advantage of it. And of course, good tires. "Big and littles" are fine for track or weekend cruiser type use, but my car is a driver and I like my front tires just as wide as the back. It helps with cornering, braking, and I can rotate them. 235/45/17. Now, what about what maverick75 said? He's right, the booster itself is hard as hell to find. Don't wait for it to go out before you start looking for a new one, and when you do find one, buy two. That's the only drawback I've found with my setup but to me it's worth it. Now there are some universal 9" boosters that look like they'd be a perfect fit. One day I'm going to try one out...
Drew you make a hydralic clutch setup sound easy haha. Take a look at the brake pedal arm, it comes down where the clutch pedal goes. I'm currently working on that swap. I'm having to fabricate a whole new arm for it. So that it's closer to the column. Then there's still not enough room. The handbrake has to go, which is not a bad thing since ours are mouted on the lower dash. It's way better to have it on the transmission hump.
