making a repop part look better...

[Spooky]

I have been working on the brake system in my 69. I purchased rebuild parts for the prop valve and the hold off valve. I decided to dig out the old parts to compare. Well, I have a new distribution block and it doesn't look close! Looks kinda out of place.

I got out my dremmel tool, stuck on a small grinding stone and went to town using the original as a guide.

Got the shape to look a lot better. Then flattened out the swirl marks on the top with a 90* cookie wheel and used a small punch to put some texture on it.

Then painted with some cast blast to get the finished look. I am happy with the way it came out but still may rebuild the original in the future.

Scott

[Sauron327]

Great job but you could have used your old one. There is no valving in it per se. It just senses a pressure difference between the front and rear system and trips the internal switch which illuminates the brake light on the dash.

[Spooky]

That is great to know! How would I clean out the inside of the original? Soak it in acetone? I got the new one in a kit that I bought at a charity auction a bunch of years ago at Camaros at Carlisle

[Mike S]

 You can get the rebuild kids from Scott at Muscle Car Research for that body. You may be surprised how much crud comes out of that body. It's simple to rebuild after soaking the body in something like Evaporust. Inside are only 2 springs that keep a plunger with/O-rings centered and if one part of the brake system fails and leaks then the plunger will be forced to one side of the block. Scott shows how to remove one of the brass end plugs to get the plunger out.
  I cleaned the inside after disassembly first with brake cleaner to get the crud out then the whole body with Evaoprust which restored the natural cast finish (does not look anything like cast paint) then inside I used a pencil with some P2500 grit paper wrapped around it and wet just gave it a quick and gentle hone to clean out anything that may have been left behind by the Evaporust.
 Below is a link to a previous discussion:
http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=14408.msg127146#msg127146

Mike

[Spooky]

Mike, Do you have a part number for the one you used? I just got my other kits from Scott Last week. I did not see that one listed and when I went to check their web site yesterday it is down until the 9th.
Thanks
Scott

[z28z11]

Muscle Car has a great tutorial on the site, and is extremely reasonable with his kit pricing and components.

I'm glad I saved all of mine and didn't go the repro direction. One of my buddies had his distribution and prop valve rebuilt by a prominent shop - took them three attempts to get it to keep from leaking. I'd rather rebuild one myself - that way you know what's inside, and what you did rather than someone else handling it. Less expensive, too -

Great job, by the way - all that labor pays off in final appearance, doesn't it ?

Regards,
Steve

[Mike S]

Hi Scott,

  I found what I think is the correct receipt. It lists 1967-1975 GM brake pressure differential valve tube seat kit.
P/N: gm-pd-valve-tube-seats-1

You may be able to call them at: 1-571-262-1612 to verify that P/N but I'm sure that is it. They are located in Virginia.
I can send you the instructions published by MCR if you send me your email. I normally will not post something copyrighted unless I had their permission. The URL would also be: https://www.musclecarresearch.com/gm-pd-valve-rebuild

Mike

[Spooky]

Mike, Thanks so much. I sent you a PM

Scott