1959 Master Cylinder Rebuild Kits

[sunroofmarty]

Hi:
Am a new member. Just bought a 1959 TBird with power brakes needing a master cylinder. Removed the master from the car and found it has a 1 1/8 inch bore. All the rebuild kits I have located have a 1" bore. Where can I get one with the 1 1/8 inch bore even the rebuilt masters come with a 1 inch bore. Can I use it to replace the old master or will I have a problem? Second question, the car came with mismatched wheels. What is the correct wheel size for this car (know it is 14") Is the wheel size the same for all three years of the square birds? And are these wheels the same as any other Ford product?
Thanks
Marty

[YellowRose]

1959 Master Cylinder Rebuild Kits

Hi Marty,

Welcome to Squarebirds! I did some searching for you, by using the Search engine up in the black border. Searching on mast cylinder bore I found this, and other threads and posts. In this thread, Alexander, our co-founder of this Forum, and a very astute Tbirder, said he ran a MC with the 1" fitting for years in his '59 with power brakes (I think I got that right) without any problems. You can read through that and then do some more searching if that does not help.

http://www.squarebirds.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=971&highlight=master+cylinder+bore

As for rim sizes, most (if not all) Squarebirds came with 14x 6" rims. There are other rims from other Ford cars that will work. Some have no nubs if you want to mount dog dish hub caps on them, like I did. Others do. If you are thinking of going the disc brake route in the future, you will want vented rims. There are a number of Ford cars in the 70's & 80's whose 14" rims will work on our Squarebirds. I have mostly disk brake ready Granada 14x6" rims on mine and one Versailles rim. The guys/gals here can give you further advice.

[jopizz]

Fords of that era had both 1 and 1 1/8 bore master cylinders. The Wagner number is FC19420 for the 1 1/8 kit. I believe the NAPA cross reference is UP208 and the Raybestos is MK208.

[Howard Prout]

It is my understanding that TBirds equipped with power brakes used a 1 1/8" bore master cylinder while those without power brakes used a MC with a 1" bore. The larger bore requires more force to get the same amount of braking but requires less brake pedal travel. The "power" assist of PBs gives more force to the MC than applied to the pedal so you don't need to push as hard to get the same braking. You can use either size MC in you vehicle, the difference will be the amount of brake pedal travel and the amount of force required. MC overhaul kits are available for both sizes of MC. I think may owners switched to 1" bore MCs because they were more readily available.

[tbird430]

Find your self or order the 1 1/8" rebuild kit.