1957 T-Bird Master Cylinder Rebuild Kit Question

[Boozeman]

Please see the attached pics. I have a question I hope someone can answer. I purchased a master cylinder rebuild kit from Casco (see Rebuild Kit picture), and it has a part in it that I don’t recognize to be like one I took out of the master cylinder when I took it apart (see Original Parts picture). Does the part that is circled in the Rebuild Kit picture go into the cylinder bore in front of the valve that is attached to the spring (see Mystery Part pic)? I think it shows this to be the case in the Assembly Diagram pic, but I'm not sure why you would put what appears to be a valve in front of another valve. None of the other kits sold at Mac's or Larry's show this part...

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[jack-in-sac]

Please see the attached pics. I have a question I hope someone can answer. I purchased a master cylinder rebuild kit from Casco (see Rebuild Kit picture), and it has a part in it that I don’t recognize to be like one I took out of the master cylinder when I took it apart (see Original Parts picture). Does the part that is circled in the Rebuild Kit picture go into the cylinder bore in front of the valve that is attached to the spring (see Mystery Part pic)? I think it shows this to be the case in the Assembly Diagram pic, but I'm not sure why you would put what appears to be a valve in front of another valve. None of the other kits sold at Mac's or Larry's show this part...

I suggest calling CASCO about that extra part.. They are very nice people. I see that the "push rod" is included with the kit. Does it differ from your original push rod? Is yours round on the end or have a flat like the replacement. From working with various ford products I believe that the flat end of the rod will accept a mechanical brake light switch from a 1st generation Mustang. The original pressure switch that is mounted below the battery on the brakeline junction. Thsi pressure swittch can fail and/or leak when it does fail. Good luck J.

 

[Boozeman]

I suggest calling CASCO about that extra part.. They are very nice people. I see that the "push rod" is included with the kit. Does it differ from your original push rod? Is yours round on the end or have a flat like the replacement. From working with various ford products I believe that the flat end of the rod will accept a mechanical brake light switch from a 1st generation Mustang. The original pressure switch that is mounted below the battery on the brakeline junction. Thsi pressure swittch can fail and/or leak when it does fail. Good luck J.

Thank you for the reply. I've reached out to CASCO, but all of their techs are working from home or otherwise not working due to COVID-19. I've spoken to Betsy, one of the owners, a couple of times about orders, and have emailed the same question to her, but haven't gotten a reply. I think she and her husband Jim are running the business themselves in the short term due to the shelter-in-place orders.

Thanks for the "heads' up about the mechanical brake light switch. I recently replaced the inline switch below the battery, so it's functional and tight.

 

[1957Bird]

I M O ! 🙂
Not that anyone asked but, I’m all about originality to a point,
I’d be setting those original equip break cylinder parts aside in lieu of upgrading to a dual circuit master cylinder. I did and the piece of mind is certainly worth the effort.
Like I said “ in my opinion “ 🙂

 

[CSPIDY]

Perhaps there was a change later in the build that year, and they have offered both so you can use the same part yours came with.
If you have access to the service bulletins you may find your answer.

 

[Ward 57]

I checked my M/C rebuild kit and checked for the plastic push rod cap. I looked into the cylinder and it appears one is in the core of the piston. The push rod has a spring clamp on the end and it looks like it fits into a recess in the piston. I assume its use is to pull back the piston on release.
The shop manual states that the push rod is not needed to be removed unless needed. I'm going to assume that if I disconnect the push rod from the pedal the whole assembly will come out in one piece.