[DeTomaso] Poor Brakes

[JDeRyke at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/13/09 6:11:24 PM, wdemelo at cogeco.ca writes:

> It looks as if my brake booster is toast. It has an ink stamping on it 
> that I can partially make out. It looks like:
> BENDITALIA
> ??-2-14-07?300
> It's a 74. Does this sound like a stock booster part #? Is it a big job to 
> replace?
> 
Sounds stock, Will. Not much of a job, except for the price. Its also used 
in the 3xx series Ferraris and priced accordingly. 'Someone' bought an 
overhaul kit years ago, exceeded his skill level in repairing a master cylinder 
or booster, then allegedly ran his car under a truck. 'Someone' (or his 
heirs) promptly sued Bendix-Italy (Benditalia) since obviously it was their fault 
(?), so now Benditalia only sells complete, fully assembled replacements. 
There are a few backstreet shops than will fiddle with BendiItalia boosters 
(usually, only the big rubber diaphragm is rotted or torn), but you kinda 
takes yer chances with such things. 
Personally, when I lost the stock brake master cylinder, instead of 
attempting a rebuild, I installed an adapted GM booster & master cylinder from 
Precision Proformance. I'm happy with the results: it uses an aluminum step-bore 
master (the front bore is larger than the rear, giving a kind of 
proportioning built right in) and a dual-stage booster. Stopping is better than stock 
with the same pedal effort and it weighs a little less than stock. It is a 
bolt-in for most cars and is 2/3 the price of a new stock replacement. 
On a few Panteras, a small dent must be knocked into the trailing edge of 
the inner fender for clearance for the slightly larger diameter booster 
cannister, and depending on what aftermarket clutch master you have, things can 
get tight between them. But for most, its a 3-hour job to R&R one with common 
hand tools; no engineering degree required. FWIW- J Deryke.



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