Jim;


Haven't road tested the car yet, it's still up on jack stands. We did finish the conversion but then had to replace the left front and rear floor pans, so the seats are still out of the wagon and we are waiting for the new carpet to arrive. That should be tomorrow.

The proportioning valve that I got with the booster and master set-up is non-adjustable although it is set-up for a disk/drum combination. One thing I am a bit concerned about is the pedal height. I do have a high pedal with the rod adjustment almost all the way in. There is some free-play but not much. The issue is the booster and where it attaches to the bracket that mounts to the firewall. I have  shimmed the booster out from the bracket  about 5/8". If I have to shim the booster out further to put more adjustment on the push rod, I'll have to make new brake lines from the proportioning valve and I'd rather not have to do that. I'll let you know when the rubber meets the road how it goes.

Rono

  Ron Lane,  Meridian, ID

Say Ron
Have you gotten any more done on your conversion? 
Any experience as to how well it works? Or, how much
adjusting has to be done?
Thanks
Jim

Rowen;

Been sick with the flu for the past week, but here are some pictures of where I stand with this conversion. The new rotors, calipers and flex lines are installed and now I'm working on the hard lines. I want to try to use the original brake line from the rear end up to the T fitting by the steering box. The original line from this T to the original master cylinder has to be removed and plugged. then a new line exiting this T can be run to the rear port on the proportioning valve. There are two front line ports in the valve, but one I will use for the stop light switch. The left front port on the valve really faces in the wrong direction to make the connection with the front brake T where the flex line connects and I haven't decided how to route this line yet so it looks decent. As far as  a vaccume line from the booster to a full time vaccume port on the carb, the previous owner installed a T where the distributor vaccume is so I will try to use that fist, but I don't know if it will work because I am still running the original Load-o-matic  distributor.

Rono

  Ron Lane,  Meridian, ID

Rowen;
Now that I completed the install on the new  front cross member, it's time to move on to the disk brake conversion. I already replaced all the control arm bushings and if you plan on doing this job also, be aware that you can press in the lower control arm bushings too far. If you do you will not be able to get them in their mounting locations. They should be pressed to about 3/16" of an inch from bottoming out in the control arm. A sure way to know is to look carefully at your old ones when you take the control arms off. I've taken a few pictures on how far I got today. You probably know this, but when reinstalling the coil spring, make sure the open coil on the bottom goes into the pocket in the lower control arm. My kit came with a 1/2" spacer that needs to go over the lower ball joint stud. I kept my original ball joints, cleaned them and got new seals. When you get the new spindle in place on the ball joint studs, I found it helpful to spray the threads with WD-40 so the castle nut won't bind on the stud and turn it as you tighten the nuts. The torque specs call for a minimum of 100 ft. lbs. for the bottom stud and about 80 ft. lbs. for the top stud.

  Ron Lane,  Meridian, ID

I wanted to lower the ride height in the front and give the Ranch Wagon a bit of a rake. I have heard about some of the guys using the Aerostar springs, but I just kept the stock springs, media blasted them and painted them with Eastwood rubberized undercoating.  I will post some pictures of the booster and master set-up when I get to that point. The booster and master I got did not come with the Drop N Stop kit . I got a 7" chrome booster and a machined dual master with the proportioning valve mounted off the master with a bracket. It looks like a similar set-up to the Tom's Classic dual master. These dual masters have equal size chambers where the dual master set-up on the Drop N Stop (if you buy their booster and dual master) uses an in-line proportioning valve where the front chamber of the master is larger for the front brake line. I haven't used this type of set-up before and hope it works out okay. It does come with an offset bracket to raise the booster up high enough to clear the valve covers (I hope).

Rono

  Ron Lane,  Meridian, ID

Rono, it did give a choice. I chose the stock height due to the Aerostar springs. I specifically asked the tech about that and he said it will make no difference in the install. I should expect the same ride height as I currently have. I can always put my stock springs back in if I ever want to change it again. (NOT!)
Rowen

Rowen
55CV
Woodland, Ca

May be a crazy Rono, but if you have installed a set of Aerostar springs and like your ride height would this system work for you too without the spindle change on the stock spindles.

Also when you show photos please show a few of the mounting of the booster and master on the firewall showing the clearance to the exhaust and rocker arm cover..thanks.

56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.

I am in the process right now of installing a "Drop N'  Stop" kit on our 56 Ranch Wagon. Pretty similar to the kit you have I think. Were you given the option for spindle drop? I am using a 1&1/2" drop for this conversion, but used a 2&1/2" drop on my 56 Customline. Yes they are pretty much a "bolt On" kit, however, when you switch from a single master to a double master you will need to modify or make a new rear brake line. I also rebuilt my front suspension and replaced the front cross member. I'll post some pictures soon.

Rono

  Ron Lane,  Meridian, ID

It's not in the photo. The kit is by tomsclassic

Rowen
55CV
Woodland, Ca

Has anyone ever used this kit? I just purchased it. I did speak with one of their techs and was told it IS a DIRECT bolt in. Only supposed to need the vac hose for the booster. Any feed back would be appreciated. I plan this install for march. I also have a complete front end rebuild kit that will go in at the same time. When the time comes I'll keep a mini blog about the install.

Rowen
55CV
Woodland, Ca