'69 GTVs, brakes & boosters

[Dana Loomis <dloomis@domain.elided>]

Dan Walker lusts after a '69 GTV, but is worried about the costs associated
with the dual-booster brake system.  He said "as much as I like the looks
of the 69 over a 71 to 74 this causes me some concern...To rebuild the
brakes fully will cost more than I'll probably pay for the car."

There are two ways to look at this.  If Dan really likes the '69 model
better than any other, it wouldn't be unreasonable to buy the car and pay
whatever it takes to completely rebuild the braking system to like-new
standards, or better.  It's a straightforward operation and the cost, while
not trivial, is significantly less than the price of a good paint job.  The
benefit for Dan is that he'd have the car he wants and be able to enjoy it
for a long time without worries.  

On the other hand, I've come to believe that, from the standpoint of
maintenance and parts availability, the underfloor pedal system on early
105s (and its remote boosters),  is one of the worst features of the entire
car.  Everything else being equal, that feature alone makes pre-1970 models
less desireable for my purposes.  The system on 1969 US model cars is the
worst of all for parts availability.  That's too bad, because, when new, it
represented a significant improvement relative to the early 105 system with
mechanical clutch actuation and single circuit brake plumbing. 

I would personally avoid a '69 GTV for this reason.  But, if I wanted one,
I'd do one of two things: 1) Install a complete hanging pedal system into a
1969 body, or 2) start with a '71-model 1750 GTV, which already has the
pendant pedal setup, and make it look like a '69 by changing the seats and
bumpers. 

Dana Loomis

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