'68 PS / PB conversion

[Kevin Morris]

I own a '68 which originally came without power steering (PS) or power brakes (PB). I would like to convert both to power. Does anyone know of a source for COMPLETE conversion kits for either/both the steering or brakes? In lieu of a complete conversion kit....can anyone list for me the components I would need for either/both conversions? A tall order, I know, but....:)

Thx,
Kevin #39927

[Ed Jennings]

Re: '68 PS / PB conversion

All the large vendors catalog a power steering conversion kit. The power brakes may be a bit trickier.

[Kevin Morris]

Re: '68 PS / PB conversion

Ed, couldn't find them in Mid-America or Eckler's. Who else might have them...Corvette Central....?

Kevin #39927

[Kevin Morris]

Re: '68 PS / PB conversion

Found one through Paragon. Ready for this? $855!! I thought someone had told me about a place in Texas that had them....I was calling about my last Vette, a '72. Seems to me their's was around $300? Wish I could remember who it was. Maybe I should take up collecting Ford Taurus'....at least the parts are cheaper.

Kevin #39927

[Tom M.]

Re: '68 PS / PB conversion

Kevin,

Try Smart Parts, I see them listing the power steering conversion kits in Corvette and Chevy Trader for like $650 if memory serves.

Tom McCabe

[Ed Jennings]

Re: '68 PS / PB conversion

Try Corvette Central. Seems like they have a kit for around $600. If you can find mid 60's GM car in a junkyard and get the parts off it you could do a lot better, even if you just use the parts as cores. The brackets/pulleys are what you really need, the rest is pretty much NAPA type stuff.

[Dave Suesz]

Master Power...

Brakes has a PS conversion kit for you, no specific PB kit after 67, though. They might have a reccomendation. You could look up "Booster Dewey", excellent rebuilds and very knowledgeble.

[Mike Cobine]

Re: '68 PS / PB conversion - What am I missing?

Unless you are attempting to put in an NCRS-judged system, the parts are readily interchangeable between a wide range of years and readily available used in many places.

On the power steering, you need the PS center link, the power ram, the hoses, the pump, pump bracket, the ram bracket, and the crank pulley that has an extra groove for PS. You need to move the tie rods forward to the close ratio steering holes and for NCRS judging you would need the aluminum plugs that filled the rear holes.

Readily available used at most Corvette swap meets. Heck, most used Corvette part vendors have these around.

Even more confused on the PB. You need the vacuum booster of course, the master cylinder for PB, and the link from the pedal arm to the booster.

Again, these are readily available used.

If you want it judged, you probably need to replace some brake lines, but a dual circuit master cylinder will attach to the existing lines with a little bending.

If you are finding prices of $800 for steering and several hundred for the brakes, then check eBay. If you have $1000 tied up, then buy one of the MANY '68 to '82 "project" cars that you find that are bodies stripped of drivetrains. Take the steering and brakes (after '70 the majority were PS and PB) and then resell the rest on eBay again. Most cars I've seen minus the engine still have the PS pump laying in the engine compartment.

All a kit is is a chance for someone else to package the parts and increase the cost several times on something you can find if you just look.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2476897206&category=6168

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7901363307&category=39405

It is a little slow right now, but many show up. If you have the time, you can get a great deal.

[Mark #28455]

Re: '68 PS / PB conversion - What am I missing?

Actually the brake conversion is a little trickier than that. The power brake pedal sits lower so the brake light switch will be on all the time. You need to get the correct used bracket that the pedals swing from (you can swap the 4 speed pedals to an automatic bracket). The firewall holes will need some work too, they're not in the same place.
The power brake kit from Zip Products was actually cheaper than buying parts seperately and included all new or rebuilt parts ( I would tend not to use used parts for my brakes unless you can disassemble and check them - your life depends on those parts).

[Mike Cobine]

Re: '68 PS / PB conversion - What am I missing?

If he bought a parts car to cannibalize, he'd have all those parts. As to used, it is just plain common sense to rebuild an MC before installing it. while he is putting it together, he can take them all apart and check each.

And if he is handy enough to be doing the conversion, he should be handy enough to figure out what doesn't fit and how to change it to fit as he goes along. If not, then willingness goes a long way.

[Ed Driscoll]

Re: '68 PS / PB conversion - What am I missing?

I'm not sure what the above has to do with anything (sounds like a wrist slapping, not a helping hand), but zip has it (PB upgrade) complete, or separately. go to the site, navigate as follows:
56-82 parts/brakes/brake packages/68 PB conversion/press to review kit. best of luck. i'm doing the same thing on my 68 right now, so let's check the tech board for updates.
cheers,
ed

[Mike Cobine]

Re: '68 PS / PB conversion

Ed,

A couple of messages up I suggested that if the price of the kits got too high, Kevin should consider one of the many project cars that show up on eBay for cheap. This would not only give him every part needed, but he would see what it looked like assembled so that he would know exactly how it should look on his car.

After parting the project car out for all parts he would need, he could resell the project and probably regain a significant amount of his money, possibly all of it.

Mark however seemed to think used parts were a safety issue and should only be purchased if they could be disassembled and checked or rebuilt.

Since I won't say anything bad about someone here, I think I was refrained at suggesting it would be normal to rebuild the master cylinder before installing. If Kevin has a shop manual, he will find all details for rebuilding not only the master cylinder but the booster as well. That would fulfill Mark's concerns.

The Zip Products kit does not have the different pedal or the internal brackets which many have pointed out are different. It costs $360.

The Zip Products power steering kit runs from $680 to $865.

At this point, Kevin has $1040 to $1225 tied up to install power brakes and power steering.

If he buys one of the many project cars around $2000 or $3000, odds are he can strip all he needs and resell the car for very close to the same amount.

I just bought a '79 Corvette from eBay for $1000. That makes the whole car $40 less than Zip Products cheapest kits. Do you think I could strip those parts and resell the rest of the car and still be money ahead on Zip? Heck, I could throw it in the ditch and be money ahead!!!

Personally, I don't know where you get the idea this was wrist slapping, but maybe this is for you, since I think buying a car to cannibalize for the parts and reselling the leftover car to bring your total expense to near zero is a darn good idea.

If the latter part of that previous message was what bothered you, then I think Kevin has an advantage that he is probably mechanically inclined enough to figure it out once he has all the pieces or he is very willing to (else he wouldn't be considering it) and probably he has both. Willingness has carried a lot of us through projects that many would have said were too much. Willingness can be more important than ability sometimes. I think that is a compliment to him, not a wrist slapping.

[Mike Cobine]

The '79 for $1000 - could Kevin get PS and PB?

Just as an afterthought, I thought you might think the '79 was a burned out hulk with nothing of value. Here is a picture so you see it is intact, it has a running original engine, the transmission is in there. The seats are in it, as is the entire interior, and not in boxes or scattered around. (I had the tops off in the picture.)

Essentially, the car could be driven if new rear wheel bearings were installed in the right trailing arm and the half shaft put back in.

Now it would be a shame to buy this to part out for the power steering system or the power brakes, but obviously, if I did, I think I could recover the $1000 spent quite easily, don't you?

I think my advice to Kevin on buying a donor car was very sound.