Hot Rods T's, A's,and the all mighty B'= EMERGENCY BRAKE!

Yep- As the ***le states= The E-Brake. I see A LOT of completed builds that do not run them.
This isn't for a "parking brake", but the emergency oh **** moment........
Thoughts pertaining to our beloved converted to juice, and installing of foregoing the necessity.
I've never had the need to install, but, on my car's that have them( factory) , they are in place, and working.....
Time for "A" time here...... Not at all digging any aftermarket items that look worth a ****. Safety first here- but, some of the hideous cables/concoctions are just too non appealing to me,even if you cant see them,and they serve their purpose.
Just being a lil inquisitive, as why you did with, or without........... If the moment ever arises, I think I have other options before things really get out of control. If that's the case, well, we'll see.....
What'cha running, and what made you decide...... No **** Storming for this thread please!
Thanks-kid

 

Watching! I was actually going to ask the same thing.

 

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In my 34 I'm running a banjo rear and 34 trans so I'm gonna run the 40 Ford ebrake cables and hardware either to the trans mount handle or the 40 style e brake handle mounted under the dash. Got most of the **** to go either way.

My last car had a 21 stud flathead with mechanical brakes and no e brake. It would take off on hills when parked unless you chocked the wheels cause the compression was so low on that little flatty haha

 

I ran the stock A brake lever and made a bracket to bolt it to the T5 trans in the original location. I modified the original mechanical pivot bracket with tabs for two clevis is for the cables to the 49 Merc backing plates. From inside the car it looks stock. I have pics somewhere.

 

Both my rides run with traditional Ford floor lever. In the pickup it moves the original mechanical levers that are in turn connected to the 40ish rear brake cables. On the avatar I have the lever connected to a short cable (1935 Chevy) that in turn connects to the 40ish rear cables.
Love having the e brake because as noted previously threes not a whole lot of compression going on there.

 

When I was building my T, I bought a Lokar e-brake set up with the full intention of installing it. One day, at a fellow car guys shop, he asked one simple question about it. "Have you ever had to use the one in your daily driver?". I thought about it and answered, "No." So, I sold it.

In all my years of driving, regular cars included, I've never had to use an "emergency brake". Maybe that's why, as years went by, the OEM's started calling them, "parking brakes". Because in a split nano-second, the LAST thing on your mind will be that little peddle or handle, much less pushing or pulling it. If I had more time than a second, instinct would probably have me cursing and trying to drive out of whatever situation I was in.

Now, if I had a vehicle with a manual transmission, I wouldn't hesitate to install one. That's what a "parking brake" is for. In my present build, I'm going to install one because it's required for the inspection for the Street Rod ***le I'll be applying for with the Texas DMV. After the inspection..... who knows what I'll do with it. Space is very limited in a T. It may get removed.

 

my 32 with 40 dash, I first bought a $10 shoebox T handle park brake that was under the dash edge from factory.....but it was too long and too hard to find a way to run the cable 180 down the firewall and then back.

So next swap, a guy had a nice old plated stock 34 Ford floor handle missing the lower teeth, but had a pitted one complete...both for $20

misleading pic angle, but it ended up in a perfect spot in case of a panic, as it's right where your brain thinks it should be. lol. Also, I figured a floor handle would be easier to panic-pull, than a dash handle. Not much room next to the 37 Buick topshift trans, but finally got a spot.

Hooked to 55 Olds rear with Olds cables. Cables run along the 35/36 rear trailing arms

 

I put them in every single build. I have used one for emergency purposes on more than one occasion, and as a drag brake, to slow without brake lights, on more times than I should admit.

 

I have needed an E brake pretty badly on two occasions and usually run the stock setup.I dont have one on my T -no room-but it has a dual master cyl.The speedster will have the mopar trans with the e brake built into the trans.

 

I lost my brakes coming to an intersection, I freaked and reached down and yanked on that ebrake. I musta slid a hundred feet squealing those bias plies the whole way. Scared a tweeker off his bike and into the bushes. I need them on all cars now.


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One word...Rockfords....

 

Most of my cars have three pedals, only one automatic, I use the e-brake if for no other reason than I do in all of my other cars.

 

When I bought my RPU it had no park brake so I fitted a 30 A unit. I mounted it to the G-Box cross member and used Lokar cables to the 48 rear end. Hand/park brakes are a requirement in New Zealand and I can see no purpose for not having one, its a damn good comfort to know you have a backup if your hydraulics dump a **** and if nothing else it helps keep your car where you park it. JW

 

Totally concur. If you have ever used your hand brake for fun and profit (racing, ha ha) and not an emergency, you know it's about the easiest way to spin / crash your car. I have for fun at about 50 mph in my old Alfa while braking hard with the fronts - won't EVER do that again. Better to keep 2 hands on the wheel while you are driving! Your E brake IS a parking brake. Now if you really want to do some serious "E" braking, check into the stuff sold for off-road or rally cars. And get some practice / training. These cars often use 2 rear brake levers, one for each rear wheel. And... they have no ratchets, locks or that silly ****on on the top to release the ratchet. Last thing you want is an E brake that's on and you can't get released fast enough while crashing! My next build will have one of those new fangled electric versions for parking on hills and as a secondary anti-theft device. Gary

 

^^ If you have a sixties/seventies american made car, you can defeat the ratchet mechanism by pulling the release handle out and using a heavy elastic band around it, with the other end on a convenient dash knob. Headlight switch was often in a good location...
and yes, this has something to do with posts #12 and #15...

 

I wouldn't build a car without one. Very useful and often required by law.
I've used the stock A ones fitted to a t5 and my '34 has a '40 hand brake up under the dash.

 

Me too, wont build a car without one, I use jap car handles and universal cable kits from my local parts guy.

 

Subscribe good information

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I am going to use Lokar parking brake set up. I used a stock A handle and modified the mount that came in the kit. I also made a cool p*** through the radius rods.

 

My Roadster has 4 wheel disc brakes so there is no E brake. A drive shaft mounted one is in the future.

 

Ok, and thank's guy's for the responses..... To keep this all in one bundle here- We've got "A" levers that are modified, Lokar items, and the DIY from other vehicles. Cables are bought/sourced/made to fit.
To help one another out here some for those of us that are doing it, or have done it- Donors? what has worked out for you?
Aftermarket= Lokar and others Possitives/Negatives?
OEM hunting=What has been the most favorable and easiest to adapt?
Go for broke with adaptations= mixed items/cobbled?
A lot of good info has been posted already. Somethings can be screwed together on a whim with part's in hand, other's need to be sourced,then there's the 1-800 call......
I'm interested in all, and no worries/opinions about achieving the goal.
A lot to think about when planning a set-up....... Thanks-Kid

 

One thing that should be done with a cable system, is that there should be some sort of equalizer, so that both cables will be pulled with the same exact tension, even if one cable stretched a tad.

This can be a loop guide, like a U, with the middle cable routed through (typical OEM 60s 70s design)...or... take a look at how old VW bugs handled that situation. They only had a right and a left cable, both running to a 3" wide flat plate with a hole at each end, and the hand lever pulled at the center, allowing same pull. If one cable was 1/8" off, the plate just leans a bit, but still has exact same force on both cables

If you run twin cables without an equalizer, you'd have a tough time getting each cable to stay adjusted, and one wheel could lock in a panic, if you yank the handle

 

^^^^^^ My Plan.......... Equalizer to two pulls....... Would be using an "U", and equal length cables aft.
I know aftermarket is available, but if I could source something oem, without junkyard scavenging, that would be the cat's ***.......= NO I don't own a cat.....
I can always use a equalizer bar system, Two cables=for/aft which would really be 3, or source a hoop for the rear. Options are open. Just not diggin' the "clamp cabling/ one size fit's all deal...... I'de rather source something that has/been in production, and is tried and true....Thanks.

 

I'm running the stock A handle modified to bolt to the side of the 700r4 trans. Looks stock inside the car and works great.
On my 51' F1 I'm also running the stock handle in the stock location, tied in to a later model GM rear. It also works well.

 

^^^^^^Hey C 51- I'm understanding the handle, and mod's to adapt, which isn't a big deal, Care to share the cable system? I'm running Ford backing plates (vague)..... Early 9'', 11'' stuff........Thanks. I do have a set of factory e-brake cables from an F-1, Same as a Merc in length, just haven't mocked up that far yet.

 

Still in the mocking stages, but early 28 with left side handle, T5 and a banjo rear. I used a handle from ??, a couple of wheels, bracket on the bottom of trans crossmember into a basic '40s set-up. For the cable I used a cable repair kit from dorman and I'm going to weld the other end on to make the stock style loop.

 

That is a good pic to show that you can put the handle anywhere, and still get a proper equal pull on the cables.

I put one arrow on the curved "cable guide" that I tried to describe earlier, and the other arrow shows the single pull from the front cable, to the guide.

 

We put a few E-brake set-up together recently. We used a variety of levers, depending on the car, couple of '35-'36 levers, a '70s Mustang II lever, a Lokar lever, and a '40 under dash lever.
But on the back side we always used the stock cables and housing that matched the axle, along with a '40 equalizer and yoke, a Help repair cable, and a couple of Help connectors. All easy to get low dollar parts.