Electric brake booster

[jehlan]

Am redoing brakes, lines, master cylinder.

Any electric brake boosters around? Seems like a good safety idea,no?

[Semper_Dad]

Disc brake conversion would be money better spent.
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Walküre Restoration Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=737492

[jehlan]

Done! Also roll bar and shoulder belt seat belts. Would love air bags too!

Since I am replacing the master cylinder why not a small electric pump for a boost? My old station wagon (Buick I think) had electric booster not vaccum!

[mondshine]

Something I have occasionally thought about about during my many Thing road trips is the complete lack of a Thing's vehicle safety; the fact is that the Thing is a death trap.
Zipping down the road at 100 feet per second requires situational awareness at all times.

The reason the vendors call a "roll bar" a show bar is that they are for show; and no claims are made about improved vehicle safety. In fact, if a Thing were to roll over at high speed, that show bar would probably just tear off, and strangle you with the shoulder belt.

On top of that, you have several gallons of gasoline basically sitting in your lap, all in a flimsy tin box.

But nobody drives a Thing for its safety; we drive them for fun.
Is a Thing safer than a motorcycle? Maybe.
Years ago, in my motorcycle days, we used to say "drive like an old man, and live to be one".

But now I am an old man. Probably just a few years left in the Thingdom, then I will switch to an Audi A5 convertible; ABS, airbags, all the rest of those safety features, and a power top!
(That's what Things really need, a power top.)

Meanwhile, for me, nothing beats a 181 road trip.

Safe travels to all, Mondshine

[jehlan]

Agreed though I live on a dirt road in a rural area and rarely exceed 40!

I dont think my well adhered "show" bar would detach (as I installed it very well including bolting to the pillar between the doors), my Thing no longer has rusty rockers or floor pans (so the seats would more then not likely detach either).

AND we dont usually drive in the rain or snow and ice!

I keep little gas in the tank at all times! haha (I remember seeing a TV piece on the PINTO that said if you filled the volume of your tank with steel wool like metal mesh explosions couldnt happen but fires still)

I also went to High back front seats for whip lash avoidence!

The Thing, like the Beetle WAS ahead of its time for handling having independent suspension (with the IRS of course) and with disc brakes stops pretty good!!

I even thought of an automatic GAS VALVE that shuts the fuel off in an accident!

And of course driving is more safe today thanks to MADD and much safer modern OTHER cars so I bet we are all good! JUST TRYING TO INCREASE MY ODDS!

[KAmes]

Space is pretty tight in the master cylinder area in a thing. You would have to do something creative to fit it, of course that's why you should figure it out and then show us. A lot of diesel vehicles have electric boosters, we have a 1977 K30 ton truck at work with a brake booster that runs on the power steering pump. It's always interesting when you step on the brakes and the steering suddenly gets difficult.

[Wildthings]

Chet rolled his Thing and the "show" bar saved his and his wife's bacon.

[Ark]

Another safety item to consider is a blazecut fire suppression system. If you all are talking about crash sensing fuel shutoff valves and steel wool in the fuel tank then you might as well get a fire suppression system in there too.