After messing with a lame rebuilt one (I should know better!), I am going to buy a NEW one. Here are the choices:

1. Raybestos master cylinder professional grade: part #MC36406, $107.99

2. Bendix Master Cylinder: part#11571, $80.99

3. United? Master Cylinder (from Napa) part #UP36406, $85.49

Does anybody have a preference here or another suggestion?

I have a 73 Dart Swinger, power brakes, front single piston disc, rear 10" drums (10 X 2.5"), it is an 8 1/4 rear end.

UP36406 is the same has MC36406 i believe. napa just changes the two letters. i just had to replace mine and i went with napa brand for my duster.i used SS 4736338 i had gotten 1573M awhile back on ebay. but i was told i shouldn't use it the cardone brands are junk. so my thoughts would be go with the napa UP36406. if there Local and you have problems you can take it back. plus i used my AAA card and got 7% off. at least i had a little beer money left over.

i have drums and am still looking for a few more parts for disk brakes

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Been buying parts for over 40 years now. I would not put any NAPA part on my car cept oil and spark plugs.

I did buy a replacement bulb for my fender turn indecator. It seems to be ok.

I get all my parts from the local Car Quest. They have kept my flathead Ford V-8 running for years. Good stuff.

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and this is said by the guy that would rather run drums then disks.http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic ... highlight=

i've never had problems with napa not having my parts accept for one time a rear brake hose. and it only took them a day to get it.

when i went to car quest years ago they hardly ever had my parts in stock and when i went to get a gasket set they said it would take 2-3 days to get it.

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How about getting one of the new aluminum MCs (specify one of a mid-80s M-body) and using the 2-to-4 bolt pattern adaptor plates. The adaptor plate does NOT mess up the depth of the pushrod- with the plate in place the pushrod depth for the aluminum MC is exactly the same as the old iron one.

The advantages to the aluminum MC are many. Its light. Its got an anodized bore that doesn't corrode easily, so 9 times out of 10 even one from a junkyard is perfectly serviceable. Its readily available. It just flat *works* better than the old iron MCs, in my opinion.

Here's an example of one of the adaptor plates, they're available from several sources on the 'net:
http://www.ornocar.com/hwang.html
The mounting studs can be left out for use with a power booster.

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First off never said RATHER, said no need for conversions.

second Car Quest done nto have a lot of stuff on hand. But a 1-2 wait for superior parts is worth it.

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I ended up getting the Raybestos for $81. The local Kragen, who had it for $107 does "price matching". I called another parts store here in town that had it for $95, so Kragen beat their price plus knocked off a little for good measure.

Thanks for the replies!

I'm pretty lucky. I have a Carquest distribution warehouse in town (25 miles), with a public parts counter, a KING SIZE NAPA store, and a Advance Auto Parts store that can obtain almost any brand part from other then there own warehouse. The best part is the some of the people that work in these places, know what they are doing, and help me to get hard to find parts.
The carquest place was not able to get me new slant rocker arms, but did have two new rocker shafts in stock, which I bought.

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

around here theres a NAPA (guys there are decent but ridiculously expensive), Federated (same as NAPA) Bumper to Bumper high but the counter guys arent as good; "just a job"... Useless Zone, Advance and Car Quest... my $$$$$ goes to Car Quest whatever they dont have is only a day away, good counter people reasonable $$$$$ and are willing to use the old standby paper catalog if the computer doesnt show what I need. Cant believe the number of times the other guys told me something was "dealer only" just for Car quest to say, Yeah, be here in the morning" They and Federated are the best at keeping their word as to when a part not stocked will arrive, usually here BEFORE they say it will be.

I buy as much as i can from NAPA, I live in the country and pretty much only have a few places to deal with. My buddy is a manager at NAPA so I get everything I buy at a few dollars more then cost. Agreed if i was paying full price somethigns I would think twice on but I have never had a quality problem

I've been using NAPA parts for more than 40 years and have had very few problems with them. I've also heard good things about Car Quest. In either case you need to inspect the parts before you buy them and be sure to specify the premium grade as both also have lower quality lines at a lower price point.

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David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.