Awesome pics Blue. Thanks much! Now get back to work on getting yourself a new website up and running. 

Charles, that's exactly the analogy I was going to use. An overgrown fuel sender friction ring.

Namerow, I've got one on order from Rock Auto that should be here next Monday. I guess I'll wait until that one arrives before I try again to get mine apart.

Guess I won't be driving my Z for a couple days...  

 

16 minutes ago, Captain Obvious said:

I was looking at that housing clamshell where it interfaces, and I'm not sure there is a lock. I think it might just be friction that keeps things together.

I meant friction as the "locking points".  Friction at the contact points locking it in place.  I think it's just rough cut steel edges riding on each other.  With lots of leverage due to the diameter of the part.

Blue has the good pictures.  You might even be able to "pick" each contact point with a piece of shim stock or similar to let it slide.

Mine was badly corroded around the edges. I bead blasted it first to try to remove the corrosion then I shot some PB blaster on it for a few days before trying to open it.

with that picture of the parts, it was the front vacuum seal on mine that was bad.

I built a wooden "fixture" and with enough danger and mechanical advantage, I got my old booster open. Yes, it involved danger, and yes it involved a BF dead blow hammer. And a face shield. 

Unfortunately, I have not yet found the smoking gun as to why it wasn't working. The symptom was that it held vacuum (even with the engine off), but did not provide any boost. Seems like it would be a problem with the poppet valve, but I can't find anything wrong with it. Current theory is that it is clogged with deteriorated foam debris of what used to be a filter.

Tomorrow I will try to figure out a clever way to test the valve in operation without putting the whole booster back together.

Sometimes you can hear the air rush in when the valve opens upon pressing the pedal.  There are felt disks (silencers) to quiet this and to act as a filter: