Brakes question on an 1966 M35

[Brownac1983]

Hello all. I'm shopping for my first Deuce and I have found one at a good price, but the guy said it needs a wheel cylinder repair. I have no problem fixing it, but if I have to have it towed that will definitely affect how much I'm willing to pay for it. Around here the tow companies want $300 to fire up the big truck and I'm sure the per mile charge isn't small either (my guess is $5/mile). My shop is about 20 miles from the truck. I'm waiting for him to get back to me with more specifics about the wheel cylinder problem (I'm out on an oil rig right now or I'd look at it myself), but he said it will not brake. Assuming it has a single rear wheel cylinder failure, has anyone ever capped off one (or one L-R pair of) rear brake lines and driven one that way? If so, could you tell me what size caps and plugs are needed? I would assume that with fully functional front brakes and one set of rear brakes it would be manageable, at least for a short distance. I have friends about 5 miles from where the truck is, so I would most likely take my tools there. Any thoughts? If it is a front wheel cylinder I'll just have to have it towed and negotiate that into the price, I don't see any way around that. Thanks.
-Drew

 

[swbradley1]

I strongly suggest just towing it. How would you feel if your kludge failed and had an accident?

You can get rebuild kits for them and even buy new wheel cylinders.

 

[Brownac1983]

Yeah, I think a tow or an on-site repair might be the best bet. I might come out cheaper having one of those mobile truck repair guys install a new cylinder on site. If I'm reading the info on the site correctly, the brake system is a single point failure/lose all braking power type deal, right? Are there any upgrades to add reserve braking power in the event of a brake line failure, such as the split system found in smaller cars and trucks? I don't like the idea of blowing a brake line in a 13,000 pound truck and losing the whole works. I'm sure this has been asked before, but my search for "split system" turns up references to the split air/hydraulic system, not a split front/rear system. Has this been done, and is there a good thread on it? Thanks.

 

[Brownac1983]

Nevermind on that last question, I found the split system thread. Looks like I've got some reading to do.

 

[cajun666]

You can stop it if you have hole in brake line.
Now first hand, had hole in line last time I was off truck stop great.

Than again I was only doing 20 mph.