1938buickbob

Where did you buy your cunifer lines? EBAY?

The master cylinder i have installed was provided by the previous owner who bought it rebuilt but never installed it. I'm taking for granted that the rebuilt master cylinder was rebuilt correctly. I did the bench bleed and it seemed to be good. I'm concerned about the condition of the brake lines. They look like original; if so, need to be replaced anyways... were talking 84 yrs...

I'm gone out of town but the last time I messed with it I got no resistance. The 1st thing I plan to do when I get back is disconnect the the line leaving the master cylinder and see if I can pull a vacuum through the open line. I guess if it holds pressure than the lines are blocked. I'll let you know what happens. Thx for the advice

I appreciate the information and advice. I'm out of town for a few days and hope to get back at this as soon as I get back.

Probably are original, but I'm not 100% sure. Look old...lol What kind of brake lines did you install. Stainless steel, copper, pvi? Amazon, ebay?

I bought the car without a master cylinder. He handed me the rebuilt part but it was not in the car. So to answer your question, no, the brakes were not working. He told me he drove it to a car show 2 years ago. Obviously, he must have experienced brake problems. Maybe, the other master cylinder was bad and maybe there are more issues. I looked at the brakes in the front - everything looks good. Wheel cylinder not leaking and brakes are probably 80% good

Not sure about any adjustment. The only thing I did was mount the master cylinder. I had to adjust one end of the master cylinder where the the pin locks into a bar from that moves forward when you press the brake pedal. In order to get the pin to line up you have turn an adjusting nut on the rod at one end of the master cylinder. That's all I did.

No, I did not replace anything but I will look into it. Thanks

That all makes sense. I will try that. I think I did disconnect the master cylinder at one point and tried creating suction pressure but one of my new bleeder valves had a defect (the needle valve that prevents air from being sucked in was malfunctioning and stuck)and might have misled me. I'm almost to the point of replacing all the brake lines, but I need to verify for sure that there is an obstruction

I am pulling my hair out trying to bleed the brake lines on a 1938 Buick Century! I bought it last fall from someone who said it needed a new master cylinder. He gave me the newly rebuilt master cylinder that he never got around to install. I filled it with fluid, got the air out of it. It seemed to work just fine in the vice. It shot a stream of fluid into a can when I activated the push rod. I installed it and started the bleeding process. I can't get a drop of fluid to come out any of the bleeder valves when a pumping the brake pedal. I even bought a vacuum pump to apply some pressure. Yes, the master cylinder is full. When using the vacuum pump do I need to still pump the brake pedal? Should I leave the cap off the master cylinder. I even bought these bleeder stems that all the fluid and air to escape but not suck back in, still nothing! I've bled brakes before but never had this problem. Could I have bad brake lines? How do I know?