Upgrading the brakes in your street rod, classic, or classis muscle car is a good idea. Safety is a must, and being able to stop without tossing out the anchor is a good thing. Manufactured kits are great and usually work out of the box. We have had some problems that we would like to share with you in case you are having a problem that you simply cannot figure out. Hopefully this page will get you back on the road.

We do not wish to re-write the book on trouble shooting brake problems that you may have. If you are having a problem, please refer to the manufacturers documentation first. If you still can't get a good pedal, read on as we may have a solution for you.

Plumbing: We use 3/16" brake line for all of our disc brake installations and we use 1/4" brake line to supply the drum brakes. The 1/4" line will provide more volume to the drum brakes to pump up the wheel cylinders.

Valving: Combination valve, residual valves, and the adjustable proportioning valve. What are they, what do they do, and do I need them? We will start with the easiest valve to explain and work our way to the mysterious "combination valve".

Residual Check Valves - These valves are used to hold a certain amount of pressure in the lines when the pedal is not pressed. Primarily used when the the master cylinder is under the car below the calipers and meant to keep fluid from flowing back without causing the brakes to drag. There are 2 types of residual valves:

Blue 2 lb Residual Valve - Disc brakes require the 2 lb residual valve (blue) to keep the pistons slightly pumped without dragging the pads.

Red 10 lb Residual Valve - Drum brakes require the 10 lb residual valve (red) to keep the wheel cylinders slightly pumped without dragging the shoes.

Residual Check Valves should not be used as an attempt to resolve brake problems in vehicles that have a firewall mounted master cylinder. Your problem is somewhere else.