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Hi Paul. I recently purchased a 64 impala from a farmer's barn. It's in pretty good shape, and I've gotten it to start up and drive in the last couple days (even though when it's in gear the idle is very low, and when i hit the gas it has to be SLOWLY or it dies out). The brake lines seem to be in good shape, but the pedal goes from loose to locking the brakes up almost completely. The car had a master cylinder put into it at some point (or it could be original, I haven't found a good book yet to find what kind of mechanics came stock). I'm going to check the vacuum line to the master cylinder as soon as i get back into town from work, but i was wondering if you could tell me a good place to start looking. Like if the bladder were broken, would the hydraulics fail completely, or would the brakes lock up completely, or would they just be very tight.
Also. Would you be able to recommend a book to use for reference? (like looking at the 2 degrees before on the 327 engine, or trying to find what 4 barrel carb is on it, since it's a real oddball)
Thank you very much for your time.
Quinn
AnswerQuinn:
You absolutely, positively, do not want to drive this car until the brakes have been completely gone through and serviced!
Reasons: There is going to be corrosion in the master and wheel cylinders. Over years of storage (excepting desert storage), water will accumulate in the fluid and corrode the bores of all the master and wheel cylinders, and brake fluid turns rubber flex hoses spongy, causing them to fail at the time they need to hold tight--when you apply the brakes.
This is a major safety issue with any old car that is being revived after storage.
Your acceleration issue can be solved by draining the fuel tank, putting some fresh gas into it, and then replacing or rebuilding the carburetor and fuel pump. This could be a safety issue, too--a bad carb and possibly loose or corroded fuel lines mean fire.
With regard to books, Helm, Inc. used to be the supplier of dealer service manuals. If you can't raise them, try the pages of Hemmings Motor News dealing with literature for sale. They list EVERYTHING.
Good luck with your "new" car!
--Paul
