1938-49 Dual Circuit Master Cylinder Conversion Kits

[Caddy Wizard]

Earlier this month I posted to sell a lot of 30 of my dual circuit master cylinder mounting kits (conversion kits).  I had some interest, but the lot of 30 kits didn't sell.  Okay, well then, let's sell them one at a time! See below for details.



For sale:  A lot of 30 mounting kits for mounting a dual circuit master cylinder on late-30's through 1949 Cadillac's.  Many such units already installed in the field with wonderful results.  I have been selling these one at a time, but time pressures from my day job and a possible new venture cause me to be willing to sell them as a lot.  An excellent profit opportunity for a Cadillac vendor!  Each kit includes a custom, powder-coated mounting bracket that bolts to the frame and mounts the modern dual master in the stock location using the stock pedal arm.  Fits like a glove, with all of the little tricky clearance issues well worked out.  Custom push rod and other key hardware included to install the kit.  Simple installation and plumbing.  Many satisfied customers already.




404-375-3750

[Caddy Wizard]

These conversion kits are great!

[JeffBp]

Would these be able to be easily adapted to 47-48 Buicks?

[gary griffin]

I just bought my second of these kits, the first was for my 1942 Cadillac 6719  and the second is for a 1940 LaSalle 5029.  The LaSalle is in the middle of a brake job and I will know later this week if it fits?

Art told me I could return it (At my cost of transportation) for  a full refund if it did not fit. Possibly he would consider doing that for you also?

Another option would be to buy and try one and then resell it if it does not fit.

There are many who do not know of these and and would install them if they knew about them and it should be an easy sale.

Having had a couple of brake wheel cylinder failures in my reckless youth I am very particular about brakes and steering now and I think the dual master cylinder is a great idea and wonder why it took so long for the engineers to develop and sell them? I think it was in the late 1960's when they became available. Brake systems are  so important and so often ignored yet along with steering they are most important systems in our cars.

[Glen]

Having had a couple of brake wheel cylinder failures in my reckless youth I am very particular about brakes and steering now and I think the dual master cylinder is a great idea and wonder why it took so long for the engineers to develop and sell them? I think it was in the late 1960's when they became available.

Progress always comes in steps.  The hydraulic brakes are a great improvement over the mechanical brakes.  They have linkages that connect the pedal to the brake shoes.  They take a lot of work to adjust them correctly so that all wheels will brake equally. 

But that was an improvement over the brakes like those in the Ford model T.  Those brakes are on the transmission and stop the drive shaft from turning.  They are of course rear wheel brakes only.  If you have one wheel on loose gravel when you apply the brakes that wheel will spin in reverse. 

Brake systems are  so important and so often ignored yet along with steering they are most important systems in our cars.

Agreed, but don’t forget that both of those need good tires to work their best. 

[gary griffin]

I have to agree with you on some points Jim but I have found that mechanical brakes take a little more maintenance than hydraulics but when maintained and adjusted they are very adequate and far less likely to have catastrophic failure.

One of my heroes was Henry Ford and he resisted using hydraulic brakes for several years after the other manufacturers had made the conversion. He was probably a little senile but I still think his points had value. As I recall 1939 was the first year for hydraulic brakes in Ford.

Having been born in 1940 I received my drivers license in 1956 and being poor my first cars had mechanical brakes.  Prior the invention of self adjusting brakes (I used to have a circular driveway and drive through parking at work and did not realize that self adjusters worked when backing up) I feel that if maintained mechanical brakes were fine. Of course the cars were much lighter and speeds in general were lower and traffic was not as bad back then.

[Caddy Wizard]

Jeff,


I don't know if the kit will work on your 47-48 Buick.  Quite possibly.  If the master cylinder is the same as the Cadillac, I would say there is a very good chance it will work.


Art

[harvey b]

Might be interested in one,what master cylinder does it use?,what about the resivoir for the fluid?,will it fit a 38 90 series. Thanks Harvey Bowness

[Caddy Wizard]

Harvey,


The kit I have manufactured is designed for a 49 Cadillac and uses a Wilwood master.  I have sold some of these to several folks with pre-war cars with no issues.  I know it fits 37-49.  In the past I have used a Wilwood 260-7563 master cylinder kit which comes pre-configured for use with 4 wheel drum brakes.  Here is a link to the spec sheet for that master... http://wilwood.com/PDF/DataSheets/ds439.pdf  The Wilwood master is pre-configured for drum brakes (but can be re-set to disk brakes easily) and I have found it to work very well. Personally, I would stick with the drum brakes (I didn't like the disc brakes that I installed on a 49 fastback several years ago).  The Wilwood master kit comes with brake reservoir bottles and brake fluid hoses (don't ever use fuel hose for this!) to connect the reservoirs to the master.
 
 
Summit Racing sells the master cylinder kit for about $135.  Here is a link to that site... http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WIL-260-7563/
 
 
A qualified mechanic should be involved in the installation of the master cylinder and the plumbing of the lines to ensure that it is done safely and properly.


As for whether it will fit a Series 90 chassis, I am not sure.  It does fit the more or less "standard" pre-war Cadillacs and LaSalles of the late thirties.  But some of the special cars, especially those with V12s or V16s may have unique chassis rails or special mounting arrangements for the master.  If your S90 car uses the same master as a S62 or S60 Cadillac and the master bolts to the frame along the length of the frame rail, my kit will probably work.  If your master is mounted at one end thereof to a crosspiece between two longitudinal frame parts, my kit probably won't work for you.


Art
 

[gary griffin]

For everyone's information this kit took  a lot of modifications for use in my 1940 LaSalle 5029.  Art was gracious enough to offer my money back if it did not fit but I was on a short trip when my shop got to the point they needed to install this to finish the brake job and so they did some extensive modifications to make it fit. They had already installed one of Art's kits on my 1942 Cadillac, and Art told me he had no information on the LaSalle so I took a chance, but the best of it is that I now have dual master cylinders on both cars thanks to Art.

[Caddy Wizard]

I sold these kits one at a time and now I am essentially out of stock.  Sorry.

[gary griffin]

Good for you Art, and I know you do not have the time to proceed with this venture but in my opinion the old Cadillac hobby is suffering a loss. There are no substitutes for safety and your modification made so many of our vehicles safer.

Thank You for your contribution to our safety.

[Bill Ingler #7799]

Art: Received my kit a couple of weeks ago and glad I ordered when I did if you are now out of stock. I will install on my 47 this fall. Thanks again for a well engineered kit.  Bill

[gary griffin]

Art,   I would encourage you to sell  your engineered drawings to one of the vendors who would keep them going. I have mine but would like to see everyone that  wants them to have them. I have visions of beautiful classic Cadillacs being destroyed by brake failure which could be prevented by installing dual master cylinders.

[Caddy Wizard]

I have a handful of kits available now.  First come, first served.

I am going back into production to make another 50, but that might be a month or two or three from now before everything is ready again.

If interested, email me at agardner@gardnergroff.com.

Art G

[jackworstell]

Art...please clarify....are these for 1937-1949 or for 1938-1949 ?

Jack Worstell

[Steve Passmore]

If you read through Arts original thread from 2015 you will see it depends on the type of master cylinder you have.

http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=134098.0

[Caddy Wizard]

Have sold 5 kits in the last 24 hours and have 1 left.  Once this last one is sold, we will have to wait until the next batch of 50 is manufactured.  As I mentioned, that might take 30-90 days.


Regarding the question of whether the earliest year Cadillac that my kit fits is 1937 or 1938, I don't really know.  The kit was designed for a 1949 and it turns out that for quite a number of years prior Cadillac used the same master and mounting configuration.  But I don't know how far back that goes.  Again, if your master looks like the attached photo, and the car is a 1949 or earlier, it might/should work fine.


If your 1930s Cadillac has a triangular mounting flange at the end of the master, instead of the two mounting lugs underneath, my kit won't help you at all.

[bariman]

Art, I didn't know you were trying to sell the lot.  Does this include the Masters? 

buchholz001@bellsouth.net

[Caddy Wizard]

Art, I didn't know you were trying to sell the lot.  Does this include the Masters? 

buchholz001@bellsouth.net

I had tried to sell a lot of 30 kits some time back, as making and selling these kits interferes with my day job.  But I didn't find a buyer for the whole lot, so I sold them one at a time.  Recently, club members have convinced me to go back into production.  So I am making another 50 kits and they should be ready in 30-60 days.  My kits are the mechanical bits only -- I don't provide the modern master.  My kit is designed to work with a Wilwood dual master with remote reservoirs (which sells for about $140).  The kit mounts the dual master in place of the original single master and does so without drilling even one hole in the body or frame.  So it is a true bolt-on and is completely reversible.