'56 Brake Questions

[JCantor791@xxxxxxx]

Over the last week or so, I've posted a couple of times with some questions 
on the brakes on my '56 Sedan.  Performance has been good almost all the time 
but usually the third or fourth time the brakes are used after the car is 
started, the peddle goes soft and to the floor.  A minute later they return to 
normal and seem to remain fine until after the car is restarted.  Today I had a 
chance to look over the system closely and wanted to report on what I've found 
and ask a few questions.

Up front, I had little difficulty removing both drums to inspect the shoes, 
wheel cylinders, and springs.  It would appear that everything, including the 
drums, are relatively new; probably having been done in 1998 when the PO first 
got the car and had a lot of work done.  I was happy to see new flexible 
lines, new wheel cylinders, and completely new shoes (not just resurfaced).

In the rear, I was not able to get either drum off as the wheel nuts were 
tighter than I wanted to deal with in the dwindling daylight.  I did notice, 
however, that once again the flexible lines had been replaced along with the 
bleeder fittings which leads me to believe that the wheel cylinders are also 
new.  
The drums appear to be in okay condition from the outside (not that that means 
much) but are also different which has me puzzled.  Also different from side 
to side in the rear are the wheel nuts - one is 1 1/4" the other is probably 1 
1/8".  I have to guess that this is NOT correct although it may not matter.

Inspection of the master cylinder revealed no signs of recent repair, 
reconditioning, or other work which leads me to believe that this is the 
culprit.  
Anyone have suggestions on a source for remanufactured master cylinders (or 
rebuild kits although this is one job I'd rather pay a professional to do)?

One last question - I rechecked the fluid level this afternoon just to make 
sure there wasn't any major leakage - there wasn't.  When I put the cover back 
on I realized some time later that I forgot to tighten the cover bolt beyond 
finger tight.  I also noticed little if any problem  with the brakes when 
testing the car afterwards.  Is it possible that I overtightened the cover bolt 
the 
first time I opened it up to add fluid?  Could this have caused my problems?

Thanks
Jeff Cantor
with a '56 Sedan in Trenton, NJ