Your thoughts
 

The master cylinder on my'66 GTO is original, as is 99% of the car. At this time I am restoring it bit by bit the areas the previous owner didn't get to. I am fearful of a failure of the master cylinder and not having any brakes. Should I upgrade to a dual master cylinder for safety or for the sake of originality keep the single? :confused:

Single is fine but old school. I would at a minimum drain and flush all lines and replenish with fresh fluid and rebuild your original master. Granted todays version is considered safer but a whole lot of engineering went into your current system with regards to you and your family's safety.

Tim

It depends on your goal for the car.

Will it be a show car, a driver, track car on weekends?

If you will rarely drive it and wish to keep it all original, then keep the single.

If you're not concerned about that, or more concerned about safety, then upgrade to a dual.

With my '66, when I get back to it (it has sat for some time due to job, family, etc., so now it needs work), I will upgrade it to front disks - maybe power, maybe not. But I plan to drive it whenever I can and to be honest, the way people drive, I have no desire to be around them with 4 wheel manual drum brakes.

Do what fits your plans for the car.

Obviously, the duals are safer. My opinion is that if the car is not driven a lot, it's MORE important to have duals in case part of the system develops a problem. That's what happened to one side of my master cylinder on my '67.

If you keep the OEM parts , you can always revert to original.

George

I switched my 66 from a single to a dual last year. When you go to do this, you will have an issue with residual valves. If you are not familiar with these, PM me and I will give you all the details on what I went through. Its nothing complicated, but may save you a few trips to the parts store.

only you can decide what you want for your car. If being all original is important, I'd say keep the single master. If having a redundant system is more important, go with the dual master. Either choice you make be sure the brake system is in good condition. Having a back up brake system isn't a substitute for preventative maintenance.

Thank You all for your suggestions, it is not a daily driver, but I will take it to a few shows a year. The system has been flushed and the drums and pads are new. It stops great; but with no backup I am concerned.
Thanks again
Bill