VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 Master cylinder removal help needed

I'm trying to pull the master cylinder from my 51. I have the brake and clutch pedal extensions removed, and the line off but how do I get the pedal arms off the cylinder? I see a pin that goes through both but it's removal has eluded me.

Remove the plug on the forward end of the master cylinder. Insert a stiff wire into the shaft lock key and remove the key. The pedals will now be free to remove.Also you might want to purchase a shop manual as it has lots of other info and diagrams.

I have the shop manual and I removed the front plug and pushed the part back but didn't understand how to remove the key that they mention

You need to hook it and pull it out. I have had success using a small punch to drag it out. If it had dried grease inside you might want to give it a couple sprays with some carb spray to loosen things up. Don

Thanks, I was able to pull everything out with no problem once I understood what those engineers were thinking. I used my little magnet one a stick and it pulled that pin right out. Its a slick design, just wish the access was better, and to complicate matters my car has the old Fenton split manifold so there are two sets of pipes down there in the way. Now I understand how to do it, I hope I don't have to do it again.

OK, Before you put the cross key back in thread the puller hole with a 10-32 tap or a 8-32 tap, whichever one will be right and the next time you need to pull it just hand screw in a machine screw and pull the key, I have done that on every master cylinder I have rebuilt. You were lucky to be able to pull this one with a magnet, some become really stuck over time. Also I always put a Zerk fitting in the hole that the plug screws into. and every year or so give it a tiny squirt of grease.