Ford 350 brake upgrade...73-79 trucks

[UTfball68]

Been doing some newbie write ups lately for Ford forums and a couple small magazines. Figured it would be worth posting up here too. Doubt it would be beneficial to any old-hats, but someone might find use in it. The 350 brake swap pops up all the time, so I figured I'd do a walk through.

Well boys and girls...the 350 upgrade is complete...sorta. I just replaced the booster and mc...tbird calipers are still boxed and in waiting. For the time and money, it's tough to beat. I know it's not as efficient as going hydroboost, and to be fair I think swapping in a pinto booster and mc would have been an upgrade over what I had though. The most time consuming part was flaring the tube...I kept splitting it, but eventually figured out I was trying to flare too much. Once I was set straight, it only took about 5 minutes to get a good flared end. Then it was tough getting enough straight tube so the fitting would fit up snug to the flare...so there was another 30 or so minutes straightening tube. The only other hiccup I wasn't planning on was when I went to bleed the brakes, 3 of the 4 bleeders were seized...so I spent about 15 minutes each persuading those out with liquid wrench, a vice grip and a 2lb sledge (overkill I know). So here are a few pics I snapped with my phone...if the rotation is off, I apologize, can't get the right orientation off the iPhone into a picture gallery...
What I started with...

MC off...

This nut on the backside of the booster is a bugger to get off...but the rest were easy with the hood popped reaching down between the back of the hood and the cowl...made much easier with a ratcheting 9/16" wrench.

There is a bolt, bushing and nut that holds the booster arm to the brake pedal:

Everything is out...

All the tools you need to remove the booster, MC and the bolt on the brake pedal. You'll need a double flaring tool for the rear brake line (rear on the MC) since it's a different sized fitting. I had a tube working kit to get good straight tube...results might vary. You'll also need a 3/8 brake line wrench for the bleeders...again...results might vary. But the tools you see are all you need for booster/mc removal and install.

Now that everything is out...reverse the order to put everything back in. If you don't count the bleeder battle or me fubar'ing the flare a couple times, you can literally have the old booster/mc out and the new ones installed, in an hour.
The finished product...

And here is what was left of the bleeders when I took them out...

Is it an upgrade...I think so. Would I do the swap if my brake system was functioning perfectly fine and dandy...doubtful. But if you're not planning on going hydroboost and need a booster/mc...this is the way to go

 

[rodney eppes]

You only mentioned "t bird" with the calibers. Is the Booster & MC, from T Bird? What year/motor? I'm not that familiar with the Ford Trucks, but didn't know they had poor brakes.
Had a friend that bought new, a 1973 F250/Camper Special, with a 460 engine. That thing had the Biggest front Disc, I'd ever seen! Calipers covered about 40% of the rotor!

 

[UTfball68]

You only mentioned "t bird" with the calibers. Is the Booster & MC, from T Bird? What year/motor? I'm not that familiar with the Ford Trucks, but didn't know they had poor brakes.
Had a friend that bought new, a 1973 F250/Camper Special, with a 460 engine. That thing had the Biggest front Disc, I'd ever seen! Calipers covered about 40% of the rotor!

The booster and MC themselves are 78 or 79 F350 2wd boosters. You have to be careful when selecting boosters though, there was a changeover in 79 at serial number DJ0001. Not to mention, there was a difference between 2/4wd boosters, cruise/non cruise boosters, etc. 79 rigs 'can only accept' 79 boosters, 73-78 can use 78 boosters. And then the same is applicable to MC's as well. I only mentioned the calipers because the Ford guys typically go a step further and swap out stock calipers for tbird dual pistons...covers more surface area. I just didn't get around to it at the time, had to bend more brake line and snag a couple fittings. I wouldn't say the trucks have inherently weak brakes...folks just get used to the modern cars and then look to replicate it in their 6,000 lb bricks. And if you can bolt this in, in an hour, why not. I have brake pressure numbers somewhere showing the difference between the single diaphragm stock booster vs the dual diaphragm 350 booster vs hydroboost. HB wins hands down, but isn't quite as bolt in and needs a bracket or two fabbed up. Really...the hardest thing about this swap is figuring out what mc/booster combo you need. There is a marginal gain in stopping power...so it's not something I would do unless your booster is blown and you don't want to go HB.