Every one of the original “seasoned” boosters I have here have pushrods that pull right out.
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I'm guessing that the rubber seals inside have shrunken a bit, allowing the pushrods to just slip out. Maybe under vacuum, they tighten up?
Not sure. I don't know enough about this to speak with confidence.
I'm basing my comments on my basic understanding of these old cars.
It seems to me that the newer components fit together tighter and seal better so the pushrod is sort of squeezed into position. Whatever components are inside could be damaged if I tried to pry the pushrod out. It could be like brain surgery to see if a brain is in place...and damaging the brain in the process. Even if this were mine to risk, I would leave it and make adjustments elsewhere.
I was trying to get the car to feel and stop in a manner consistent with other models of the same era. I know that there are some things that we can do to the older cars to improve upon and I strongly support that...Better tires, better Steering components, (Borgeson, for one) Overdrive transmissions, aftermarket A/C systems all can make our old cars feel and perform better than they did in 1968. Some things can be hard to improve upon without reinventing the wheel.