What are some options for building a parking brake setup (other than original). Im sure someone has used driveshaft mounted, or some other creative style. What are my options here??
1. adapt supra, 300zx rear disc with drum parking brake, cable operated. use a hand brake from toyota trucks, etc.
Early '50s Chryslers ('51 Dodge Coronet for one, I think) used a real simple band-brake on the driveshaft. As I recall the driveshafts were about the same diameter as most others so I suspect this could be adapted to other cars if you could find one. All you would need is a cable to apply/release it and a handle with adequate leverage. Also have seen some street-rods with a mechanical disk brake mounted on the rear axle yoke. This looks really simple and I think somebody (TCI?) was selling this set-up at one time with pre-fab brkts for popular rears. I would like to know if anybody knows if these are still being made...
What are you running for rear brakes? I ask because most creative options are going to involve either machine work and fabrication or special aftermarket parts, so it would be nice to know what the setup is...
Bruce; I don't know about the guy that originated the thread but I have a '55 Chevy Wagon on '74 Olds Cutl*** ch***is with the original Olds rear. I could obviously use the stock Chevy lever/mech. and front cable with the Olds rear cables and just cut the long one to fit but I kinda liked the disk set-up I have seen, any leads would be appreciated!
There are or used to be mechanical add-on calipers for rear discs, from street rod type sources--I suspect they would be very weak as brakes but adequate for legal requirements. They just mount like the main caliper on an extra tab welded to bracket. There are at least two or three sizes (79 trans am, later F body, Caddy small and large types) of GM rear calipers with caliper E-brakes, but they are heavy and troublesome. Are there any recent kits using the Ford discs that have drum type E-brakes? Here's a sample of the separate caliper type--enlarge the pic of the whole kit: http://superchevy.com/technical/ch***is/brakes/03s6sc_ssbc_copy/ Apparently there are a number of different ones out there.
Bruce; Thanks again for this excellent info - the Super Chevy article on rear-disc kit install was very good! I have a couple late-model F-O-R-D "Panthers" with the lighter-weight rear disk using internal drum E-brakes so I know what you are talking about relative to these being a nice compact unit. (They also seem to be prone to failure! I think the problem is the self-adjust mech. that tends to overdo the job - I think you could toss the self-adjusters and just adjust periodically using the cable tensioner for a more reliable set-up...). (BTW: My "Panthers" are '99 and '01 with the 8.8-inch rear - don't know what kind of E-brake set-up was used on the 9-inchers from Mercury Versailles, etc. that are the popular set-up for rear-disk axle swaps...) I will have to look through my ancient Speed Equip't catalogs and see if I can find one with the disk-type pinion yoke set-up I was visualizing. It would not be hard to do from scratch even though, as you say, this type of E-brake is gonna be relatively weak! For my purposes I am only concerned with meeting the legal requirements so anything that holds the car against moving in gear for State Safety Insp. and releases reliably would do the job... Thanks and Regards!
I think TCI as someone said up there is the source for pinion ones--I'm pretty sure someone makes them still.
this is not much for an emergency but works to hold the car. Use a line lock with a on/off switch for when you are parked also works for its intended use if sewt up on the front brakes. just make sure your brake pressure switch is before it.
Yes! This is what I had in mind - simple if not too robust! I also like the line-loc idea - it would probably p*** State Safety Inspection! Thanks to all those who submitted ideas so far - I think the guy that started this thread has plenty of options now!
If you got juice brakes you can use a line lock for a parking brake. or we used to use a valve with a little handle on it called a micro, it worked on the same principle as a line lock but it was mechanical instead of useing an electric soloniod. It was real common on older commercial trucks from say the '50s - the '70s that had juice brakes. If you need a mechanicle e brake you can get one from the roundy round guys that rigs up a mech. disc to the yolk on your rearend. Then there is always the old MOPAR option of a drum type setup that connects to the front of the drive shaft, they used that setup from as far back as '23 that I know of personaly, perhaps earlier than that.
So I'm guessing what porkn****** is saying relative to the "micro" is you just push-down on the pedal to set the brake then use a shut-off valve between the master cylinder and wheel cylinders to prevent the pressure from bleeding-back into the master cylinder when you let-up on the pedal? Ooh, cheap and dirty! Just the thing for H.A.M.B.
Another option. (as long as you have a parking brake in the rear drums or discs?) control cables makes e-brake handles, fittings, cables and adaptors. You can tell them the rear drums/discs along with e-brake hookup and they will make the cables. Posssibly they have a cable that will work for your application. Here is there website. http://www.controlcables.com/
lot of good info. I like the line loc idea, but it wont really work in the event of an emergency (brakeline failure), like a mechanical one would. Im sure it works great for parking etc.
There is the Explorer rear disc unit that has the E-Brake in the rear disc. TCI and a few others sell em.
50chevy: This is a great source for lots of rod H/W! Thanks for the link! I also appreciated the guy that suggested "dropping it on the frame"! Now that is a real "hard-core" solution - if only DMV had a sense of humor!
In Ontario it is not legal to use any form of emergency /parking brake that depends on the braking systems hydraulic power. The reasoning is that if you have a master cylinder failure, any form of line-loc e-brake would be rendered inoperative.
the mico brake lock could be used as a parking brake, but not as an emergency brake. I vote for using the rear brakes on a "modern" rearend, running cables and a pedal or lever as needed, and make sure it works. You never know when you might need it.
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