Classic/Antique Car Repair: Brake, master cylinder, return spring

Question
I have a 1965 TBird. The master cylinder needs to be replaced and I not sure of the power booster yet. My question is, the brake pedal is really stiff moving even with the master cylinder off. The Brake pedal doesn't return when the master cylinder was on, or off. is there a spring or someting to make the pedal come back up? and why is it so stiff to move? Oh, one other thing, the car has been setting about 3 years.  

Answer
The brake pedal should move freely with no master cylinder on the car.  There must be a bound up bushing in one of the pivots, or else something is bent or put together wrong.   You'll probably need to slither under the dash and just lubricate and inspect everything you can see under there.  

Yes, there should be a return spring somewhere, else your brake lights and cruise control wouldn't work right, and the check valve in the master cylinder might not operate also.  The pedal needs to have about 3/8 of an inch of "free play" before it begins to move the rod in the master cylinder.

Happy crawling!

Dick.