Power brake conversion on '76

Can anyone give me some advice on a power brake conversion on a 4th gen?
I have stock front disc, and while I have the car apart I was considering installing a booster from a stock v8 and m/c. Question is, do I need some sort of bracket for the booster for firewall reinforcement or can I just get the booster and m/c and bolt on?

Hi Steve,

While I have not done this swap, it's understood that the brake push rod is also different. Others here may be able to help you with the firewall question.

My car had a stock 6 cyl. when I bought it. While I had mine apart I ordered a new brake booster and a master cylinder for a v-8 and put it in w/o any problems. I got the complete kit from Autozone for I think $80. It is cheaper to do the whole kit plus it comes w/ a lifetime warranty. I hope this helps????

Here is a photo of the booster; it is on a parts car without fenders. It made it easier to snap the photo:).

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j199/64elcamino/77%20Nova%20project/brakes/79brakebooster.jpg

The bracket is part of the booster as is the rod to the pedal. Besides the booster you will need a new master cylinder, power and manual are different. These parts are easy to get from any parts store.

The difficult part is going to be the pedal. Power and manual pedals are different. If your car is an auto trans the pedal will be more common, if a manual trans the search may be longer or you can modify the one you have. The pedal on the left is for a power brake set up. The pin is smaller and lower. The stop light bracket protrudes farther because with power brakes the pedal sits lower. Also the manual pedal uses a return spring that needs to be left off when converting to power.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j199/64elcamino/77%20Nova%20project/manual-powerpedals.jpg

Which transmission does your car have? I may be able to help you with parts for the conversion.

Sorry to add my 2 cents But I have a 76 and I went from power to manaul and all I did was change master cyclinder, and had to find manaul rod which came from a junk car. I never changed my pedal, I am automatic, Only thing I did was I had to chane combo vavles bracket and lines from master to it. I recently went back to power and all I did to do that was I did as Russ said I bought a booster master cyclinder combo, It came complete with rod and all, and I had the old brake lines so I hooked it back up. So I am not aware of pedal issue, I went both ways (ON car not me) and never had a problem

The booster is mounted on an angle and the change in the pedal pin location is to keep the rod straight. I have looked at all models from 75 - 79 and they all are the same configuration.

pro isn't your push rod on somewhat of an angle and sloppy on the pedal pin?

No, worked fine as a manaul setup and now as a power setup just fine, rod fit perfect both ways, I do think I got my rod out of a Camaro and not a Nova but still it worked fine, And mine was a factory Power and I ran it as non power for 10 years before going back to power

I have a turbo 350 tranny.
So, it looks like the booster should mount on to the existing bolt pattern used on the firewall...that's good. I think I'll go ahead and order the combo from car quest and see how everything fits and go from there.
Let me know if someone has a spare pedal...
If I can't get a different pedal, it doesn't look like it would be too difficult (based on the picture) to drill a smaller hole lower than the manual clevis and use a smaller clevis pin. I think I could fab a wider bracket for the stop light switch if I had to.
Anyway, thanks for the advice and the pics...a big help!

Steve if interested in the pedal from the parts car send me a PM.

I have a turbo 350 tranny.
So, it looks like the booster should mount on to the existing bolt pattern used on the firewall...that's good. I think I'll go ahead and order the combo from car quest and see how everything fits and go from there.
Let me know if someone has a spare pedal...
If I can't get a different pedal, it doesn't look like it would be too difficult (based on the picture) to drill a smaller hole lower than the manual clevis and use a smaller clevis pin. I think I could fab a wider bracket for the stop light switch if I had to.
Anyway, thanks for the advice and the pics...a big help!



hey i see u are going to get it from carquest.com just wondering how much is it for the power brake booster and and if that was the cheapest u could find it. i am am in the same place u are and wonting one for my 77 nova

Well, I get parts from CQ at discount, and that ends up being $100 for the booster and m/c. However, the booster is not stocked in STL, so shipping will be ~$8. The killer is the core charge on the booster. Since I'm upgrading to power brakes, I don't have a core, so that's another $27.
I found similar pricing online (autopartswarehouse.com, rockauto.com) which were around $115 with the core charge or $99 without the core charge. Shipping is around $8.
So, unless you get a discount at a local auto parts store, it may be cheapest to go with one of the online stores.