Rebuilding and upgrading the braking system in our '77 T/A has been a rewarding yet arduous endeavor. One advantage we had was the fact that the Pontiac is partially disassembled. Nevertheless we have been working on it for months. Those who read Part I and II know that Stainless Steel Brakes Corp, Year One and Classic Tube provided many of the components to upgrade to rear disc brakes, stainless steel lines, Power Slotted front rotors and generally to rebuild the system with stock replacement parts where required. The remainder was purchased at local auto parts stores, as needed. As you have seen, not everything is as easy as it would seem. Sometimes, a bit of tweaking or more parts are necessary to make everything work together, as it should. In the case of the emergency brake system, substantial modification was needed, but we showed you how we did it in Part II, so the process should be easier for you.
In our final installment, we will mount the adjustable proportioning valve for the rear disc brakes and move forward to rebuild the front braking system. We used a disc/drum brake master cylinder and combination valve because most of you would retain yours and the rear disc system is sold to work with them. Much of this is basic, but we will employ a few upgrades, discuss pitfalls and even provide some procedures that may save you time and money should you decide to tackle a project like this on your own. See the photos and captions for details.
How To Double Flare Brake Lines
Final Words
Whenever you work with brake systems, safety is key. Once the installation is complete, take the time to check and recheck the instructions, the torque on all fasteners and for the presence of leaks in the lines. Make sure that the brakes actuate, as they should. Also don't forget to adjust the parking brake per the instructions. Once on the road, and after you have determined that no other brake problems exist, Stainless Steel Brakes Corp. recommends that the adjustable proportioning valve be set to full "increase." Then make some test stops and adjust the pressure down until the front and rear brakes lock up at the same time. If everything was installed and adjusted correctly, the braking improvement should be dramatic. We will let you know our opinion once we get the rest of the T/A assembled.
