New Lockheed Booster in Ol' Blue

[Paul A]

Finished installing the new Lockheed booster this afternoon. No leaks..seems to be good to go. I won't road test until all the salt is washed off the roads, probably mid-April. The booster is the same as the one in my Tiger.

 

[rixter]

I replaced a Lockheed booster like yours in my Alpine 5 as that was what was in the car from a previous owner. The instructions mention installing at an angle. This was done by a previous owner, so I was able to just re-ultilize the mount that was close to where the factory original was located. I don't have my instructions anymore to see if there was an explanation for the angled orientation, but a Moss Motors listed booster instructions show it. It might have something to do with potential air in the system or dynamics of vacuum. The factory Alpine boosters are mounted horizontally, so not sure why the recommendation for the Lockheeds are not so. If you fish around on the internet you may find photos of a second booster being installed in a Tiger near where the battery box is on an Alpine. I've seen that somewhere and I recall them angling the booster.

Moss Motors instruction link: https://mossmotors.com/media/instructions/981-173.pdf

Rick

 

[dwolff706]

I've been fitting one as well and noted the horizontal angle is supposed to be between 25-45 degrees.

 

[DanR]

Paul alerted me to a good buy form VB a couple years ago. Made the installation in the Green1 and noted the slight angle in the instructions..... But no explanation. Sure would like to know WHY?

VB didn't have any reason.

Very difficult to mount at an angle in the position I have planned. Near where Paul has his only mine is a bit more like the Tiger mounts I have pictures of.

 

[rixter]

Mine was from VB as well. Got it on a good sale and have been using a few years without issue (knock on wood). I replaced most everything in the braking system other than the rear drums, so out went the booster that was in the car. But as I said, I reused the mounts already there because a previous owner already had the same model Lockheed unit there. It may not have been faulty, but it was old and I wanted to be sure by redoing everything.

Here is the mounting near the spot the stock one would have been. I didn't use a protractor to measure the tilt, but it is clearly slanted and tilted as per the instructions I had.

Rick

 

[Paul A]

for those who you who commented about the mounting angle - two things...1) my mount can be adjusted to supply additional angle if I choose to do so, and 2) I have run my Lockheed booster on my Tiger at about 10 degrees for several years, including runs on the track at Road America where good brakes are essential. Wear a mask. Be safe.

 

[rixter]

Paul,
I hope we were not coming across as too critical of your install. No one, including me, were able to provide a justification for the tilt other than the instructions for these things saying to do it. All other brake booster installations I've seen are horizontal, so the mystery of the Lockheed recommendation is unsolved here . My mention of seeing a secondary Tiger brake booster install had me doing what I suggested... searching the net. I couldn't find it and that had me sifting through my books where I found what I was referring to. Photo is below. Note that it isn't the Lockheed booster in our discussion but what appears to be a second of the Girling type. And I was incorrect about the mounting. It is horizontal, not tilted.

I think it would be of use to the forum conversation if you find that your install has your brakes performing without issue so we can all learn something. I think they look odd when tilted. It would be informative to know that the angle is not critical.

Please report back.

Rick

 

[Barry]

The Lockheed vacuum servo is part of the brake hydraulic system. Air bubbles anywhere in the brake hydraulic system will result in a "spongy" feel. The only path for air bubbles to get out of the Lockheed vacuum servo is at the slave cylinder outlet port. Don't see any way to get rid of air bubbles in the servo unless the slave cylinder outlet port is at the high point (i.e.; tilted up).

 

[Paul A]

Paul,
I hope we were not coming across as too critical of your install. No one, including me, were able to provide a justification for the tilt other than the instructions for these things saying to do it. All other brake booster installations I've seen are horizontal, so the mystery of the Lockheed recommendation is unsolved here . My mention of seeing a secondary Tiger brake booster install had me doing what I suggested... searching the net. I couldn't find it and that had me sifting through my books where I found what I was referring to. Photo is below. Note that it isn't the Lockheed booster in our discussion but what appears to be a second of the Girling type. And I was incorrect about the mounting. It is horizontal, not tilted.

I think it would be of use to the forum conversation if you find that your install has your brakes performing without issue so we can all learn something. I think they look odd when tilted. It would be informative to know that the angle is not critical.

Please report back.

Rick
View attachment 22229

Hi Rick My Tiger installation is tilted about 10 degrees and has not ever caused me any concern. Even when running hard at Road America where good brakes are critical there was no issue. I do not know why Lockheed suggests the tilt and even their suggestion is very broad. There is a slight tilt on the new installation on Ol' Blue but it is difficult to see in the photos. I can easily increase the angle by adding a spacer. Pete

 

[Paul A]

I finally got around to bleeding the brakes on Ol' Blue after installing the new booster. Initially I was not able to loosen the bleeder screw on the left front. Once again my can of Kroil came to the rescue. I saturated the bleeder with Kroil and let it work for over six hours. When I returned to the job the bleeder easily loosened. I love Kroil!