does anyone have any suggestions for a brake booster.i heard that the gold plating(i forget what it's called!) kit from eastwood is not that great.is it ok to blast if i cover the opening?or i can just buy a reman with master cylinder for $135 off wrenchhead.com.mine isn't bad.but it looks like crap. http://members.spree.com/entertainment/ochrisl/

The Eastwood is actually a 4 part paint product. I bought it and it OK. I would only use it for small parts. I would not use it for a booster because it sits right out where everyone could see it. Most rebuilt boosters are painted black and are not cad platted. The unit can be rebuilt and replated by serveral different companies. I know I have seen adds for them. Ground Up should have an "OK" cad plated booster and a "Very Good" cad plated booster. Call them to find out. For a while they had found a guy to do a super good plating job on the booster. Guess what, it ain't cheap. Quality costs money, so you need to examine your budget to see how much you want to spend. As far a taking the unit apart to blast it yourself, you may have problems getting it back together. When I looked it up in the manual, it seemed that special tools were required and I did not feel like making them or buying them. Good luck.

If you want a booster that may be considered over-restored (too shiny), but just an awesome piece of work, then you want to talk to Steve Gregori at Power Brake Booster Restoration in Sanger CA. 559-875-0290 or:
http://www.brakeboosters.com
We put one of his boosters on a 72 we redid this past winter, way cool!

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69 SS396 69 Malibu Ragtop
70 Monte 72 El Camino
Team Chevelle Gold #33
ACES Member #02913
Chevelle Club of Michigan
Rode shotgun in the ONLY Z16 convertible made.

[This message has been edited by Tom Lasater (edited 05-15-2000).]

I can't speak for your area, but here is what I do in the Okla City area. There is a hole in the wall place here that rebuilds all kinds of brake components. I take in the booster, they tear it down, I take the the 2 halves to a local plating shop and have them gold cad plated, take the halves back to the brake place for rebuilding. LOOKS JUST LIKE IT CAME OUT OF THE BACK DOOR OF THE GM ASSEMBLY PLANT BACK IN THE 70S.

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Tom Parsons

Can't speak for a 70, but in 69 the booster was painted silver not gold cad. I bought my original SS396 new in 69 and still have original photos of the engine. I think this gold cad is just another way to make us buy more junk, because in 69 anyway, that is not how the booster was.

host1 - I wouldn't say that cadmium plating is "junk". In fact it looks great.

Whats the known "correct " answer concerning cad plating on 69 and 70 chevelles. Was cad plating used on 70 (& 70-72 possibly??) boosters? No cad on 69 boosters, silver paint?

My 70 had the original booster, untouched. It was cad plated - just had it redone by Booster Dewey. They did a nice job, a little greener than orginal but it looks good.

Rich

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70 SS - L34
Member # 442
www.chevelles.com/showroom/richr1 (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/richr1)

Hey guys, I'm not a plating expert, just happen to recently dealt with a plater on a project at work.
Zinc cadmium plating can be done in "silver" and "gold" colors. It is an industrial coating used to prevent rust during shelf life of a part. In the plating world, quality wise, it's considered the bare minimum protection from rust, less than paint and slightly more than lightly oiled. It is a very inexpensive process through a plater. If you go through one of the restorers you are gonna pay for their time, the platers time, and transportation for the part back and forth. They do offer convenience because finding a plater in these times of EPA and Green Peace is not easy. We won't go into that side of it now.
Hope this helps.

I don't think I'd want to bet the title to my car that the '69 boosters were painted silver. I've opened several thousand boosters since I started this business 16 years ago and have yet to find one that had silver paint or Eastwood paint inside from the factory. Virtually without fail they are gold iridite plated inside, in varying shades. I hope this helps answer some questions. Steve

I have to agree with Steve and disagree with host1. I bought a fairly original '69 SS396 in May of 1992, and the booster was gold cadmium. The engine compartment except for the rebuilt engine was untouched.

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Dan Orgill

Why run? You'll only go to jail tired.