aneaville

When googling, this is the best source of info I've found, so I'm reviving this thread to add my experience/failures/maybe success. This seems like a good spot for the info, but let me know if a new thread is more appropriate. Recently acquired a '56 special that had the master cylinder and booster removed. Some pieces remained in the trunk, but most were missing. I was told the booster can rusted through and its missing. The master cylinder was there, but pretty pitted. The 'plunger' seems to be from a 57, so I'm not really sure the whole story. Original parts being extremely rare and expensive, I started looking at options. 1. I found a 7 inch booster, and it does fit, but coming up with a master cylinder to fit on it has proved difficult. This could very well be that I didn't know what to look for since I'm not well versed in this area yet. Specifically was looking for one with a remote reservoir, or a way of adding a remote reservoir. 2. The kits that move the master cylinder to the plenum look ok. I don't like the idea of loosing the plenum and the glass windshield wiper fluid jar. And the cost seems a bit too steep(~$750 USD at the moment) for a solution that I'm not in love with. After a few failures, it will probably be more appealing. 3. I've seen other cars, never an older Buick, switch to electric boosters. These are very compact. This is the option I'm going to try. There are several electric boosters out there. The iBooster seems like the easiest path. It comes in a generation 1 and generation 2. The generation 2 being newer meant I couldn't find as good of dimensions online, so I'm trying a generation 1. Quick measurements seem like it will fit, but its hard to be certain given the non standard shape of the iBooster and the angled/cramped area of the Buick. Cost varies, but buying online seems like about $250 to $350 range would get a used booster/master cyl and if you're lucky the connectors too. I was able to get the whole thing for $180 from a local junkyard. The 2017-2019 Honda CR-V donor vehicle already has a remote reservoir, which is why I chose this car. We'll see if it is useable. It is also a dual master cylinder setup. My plan is to fully bleed the unit and plug one of the outputs for now. Then just have a single cylinder output go to the stock brake system. If I decide to split front/back circuits, the option is there. Also if I change to disk brakes, the dual cylinder will support that too. I am concerned about the electric draw on the stock generator, and I'm not sure how to wire it in yet without looking ugly, but I'll share along the way. And if this turns out to be a total failure, then at least the info is out there, so the next guy won't waste his time.