The problem in my Pinner, was that it had the wrong brake booster, and the shoes installed improperly. I replaced all the wheel cylinders, and brake linings, and rebuilt the master cylinder. Only then did I find that the brake booster was incorrect. Luckily for me, the parts that were removed were stored in the under floor compartment, and when I compared the old with the replacement the difference was obvious. Checking with the parts books, it appeared that the replacement booster was interchangeable with the old booster, however, the push rod furnished with the replacement was of the wrong length, which I learned by comparing the two. I reinstalled the original booster, and the brakes work properly, but the original booster had a rip in the rubber bladder. I had the original booster rebuilt, and no more problems.
When a problem arises, you have to attack the problem in a methodical way, picking a starting point, and working forward to the end of the system. Sometimes this means replacing everything with correct parts, since you have no idea what was done previous to your ownership. I can honestly say that every one of my cars had problems in one or more systems because of the people that worked on it previously, didn't understand how the systems worked. You can't repair anything until you learn how it functions originally from the factory, and can identify that which has been changed from the original. The most difficult part is that some rely on aftermarket parts reference material that might not be correct. This was the problem with the brake booster in my Pinner. The A-1 Cardone parts book shows the part as a direct replacement, however, it is wrong. I would bet that had I had a A-1 parts book from the mid 1960's, there would be a note indicating that the push rod needed to be changed from the old to the replacement, however, that information was lost in subsequent printings. Even the General Motors parts books tend to "homogenize" part listings as time goes on. A book printed in 1969 will show a separate part number for the 1967 cars vs. the 1968 cars. By 1975, it will only show one part number fitting both, even though in actuality, the part will not work properly on one of the given applications. The most accurate information is always in the parts book that was the last issued for the year of manufacture of the vehicle, such as that which is issued in October of the year of manufacture.
