'67-only power brake setups [LARGE PICS]

[FORDification]

OK, after hearing about the experiences from others attempting to swap power brake boosters into their '67s (like the discussion in this thread), I decided to find out once and for all what the problems were. I was tipped off to this by Nick (FoMoCo) who was in the middle of his booster installation. Thanks Nick...you've saved a lot of other people a lot of cussin' and bitchin'!

The brake/clutch pedal assembly bracket under the dash is another one of those strange '67-only pieces. As you can see in the photo below, the '67 (bottom) pedals' pivot point is 3⅞ inches inches from the firewall to the middle of the pivot pin, whereas the '68-'72 assembly (top) is 5 inches :



So I decided to go ahead and mount up a '68-'72 power brake booster to the '67 assembly to see what would happen. The only difference to this an an actual installation would be the negligible thickness of the firewall:



....and here's the end result. As you can see, the brake booster's pushrod is going to be about an inch too long, even with the pedal as far forward as it can go:



Conversely, installing a '67 booster (with it's shorter pushrod) to a '68-'72 bracket will require the brake pedal to drop down within 2" from the floor to be attached, rendering your brakes virtually unusable.

So...here's the final verdict. If you're wanting to install a power booster on your '67, here are your options:

1) Use the '67 Bendix-style brake booster with your '67 pedal assembly bracket; or
2) Swap a '68-'72 pedal assembly bracket into your '67, and then use the '68-'72 brake booster; or
3) drop your '67 brake pedal out and weld a 1" tab onto the forward (towards the driver) side of the pedal, drill a hole for the booster rod, and then go ahead use the '68-'72 booster.

Sometime in the very near future I will be getting a power brake tutorial written up, using the photos and information above. For the sake of the tutorial, I'm going to spend an afternoon adding a power brake booster to my '68 parts truck, so so I can take some pictures of the installation specifically for the tutorial.

[68F250]

Great investigation work! So the pivot pin is closer to the firewall on the '67, that explains why the brake pedal is different too.

Hey does the '67 pedal assembly bracket bolt up to the '68+ firewall without drilling any new holes? I seem to remember somebody mentioning that.

[dcbullet]

Great post!

[FORDification]

From my measurements, I believe the pedal bracket assemblies ARE interchangable. However, when I do get around to writing up the tutorial, I will be attempting this very thing, just to eliminate the remote possibility that they're not.

Nick did mention in his note to me (and I forgot to verify this) that the '67 pedal bracket assembly only had 2 holes on the firewall side (for the master cylinder) whereas the '68-up had 4 nuts welded onto it for mounting the booster. When I'm back at the shop within the next few days I will also double-check that.

Also, the '67 and '68 brake pedal ARE physically interchangable. The only physical difference between the '67 brake pedal vs. the '68-'72 pedal is the brake light switch mounting....since the '67s used a brake light switch mounted on the master cylinder (or booster) pushrod vs. the '68-'72's switch which was mounted in a welded-on bracket on the side of the brake pedal, you can't install a '67 pedal in a ' 68-'72 truck unless you also use the '67 brake light switch. (Heck, if you used a '68-'72 pedal assembly in your '67, you could actually use BOTH brake light switches, by wiring them in parallel, so that if one fails, the other takes over!)

[68F250]

Hey does the '67 pedal assembly bracket bolt up to the '68+ firewall without drilling any new holes?

Boy I screwed that one up, meant to ask if the '68+ pedal assy. bolts to the '67 firewall with no new holes, sheesh!

[FORDification]

I knew what you meant. Nick thought the '67s didn't have a pair of needed holes for the booster, but I know that some '67s did have a booster, though it was the Bendix style....so the holes SHOULD be there. I will be veryifing that shortly.

[68F250]

Also, the '67 and '68 brake pedal ARE physically interchangable. The only physical difference between the '67 brake pedal vs. the '68-'72 pedal is the brake light switch mounting....

I have to disagree , the '67 pedal arm comes down and then curves, the '68 is on more of a slant and doesn't have near the bend. The pivot point explains why the different angles. So if you used a '67 pedal on a '68 bracket, the pedal would be too high, a '68 pedal on a '67 bracket would be too low (disregarding the pushrod hole differences). Here is a pic of a '68:
http://www.fordification.com/galleries/ ... 11&pos=-31

Here is one of a '67:

[FORDification]

Hmmm....all the parts I have on the floor right now say differently...well, sort of . Here's a shot of my two '67s brake pedals installed:



The one on the left is my 3-spd manual '67 F100, the other is my automatic '67 F250. Here's an installed shot of my '68 4-spd setup:



...and here's a comparison shot of the 3-spd manual setup removed from the truck and setting next to the 4-spd manual setup:



Just from the pics, it does kinda look like the '67 pedals have a bit more of a curve, but it sure looks like the pedal pads end up in the same place, so once installed they'd be the same height. However, I know that looking at pics CAN be kinda misleading, so I'll definitely check on that the next time I'm at the shop. (I've got several '68 setups I can compare with the pair of '67 setups, along with a '70 setup.)Also, I just spent some time going through my picture collection, and all the pictures I have appear to show '67 and '68 as being the same in brake pedal shape.

HOWEVER....it does appear that the '69-'72 brake pedals do differ in their angle downward. All the '69-'72 truck pictures I have show these brake pedals:



*sheesh* We answer one question, and come up with a couple more. This could get interesting before everything's said and done. When I do the power brake tutorial, I'll also have to install several different brake pedal setups and actually measure their installed height from the floor, just to eliminate that as a possible source of problems.

[roachrider]

I went through this a little bit back...there was a decent sized thread about the process that you guys helped me through.

Anyway, I currently have the '71 pedal swapped into the '67 bracket. It ends in exact the same place as the '67 pedal I had on before. While the pedals do curve differently, they end up in the same place. The only significant different is the brake light switch.

[68F250]

Thanks Keith and Aaron! So the pedals do end up in the same place, interesting! This was just from junkyard observations, no measurements.

So looks like the different brake pedals are '67, '68, '69-'72 (at least as of today).

[68F250]

Hey wait a minute, just remembered I have a spare '71 brake pedal arm from the power brake conversion done last year. Putting it right up against the '68 brake pedal arm that's in the truck, they look the same. The only difference is this, the stoplight switch bracket is welded further forward on the '68. This makes the stoplight switch just barely screwed into the '68 pedal arm while it's screwed in about half-way on the '71 (both have the same stoplight switch).

I still think '68 was when the pedal changed.

[68F250]

While we're on the subject of brake pedals, I remember hearing that one of the strongest parts on a vehicle was the brake pedal arm.

[mk]

For what it's worth, I did a 71 pedal assembly swap into a 67 a few years ago with a 77 booster. I don't remember any problems at all with mounting it except for cross threading one firewall bolt in the bracket. I also swapped in the 71 dash harness, gaining the parklights/headlights on at the same time feature and the added bonus of the 71 ignition key actually matching my 67 door cylinders. How lucky is that?

mike

[mljjones67]

I am alittle stupid, let me get this straight. So if I get the pedals and booster and bracket from a 68 - 72 it will work? It sounds like there are still some questions on this. I would love to do this upgrade as soon as possible. Thanks all

[flyboy2610]

I am alittle stupid, let me get this straight. So if I get the pedals and booster and bracket from a 68 - 72 it will work? It sounds like there are still some questions on this. I would love to do this upgrade as soon as possible. Thanks all

Yes. And I have a '68 pedal and bracket for sale. You will have to use a 5/8" bolt for the pivot pin, though. Preferably grade 5 or higher.
$15 + shipping.