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Technical 1932 ford roadster parking brake

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by Sdsurfer01, Jun 8, 2023.

  1. Sdsurfer01
    Joined: Jul 2, 2020
    Posts: 158

    Sdsurfer01

    I’m redoing the brake lines on my grandpas 1932 ford roadster and wanting to add an emergency brake. I bought a floor mount universal kit due to leg room. I was looking at the rear wheels and can’t seem to get how to route the cables. It appears the angle is too high.

    Anyone have any pictures or ideas how to do it? I’ve been looking around the forums but can’t find a photo example of how to route outside the wheel and not have a tight bend.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Apr 28, 2025
  2. alchemy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2002
    Posts: 22,556

    alchemy
    Member

    On my 32 rear with 40 brakes, the stock style cable runs to an eyebolt I put in the wishbone and the stock midpoint hole. I use a stock actuating arm inside, but I had to build a lever that multiplies the ratio since I wasn’t using the stock Zbar at the back side of the K member.

    I’ve never had any problems with the angle you are concerned about.
     
  3. glennpm
    Joined: Mar 29, 2015
    Posts: 230

    glennpm

    You have welded the rear of the wishbone to the axle housing. The hydraulic brake line should be at the 12:00 position. I have a 40 rearend in my 32 and the parking brake pipe outlet does angle up. The cable , after esiting the pipe, is sloped down and through a rubber lined bracket.

    DSCN2187.JPG DSCN2189.JPG DSCN1453.JPG
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2023
  4. alchemy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2002
    Posts: 22,556

    alchemy
    Member

    Glen, he has a stock 32 B rearend, and I doubt the angle of the brakes have been changed. That’s just the way 40 brakes line up when you bolt them on.
     
  5. glennpm
    Joined: Mar 29, 2015
    Posts: 230

    glennpm

    Okay, thanks for the correction
     
  6. solidaxle
    Joined: Jan 6, 2011
    Posts: 675

    solidaxle
    Member
    from Upstate,NY

    I was able to bend the tubes down a little. Be careful not to kink them.
     
  7. solidaxle
    Joined: Jan 6, 2011
    Posts: 675

    solidaxle
    Member
    from Upstate,NY

    You may want to run the cable under the wishbone like Glen did. Mine had the cable over the wishbone and it rubbed. It has since been converted. Before you install the floor mount universal kit make sure the cable will clear the wishbone.
     
    Rally 1 likes this.
  8. NealinCA
    Joined: Dec 12, 2001
    Posts: 3,477

    NealinCA
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I have a couple cars with 32 rear ends, 40 brakes and E-brake hooked up using the Early V8 Garage kit.
    The cable ends up right below the radius rods. Here is the rear end that went under my sedan (shown upside down here)
    [​IMG]
    and Under the car.
    [​IMG]

    and the same set up under my pickup

    [​IMG]
     
    Speccie and teach'm like this.
  9. RockyMtnWay
    Joined: Jan 6, 2015
    Posts: 586

    RockyMtnWay
    Member

    I sometimes need to take an emergency break. :p
    Often for a cool cocktail.
    But you are probably talking about your emergency brake.
    Thanks for the chuckle.
     
  10. glennpm
    Joined: Mar 29, 2015
    Posts: 230

    glennpm

    Great pictures Neal

    Glenn M
     
  11. da34guy
    Joined: Jun 13, 2006
    Posts: 3,708

    da34guy
    Member Emeritus

    $ 2 solution The Brick @ Bako.jpg
     
    Stan Back likes this.
  12. Sdsurfer01
    Joined: Jul 2, 2020
    Posts: 158

    Sdsurfer01

    Thank you all for the photos. Huge help!

    Sorry long weekend of non car stuff I had to do :(

    I’ll try to get working on it this week after work and update with photos and questions when they come up.
     
    Just Gary likes this.
  13. Sdsurfer01
    Joined: Jul 2, 2020
    Posts: 158

    Sdsurfer01

    Resurrecting my long dead thread…

    I got e-brake to work going under wishbone and doing a floor mounted Lokar.

    all was great till I upgraded my rear brakes to the bendix style brakes from Boling brothers… Now when I pull brake the cable doesn’t engage the brakes fully.

    It’s like the throw isn’t enough, thoughts? Anyone else have this issue? Only thing I can think of is having the cable hold just enough tension so the ebrake arm isn’t fully disengaged but not pushing the brakes? Doesn’t seem like a good idea though….?
     
  14. alchemy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2002
    Posts: 22,556

    alchemy
    Member

    As I said way above, I made an idler type arm to correct the difference between the lever’s pull length and the brake unit’s needed pull distance. It is right behind the K member, with the stock long cable attached to one end and a pivot to the frame on the other. The connector link to the handle connects in the middle-ish.
     
    Automotive Stud likes this.
  15. Sdsurfer01
    Joined: Jul 2, 2020
    Posts: 158

    Sdsurfer01

    @alchemy great thank you, I read your earlier post and will have to think about the geometry’s of this.

    do you have any photos?

    thank you
     
  16. Automotive Stud
    Joined: Sep 26, 2004
    Posts: 4,390

    Automotive Stud
    Member

    Not the most outstanding picture, but I built something similar to alchemy on my roadster. Left is front, right side is the rear. I used a stock 46-48 rear ebrake cable loop and cables. I copied a shoebox ford I had laying around. It pivots on the passenger side. I used a small piece of angle iron, welded a tab on the end and cut a slot to hold the cable.

    thumbnail_20170911_204819.jpg
     
  17. Sdsurfer01
    Joined: Jul 2, 2020
    Posts: 158

    Sdsurfer01

  18. solidaxle
    Joined: Jan 6, 2011
    Posts: 675

    solidaxle
    Member
    from Upstate,NY

    Pictures would be helpful.
     
  19. Sdsurfer01
    Joined: Jul 2, 2020
    Posts: 158

    Sdsurfer01

    Soooo….
    After spending about 12hrs the last week making a bracket similar to what people have recommended I was fitting it yesterday and pulling the parking brake cable by hand to calculate its movement. I noticed the wheel I was using as my reference point for all my parking beake tests was super easy to pull 5 inches and the other wheel got hard to pull after 1 inch…

    key test when working on your emergency brake… make sure the cable is in that arm inside the wheel…. I took off the hub and noticed the cable on my reference wheel had fallen out…. :(

    Put that back in and was able to adjust tension and use my original setup without having to use my angle pivot bracket I had just made… haha

    thanks for everyone’s help, I hope someone sees this in the future and checks that first….
     
    RICH B likes this.
  20. Happydaze
    Joined: Aug 21, 2009
    Posts: 2,332

    Happydaze
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Oh dear, ha ha, but I suppose that's a win!! Time is free, isn't it!?

    Chris
     
  21. jimmy six
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 16,931

    jimmy six
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I’ve never seen a parking “break” but I have changed frayed parking brake cables before.
     
  22. Sdsurfer01
    Joined: Jul 2, 2020
    Posts: 158

    Sdsurfer01

    Haha, I just noticed the post title…

    I have updated for future reference when people search
     
    jimmy six likes this.
  23. Sdsurfer01
    Joined: Jul 2, 2020
    Posts: 158

    Sdsurfer01

    Soooo… I’m not as strong as I thought I was…
    Even though I couldn’t push the tires when jacked up I took it out of the garage and the parking brake didn’t work….

    The adjustment I made on the parking brake cables (tightening them up) caused it to drag the rear brake shoes a little, which I thought wasn’t to noticeable, but it was…

    so back to trying to make a bracket.
    I’ll post photos and other questions if I run into issues.

    thanks for everyone’s help
     
  24. glennpm
    Joined: Mar 29, 2015
    Posts: 230

    glennpm

    This came up on the BARN not to long ago.

    https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2359777&postcount=115

    "Ok. Here is what I did. Took "Vincent's" suggestion of not extending the upper handle travel, but extended to extreme bottom of the handle, and leave the "paw" alone to get the more cable travel to lock up the rear brakes.

    IT WORKED!

    Glenn, I extended the handle "below" your bottom "L-2" mark, 2". Left the "paw" ratcheting mechanism, and your "L-2" measurement the way it was.

    Drilled 3, 5/16" holes 5/8" apart and 5/8" from the bottom "L-2" hole. (wasn't sure how far from the bottom "L-2" hole to drill the new hole in the extended part to get the required pull on the cable. So I guessed one of the three holes would work. You know, "Jethro Bodine" siphern. "Ought into ought and carry five")

    I had to do some fancy trial and error bending of the rod and clevis's since the newly drilled holes in the handle extension and the pivot arm assembly were now below the access hole in the "K"-Member. Got it so the full travel of the hand brake lever, the rod and clevis is not binding anywhere in the access hole, and the rear brake will fully lock up, and fully release with no drag!"
     
  25. Sdsurfer01
    Joined: Jul 2, 2020
    Posts: 158

    Sdsurfer01

    Thank you for the info. I had not thought of moving the handle clevis mounting point lower. Makes sense on increasing throw. I’ll check that out this weekend
     
  26. glennpm
    Joined: Mar 29, 2015
    Posts: 230

    glennpm

    Good and you're welcome. I asked the poster to put up some pics a few minutes ago.
     
  27. glennpm
    Joined: Mar 29, 2015
    Posts: 230

    glennpm

    I have a '40 rear-end in my '32. I made my own short cable from the E-brake clevis to the torque tube mounted clevis. I then shortened the rear cable.

    - First screwed both ends into their respective clevis yokes probably about 3/8" each
    - I cut the rear cable and then vice gripped the over lapping ends until I had the rear brakes shoes just tight enough, not binding but not loose.
    - I marked each cut end on the uncut cable.
    - I trimmed excess length and then used Nico fittings, first just one, verifying that the cable was tight enough to lock the brakes.
    - Once set, I slipped the other coupling on and crimped that one too.

    Front cable Rear mount.jpg Shortened 40 rear cable 1.jpg Shortened 40 rear cable crimp clamps.jpg
     
  28. Sdsurfer01
    Joined: Jul 2, 2020
    Posts: 158

    Sdsurfer01

    That looks nice!
    I finally broke down and bought a new parking brake handle that had a longer throw. It’s not pretty but it does the job, aka: works...

    Got off Amazon, has about a 4 inch throw compared to the 1 inch throw the lokar one had.

    I tried extending the lokar pivot point down and no luck, then I tried making a bar halfway down to pivot and increase the throw and that didn’t work.
     

    Attached Files:

  29. Happydaze
    Joined: Aug 21, 2009
    Posts: 2,332

    Happydaze
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Removing the rubber handle grip should help in the appearance department.

    Chris
     

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