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October 16, 2026, 01:00:44 PM

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[BigNorm]

So you've upgraded your brakes and/or for whatever reason want or need to fit a 1 inch or upgraded master cylinder. There are a few options available but this explains the upgrade using a PBR P6258 Master Cylinder which is applicable the XA, XB and XC Falcon.  They're a chunky looking unit and bolt to a Cortina booster on a less than desirable angle, but they work well.  A bit of chrome on the lid, polish on the body and they scrub up really well.

This is only for educational purposes to give one an idea of whats involved. If you dont know what you're doing and are not 100% confident of the tasks involved then LEAVE IT TO THE PROFESSIONALS as it could have potentially terminal consequences.

The hardest and most complicated part of the conversion is that a cortina has metric tube or flare nuts and a Falcon master cylinder requires imperiel(3/8 x 28 ) tube nuts so they need to be changed over and the pipes reflared.

This was done on my TC in the chapel in my backyard.


Tools Required:
1 x 9/16 spanner
1 x 7/16 pipe spanner
1 x 10mm pipe spanner
Pipe flaring kit

Time Taken: 40 minutes-ish including stopping to take photos and bleeding.

So you wanna go from this:


to this:



Step 1:
Undo the two brake pipes going into the Cortina master cylinder and the two mouting nuts on the booster. I do this in order of:
1) Lightly crack both tube nuts but dont undo them.
2) Undo and remove both mounting nuts on the booster
3) Now remove both tube nuts from the master cylinder to minimise the risk of brake fluid on paint.
4) Remove cylinder
WARNING: Brake Fluid is corrosive to paint and will strip it back to metal if left exposed, it will mark and damage the paint within minutes of contact. However it washes off with water I normally stick two layers of corrugated cardboard under the cylinder to protect the paint. It soaks it up well and is in plentiful supply as they wrap beer in it. Dont use a rag cos brake fluid will go straight through it.



Step 2:

Using a dedicated pipe cutter, cut the flares off the ends of the pipes. DO NOT use sidecutters or a hacksaw to do this as you need to preserve the shape of the pipe and you dont want filings going into the pipes.



With both ends cut off, remove the metric tube nuts.


A Cortina master cylinder has two outlets whereas a Falcon master cylinder has 3 outlets(1 Rear, 2 Front). You have two choices here. You can either make another brake pipe to run to the splitter or divider(on the "K" Frame of a TC and next to the fusebox on a TD) in the front brakes or as I've done here, I chose to blank off the third port on the master cylinder - I used a brake nipple from an old donor brake caliper.  On Black Betty I made a new pipe to run the from the master cylinder to the rhf wheel and blanked off the divider which can be seen here http://spyderbyte.com.au/20071024%20Cortina%20031.jpg



Step 3:

Fit the imperiel tube nuts and then fit the line vice in the flaring kit. Use the correct sized insert for the pipe(3/16 in this case), protrude the pipe through the vice the same thickness as the lower step of the collar. Do the vice up firm.


Step 3.1:

Then stick the insert inside the pipe.


Step 3.2:

fit the pipe M clamp and do it up until the pipe insert bottoms out on the pipe vice.

Repeat for the other pipe.

And there you have a single pipe flare:





Step 4:
Bolt the new master cylinder to the booster, fit pipes, bleed the brakes and *drumroll, BOOM TISH* you're done




Any questions?

[CortinaD]

My TE had 3 outlets.

[corty666]

i have had a v8 cortina in the past and the brakes were not to bad,
it had an xd/xf master cylinder and im sure xd booster
it ran finned gt drums on the rear.
this time im going for better brakes, running disc on the 9in
it has cmrs kit on front. dose anyone know of any booster/M-cylinder conversions that give good results?

JB