I haven't been here for a long time. Several years ago I restored a 53, 6400. I don't know how I would have managed without this site. I got it 99 percent finished and more or less lost interest in it. It was done with the exception of some smaller cosmetic issues, and by that time I was tired of it. One problem I have had from the beginning is the brakes. I thought that would be the easiest part of the whole process, but I have never been able to get them right. I will get them up, with a good hard pedal, and lots of brakes. I will drive it a little,let it sit for a while, and when I come back the brakes are gone, or nearly so. The more I drive it, the worse it gets. It takes almost nothing to bleed them. I will go to the back left real wheel, run a little fluid through the bleeder valve, and be fine again for a short while.
I have done everything I can think of with no success. Today, I decided to take the master cylinder off and look at it. I didn't know what I was looking for, but I thought I might get lucky, and see something that seemed out of line. As you might expect, everything seemed ok, I put it back together, and now I can't get the fluid to go out of the master cylinder to the brake lines. I don't know what I have done wrong, but I must have put something back together wrong. There aren't that many parts, so I can't imagine what I have done. I have a shop manual, but it doesn't give a good picture of the way the cylinder should be assembled. Question: I think both the large rubber cups point in the same direction. One of them can go only one way because it is fastened to the piston. I think the other one points in the same direction. Is that correct? That is the way I have put it together. I have had the master cylinder apart before, and never had this problem. It has been a while, and my memory might be playing tricks on me.
I'm about ready to set the whole thing on fire and forget it. Can anyone help? Thanks, Bakerallen
