herm dual MC conversion

i was looking around on herms site tonight and i noticed his dual master cylinder conversion. has anyone use this kit? what all is involved with installing it.

 

2 months? hmm at the rate im going i will be at the same spot in the rebuild of my jeep im at now.

does it look like it is worth it? do the pics on the website do it justice?

 

erik thanks man. i did not know he had one for the disk brake convertion. guess i will get that one since ive got the dana 30 up front for now.

 

I'm in the process of ordering one of these right now. I haven't seen it yet so I can't say how easy it is to install.

I've had dealings with Herm before, and have talked to him on the phone a few times. He's a real stand up guy, really knows his stuff. Just be aware that he is a small shop and ordering from him is not like walking into a Pep Boys and grabbing stuff off the shelf.

I'll post some photos when I do my install.

Scott Bruns

 

yeh i understand he is a small shop. really i dont have to have the MC right now. but i saw it and was interested. right now getting the motor installed and stuffs like that is more important to me, then at least my jeep will run and people will see progress.

 

I put in a dual master cylinder assembly in a 66 tuxedo park frame. I didn't use Herm's, but I used the brackets out of a '68 cj5.

I practiced on a scrap frame I had before actually doing it on a good frame.

It's kind of scary -- taking a sawzall and cutting out the old master cylinder mount, but it actually was easy and the dual bracket went in nicely. Body tub was off the frame.

If you had to do this modification with the tub on I think it could be a whole different story. At any rate, I think you'd have to loosen the body mounts and jack the drivers side of the tub up an inch or so.

I have talked to Herm about his, and initially his was going to require you to install the M/c in the bracket and then install the bracket. If you ever had to replace it you'd have to reverse the process.

Removing the bracket with the body tub on could be a lot of fun.

Now, he may have made some changes to that setup between the early stages and what he has today, but you might ask him if you are talking to him about this.

You can get the OEM brackets from a 68 to 71 cj or a LHD postal jeep. The postal bracket is interesting - it is functionally the same and fits just as easy in a CJ, but it looks different.

 

I put Herm's kit in my '65 with an F-head. Installation was as follows:
Remove the bracket and clutch pedals.
Remove the pedal shaft mounting bracket. (Grind-off rivet heads/drill out rivets).
Remove the old master cylinder.
Bolt new MC to bracket and line up on frame with pedal shaft mounting bracket.
Cut frame boxing back to allow new master cylinder to fit.
Bolt new MC/bracket/pedal shaft bracket in place. Bottom of bracket bolts in the same holes as pedal mounting bracket rivets.
Weld top of bracket to top of frame channel. (It can be bolted, but you'll need to drill holes in the top of the frame bracket).
Run new lines. Herm's kit required reducing adapters for the MC to the lines.
Additionally I had to fabricate a new brake pushrod as the old one could not fully activate the mc.

Tools needed.
Grinder/Drill
Dremel with a cutting wheel/flex shaft
Brake line Double flare tool
Tubing Bender
Miscellaneous Sockets/wrenches.

Extra parts included a dual MC line adapters. With a F-head, space is quite limited and bending the lines proved to be difficult. You might do some searching, for a seperate MC that was already plumbed for 3/16" lines. Herm will sell the bracket seperately. It's of good quality and fit well. I think he also has a kit for wagons/pickups. They have a taller frame channel.

HTH.

 

In my previous post I said that you might have to loosen the body mounts and jack up the body an inch or so. That would be just to mount the bracket. After that lower the tub and re tighten the body mounts.

I'd recommend that you take a look at a 68 - 71 cj before you start. I'd do this no matter whether I used Herm's or a bracket from the scrap yard.

One of the hydraulic fittings is odd - looks like a half dollar and is pretty flat. This makes the initial turn in the tubing easier to do (see the post just prior to this). If you can see what the finished product looks like it'll help you.

Good luck

 

heck guys my body is off the frame. well kinda. its moved back and right currently because i just removed my ross box and old MC. im going to be running the chevy v-6. unfortunitly no jeep scrap yards anywhere near me. the local junkyard sometimes gets later cjs in but by the time i get there nothing is left but whatever is useless.

and about running the brake lines. its no big deal im going to be making all my own lines and my own runs since i had no lines left when i got my jeep.

 

Ok being new I take it that the proportioning valve (PV) is non-adjustable? and if not what is the proper PV setting? Will it be correct?

 

question was the $140 for the whole deal including shipping? i talked to herm today no saganaw box convertion yet ( he is making the fixtures for it now, oh goodie those must be a blast to make) but he never told me the price.

 

Shipping would probably be extra, but herm tries hard to keep shipping costs down if you work with him. IIRC it only cost me ~$65 to have herm ship me a rebuilt T90/Dana 18 complete with parking brake and shift towers.

 

nah he told me shipping was $12. but i was wondering if the $140 was total with shipping. since the cost of the kit is $125 or something like that.

 

I think it depends on which MC you want, he offers Drum/Drum in new and rebuilt versions and Disk/Drum (not sure about new/rebuilt) or just the bracket by itself.

 

i want disk/drum. well i guess i can send him whatever the amount is on the site if its not enough he can email or call me to let me know. now about this paypal thing. is paypal notoriously slow with sending emails. i just signed up and i have yet to get my varifaction email, but the address is right.

 

dont mind the paypal comment. im dumb and did not read the instructions. guess i got to wait a few days to order this part. maybe by then he will have the saganaw converstion ready.

 

Just to clarify a few things as well. Herm's powersteering conversion is supposed to be different from the "classic" conversion. His kit will position a reverse pattern saginaw box behind the cross member, rather than out in front.