I am looking to replace the MC I have on the car now. It is cast iron and not original, and looks like crap. I would like to buy an aluminum replacement for it.
A few questions -
I have read that the J50 MC provides improved brake feel. Has anyone done this swap?
If so, what company sells an aluminum version?
Lastly, why are some MC's listed for 82-83 only, but others go from 82-89? Still others are listed from 84-89. I know that the early prop valves were different and had SAE threads as opposed to the metric on the later ones, but I assume the threads into the MC are the same because some of them span the early years. It seems to me the only difference in those years should be the size of the piston in the MC.

 

The original 82 M/C is cast iron. In 82-83 all the brake threads on the car were SAE, after that they were Metric.

 

I wonder why some of the parts reference 82-89 if the threads were changed on the master too.

Bendix 12259 references from 1982-1988

 

Not sure. Sadly, the aftermarket manufacturers are often very wrong about what their stuff fits.

 

I did some checking around on the net - every early car I check out has an aluminum master cylinder. I am pretty sure my original one was aluminum. I changed it out back in the nineties - I wish I would have held on to it. I could have just rebuilt it. Oh well.