<VV> brake help

[JUDY HOOK]

I need some help with the brake system on my newly acquired '69, soon to be my new daily driver.  It has the dual master cylinder on it.  This is my first foray into the world of dual master cylinders.  Last evening my wife helped me try and bleed the brakes on said car.  All 4 wheel cylinders where rebuilt, all 4 rubber hoses replaced, and numerous pieces of tubing were replaced in the rear hazardous areas.  Since I live in PA I decided to try the stainless ones Clark's offered.

Since I drove the car home initially, and the brakes seemed to work ok, I chose not to rebuild the master cylinder at this point, although I did buy a rebuild kit for it, just in case.  I also decided to switch this car to the dot 5 brake fluid like my other 2 since I've never had a single problem with it.

When prepping the master cylinder for installation, I emptied it as much as possible of all old fluid.  I then filled it with the dot 5 stuff and "bench bled" it with the plastic tubes and cone shaped plugs.  You could see the fluid moving thru the tubes.  After installation, she pumped and pumped and her foot kept going to the floor.  When I would crack a bleeder- nothing.  No rush of air, no fluid- nada.  We did that a couple more times with the same results, however, this time I noticed the fluid level in the front reservoir was down about a half inch.  The rear one never moved.

 This time, when checking the bleeders, I got  a teeny puff of air.  Then the next time I got a little dripage from it.  But no major squirt like you're supposed to get.  There was no resistance at the front drum, either.  My wife said her foot kept going to the floor with no resistance. 

Now, my question is this:  Since you could see the fluid moving thru the plastic tubes,  one would assume the master cylinder is pumping fluid like it is supposed to, right?  A mechanic friend suggested it may be  a "trapped" air bubble.  But if it is pumping like normal, why isn't it compressing the air in the tubes like it is supposed to?  Am I missing something, or doing something wrong?  Or is it simply a matter of the master cylinder not being in as good a shape as I at first thought?  And if the verdict is for the latter, is it that big of a deal to rebuild it, since I've never done a dual one before?  Inquiring minds want to know.  Any and all thoughts and ideas appreciated.  Thanks a million in advance.


Randy (Cap'n) Hook

Hopewell, PA