So what is a hydroboost again? It is a brake power booster that uses fluid pressure instead of vacuum to assist the pedal effort to the master cylinder. That means you can run all the cam you want and not worry about the increased pedal effort. It will also clear monster valve covers and gives you choke-chain stopping power.So what is a hydroboost again? It is a brake power booster that uses fluid pressure instea Sometimes even minivans have value when you are harvesting parts for your next build. The imported ones don't have much to offer, but the domestic MILF wagons feature USA parts that are ripe for the picking. No you say? How about a junkyard hydroboost for your Chevelle? It almost bolts itself on and can be had for low, low money. All it takes is a trip to the boneyard and a dead Astro. Get to pickin! This is the complete hydroboost fresh off a wrecked Chevy Astro Van. To pick it, you need to crawl into the van and remove the four nuts that attach this booster to the firewall. Watch out for syringes and R.O.U.S.* On the right is a standard Chevelle brake booster and master cylinder. Note the similarities.This is the complete hydroboost fresh off a wrecked Chevy Astro Van. To pick it, you need This is a close-up shot of the mounting plate from the Astro. It is a match to the riveted plate found on the back of the Chevelle brake booster, making this a bolt-on deal.This is a close-up shot of the mounting plate from the Astro. It is a match to the riveted Looking at the back of the Chevelle booster, you can see the bracket that mounts to the firewall. In this case, it is bolted on instead of riveted. In either case, you will need to use this bracket to mount the hydroboost.Looking at the back of the Chevelle booster, you can see the bracket that mounts to the fi Also note that the reservoir can be clocked to different positions in relation to the hydroboost body. For this installation, the unit was flipped 180 degrees to clear the valve cover.Also note that the reservoir can be clocked to different positions in relation to the hydr A new pushrod can be built using shock extensions and a little cutting and welding. The sleeve can be drilled out and slipped over the booster pushrod and tack-welded. The threaded end goes to the factory Chevelle pedal. Be sure to drill deep enough so if your weld breaks for some reason, the sleeve won't fall off.A new pushrod can be built using shock extensions and a little cutting and welding. The sl To get this to work, you are going to need a couple of late-model (read: metric), high-pressure, GM O-ring-style fittings and lines. In this photo, the blue hose is the low-pressure return, and the steel line on the left goes to the pressure side of the steering box. The steel line on the right comes from the pressure side of the power steering pump. Remember, this unit is flipped, so if the accumulator is on the left, the fittings are reversed!To get this to work, you are going to need a couple of late-model (read: metric), high-pre In this overall shot, you can see the return line that is T'd onto the low pressure sides of both the pump reservoir and the power steering box. Depending on what you have, you are going to use a M16 x 1.5 O-ring to -6 adapter or inverted flair fitting from the power steering pump to a M18 x 1.5 O-ring to -6 fitting on the hydroboost, and a M18 x 1.5 O-ring to -6 fitting from the hydroboost to a M16 x 1.5 O-ring fitting on the power steering box. But since these are junkyard parts, you will need to check the sizes before you buy the fittings.In this overall shot, you can see the return line that is T'd onto the low pressure sides Here you can see the low-pressure return, and the pressure feeds from both the power steering pump and the steering box. Try to think of the hydroboost as being hooked in series like a couple of batteries. The juice must flow through from the pump through the hydroboost to the box to have any value.Here you can see the low-pressure return, and the pressure feeds from both the power steer You might not recognize the car, but you might recognize the mill as the low-buck stroker Ted Toki from Westside Performance built in the Aug. '09 issue ("Sleeper Small-Block Combo"). This car is full of cool tricks and has been driven almost every day in brutal L.A. heat and traffic since the engine was installed.You might not recognize the car, but you might recognize the mill as the low-buck stroker PARTS DESCRIPTION PN SOURCE PRICE* Junkyard hydroboost NA Chevy Astro Van $85.00 plus core Shock extensions 1290 Mr Gasket 18.00 -6 N18 x 1.5 male 791615 XRP 12.95 -6 N16 x 1.5 male 791805 XRP 12.95 -6 steel braided line NA Lee Manufacturing 40.00 each SOURCES Westside Performance Los Angeles CA 310-820-4718 www.westsideperformance.org By Douglas R. Glad Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
59Elco_. 8/22/2011 at 1:22 AM I too am looking into this setup.Guys, you USE the Astro Master Cylinder. I read some concerns about the brakes self applying and wondered if the Power steering pump from a Mid 80's pickup with a 6.2L diesel would work better, because it has two fittings for low pressure return. Heck possibly the whole setup from that truck might work. ( I work on them every day as we still run them in the PA. National Guard. Let me know how it fits on that G Body, I have an 84 El Camino with a lot of Cam and poor brakes. I also did the CC Serpentine belt swap. LOVE IT!
gene.cummins 6/12/2011 at 12:49 PM Where did the brake master cylinder come from? The MC used in the cover photo uses two separate reservoirs with separate caps. The two reservoirs in photo two (from the Astro van and Chevelle) are completely different. I would think the master cylinder details would be critical to make this work.
blainebrack 5/1/2011 at 11:09 AM I have a 86 monte ss I am planning to switch to hydro boost. I thought the article in the may issue was great. Are most gm cars the same bolt pattern where it bolts to the firewall? What bore size master cylinder is needed for me to use the astro setup in the monte? Will having an underdrive pulley on the crank adversely affect the performance or will the accumulator take care of that?
