%*!##! Handbrake part two

[Tinster]

<span style="color: #000099">I hope there is a special extra hot cave in heck for
designers who create parts combinations, they themselves
could never assemble. Hateful, hateful, hateful hand brake assembly!!

Why -0h- Why did I ever decide to make my hand brake fully
functional... when I remember the torture and agony
installing it the first time- with slack in the cables??

Now that the center of my car is once again torn open
and the hand brake in individual pieces, I am still unclear
how the spring and button fit into the scheme of things.

Does the small, semi-loop at the very end of the spring,
slide down the arm shaft, with radius against the metal arm?

Does the semi-loop slide over top of the small hinged,
single tooth arm, inside the handbrake lever??

If this concept is correct? Do I wrap everything in strong
tape to hold it together while I try to thread the eye of the
needle with bushings, bolt, etc?

BTW- I did not have the energy to remove my rear end twice
in one week. I am working with hand brake cables under tension.
I've come up with a way to get the assembly apart under tension.
Put back together might be a different story.

thanks,

d
d</span>

 

[TR6oldtimer]

For parking, these would be simpler.

 

[TR4nut]

Does the semi-loop slide over top of the small hinged,
single tooth arm, inside the handbrake lever??

Dale-

Haven't done one of those in years, but I was thinking the above was the way it works. By doing it that way, the tooth arm holds the button and spring in place. The spring in turn, provides tension to engage the tooth arm, and when you push the button you push the arm off the other toothed piece. The figure the online catalog shows doesn't make much sense to me, which makes me think it is wrong - the way it is shown in the catalog is more like a TR3 or TR4 setup where you push the button to set the brake, not release it.

Just a thought.
Randy

 

[Tinster]

For parking, these would be simpler.

<span style="color: #000099">Ray- I have a set of the identical chocks in black
plastic. I have been using them now almost three years since my
hand brake was not functional.

Sometimes, I could kick myself in the rear end for being so stubborn
when it comes to loose ends. I am of the super old school where we
leave the car in gear and turn the front wheels into the curb.
The emergency brake is an afterthought and not to be trusted.

I know my car is a POS, compared to all the fantastic restored Triumphs
in America, but still I am trying to make everything at least mostly
functional. I ain't no Pedro and I hope the Good Lord zaps me with lightning,
if ever I get a Pedro-ized concept thought.

I'll plug away at it and maybe write up a "How to" for BobbyD!!

This is a tiny but PITA prject.

regards,

dale</span>

 

[Dudly]

Dale,
I've seen your TR, and it's no POS!
one thing I can say bout my rather short tenure with my first LBC is there is a wide variety of state of condition. There was a great article in hemmings a while back, think it was "Drivable Dream" segment, anyhow this guy had an MGB GT in various stages of decay, but it ran, and he was having a blast with it in the snowy reaches of New England.

Kinda reminded me of my dad, he had this 74 olds Delta 88. He loved the darn thing, equal parts mold and salt crystals growing in the rear seat, broken rear end, exhaust made of tin cans, wire hangers. The whole block knew when dad turned on the street.

My spit is solid, but far from A-1. IN some ways I'm attracted to it's patina, it's flaws.

Anyway, I don't know where I was going with this...

P.S. My 10yo daughter can push my spit with the emergency brake set.

 

[Tinster]

I am going to perform the very first Dales originated
Pedro-ized restore/repair.

I have spent six hours today attempting to connect the hand brake arm,
spring and plastic button to my newly adjusted
hand brake cables.

One of the few total attempt failures on my part. Now I kinda
understand why FDPO Pedro sold me the car without a functional handbreak.
If F-Pedro's juckyard mechanic could not do, there was a good possibility
it was beyeond me. And it was.

I am going back to a nice looking but(non functional hand break) and leave
my car in gear and install chocks, as I have for three years.

My car is hardy a barely a driver, won't win any beauty
contests so why should it matter some componets are non-funtional ut look good?

Maybe in the future, my health will improve and I can spend another solid
week tearing out the rear end to set the hand brakes?? For now.- in gear
with chocks will do just fine.

d

 

[TR6oldtimer]

<span style="color: #000099">Ray- I have a set of the identical chocks in black
plastic. I have been using them now almost three years since my
hand brake was not functional.

Sometimes, I could kick myself in the rear end for being so stubborn
when it comes to loose ends. I am of the super old school where we
leave the car in gear and turn the front wheels into the curb.
The emergency brake is an afterthought and not to be trusted.

I know my car is a POS, compared to all the fantastic restored Triumphs
in America, but still I am trying to make everything at least mostly
functional. I ain't no Pedro and I hope the Good Lord zaps me with lightning,
if ever I get a Pedro-ized concept thought.

I'll plug away at it and maybe write up a "How to" for BobbyD!!

This is a tiny but PITA project.

regards,

dale</span>

Just a little kidding on my part. I too learned the wheels to the curb and in gear thing. Once when I was 7 years or so old, in a school bus, parked on a hill, and the driver stepped outside, I jumped into the drivers seat and pushed in the clutch. The parking brake on the bus failed, and it started down the hill. Fortunately it only went about five feet onto the sidewalk and hit a pole.

Needless to say, I got a whipping.

As to your car, I do not think it is a POS and have to hand it to you for your tenacity. Many others would have crushed it long ago.

The parking brake handle is a pain here is some help

Notice the release rod goes over the small cog. The only way to get it in place is to remove the handle so the little cog is not engaged in the larger one, then the swearing begins.

 

[Tinster]

thanks Ray- I've not tried that particular combo.

<span style="color: #CC0000"> Edit: My bad, yes I tried that combo many times with much swearing.

I am pointing more and more to the "cosmetic" handbrake
with chocks for actually stoppiong..</span>

d

 

[Andrew Mace]

...I have spent six hours today attempting to connect the hand brake arm, spring and plastic button to my newly adjusted hand brake cables.

One of the few total attempt failures on my part. Now I kinda
understand why FDPO Pedro sold me the car without a functional handbreak....I am going back to a nice looking but (nonfunctional hand break) and leave my car in gear and install chocks, as I have for three years.

My car is hardy a barely a driver, won't win any beauty
contests so why should it matter some componets are non-funtional ut look good?

Well, the next time you find yourself with faulty hydraulic brakes and you pull on that e-brake handle, you might realize why it matters.

Perhaps the secret in assembling all this properly is to forget about the fact that you'd had "newly adjusted hand brake cables"? Disconnect or loosen them enough to work through the handle assembly, then reconnect/readjust the cables...which you'd likely have to do, anyway.

 

[IanF]

I feel your pain... I'm sitting here racking my brain trying to remember what I did to install/assemble the similar Spitfire hand brake in Robyn's car... It was annoying, but I don't remember it taking more than an hour or so.

Would disconnecting or slacking the cable at the rear wheels help? I'm pretty sure I installed the handle with the cables disconnected at the rear. Then re-adjust after assembly.

edit: yeah... what Andy said...

I do remember when I took the hand brake apart, I spent a solid hour fiddling with it so I understood how it worked so I'd be able to put it back together again months later. Plus, I stored it assembled.

 

[tdskip]

Well, the next time you find yourself with faulty hydraulic brakes and you pull on that e-brake handle, you might realize why it matters.

YES - ebrake, not parking brake.

I personally am not going to drive the TR6 more than around the block without it working.

 

[IanF]

I think it technically <span style="font-style: italic">is</span> considered a "parking" brake rather than an "E-brake". The difference being an e-brake is a redundant braking system completely separate from the car's normal braking.

This is actually somewhat rare and even most modern car's don't have them (our MINI's and my VW don't - it's integrated into the rear calipers). The Volvo actually does - a cable operated drum brake inside the rear brake rotor hat. Robyn's old '97 BMW had a similar set-up.

Not saying that I would want to drive far w/o a working one. The Volvo's is marginal, but fortunately the complicated dual circuit set-up provides a certain level of extra security.

 

[BobbyD]

Well, the next time you find yourself with faulty hydraulic brakes and you pull on that e-brake handle, you might realize why it matters.

YES - ebrake, not parking brake.

I personally am not going to drive the TR6 more than around the block without it working.

I second that statement. I did drive home, a very short distance, when my M/C decided to puke its guts in to the servo and engine bay. The EMERGENCY brake got me home as I had very little hydraulic braking. I'd never drive without one in good working order.

 

[BobbyD]

The only way I could do it with the cables still attached was to remove the handbrake from the bracket by taking out bolt DR8. I'm assuming the button and rod (DR3) are attached. Put the button, rod and spring down through the handle and get the end of the rod to engage the hole in DR5 (in the <span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">purple circle</span></span>). The I rotated DR5 so that the button popped out the top of the handle and tapped the button and the handle together. That maintains tension on DR5 so that the rod doesn't come unhooked. Ray's picture above shows how that lip on part DR7 catches the whole mounting bracket.

That was the easy part. The swearing part was getting those <span style="font-weight: bold">pieces with the red arrow all lined up</span> so that the bolt could pass through the whole thing. I used lots of new words, patience, awls, tapered punches etc to try and get it lined up. But that bolt will fit.

 

[Tinster]

So OK!! The very first assembly Dale has Pedro-ized.
Eventually I will un-Pedro-ize it. But not soon.

I removed the rear end suspension components on both sides:
I took up the slack in the my brand new hand brake cables, I adjusted my brand new TRF brake shoes, I added grease into every zerk I could reach, I inspected all my brand new suspension bushings and checked torque readings.


I put a torque wrench on every fastener according to Bently.
I lightly coated every fastener head with grease to slow down the salt air rusting. Thezn I put everything back togehte r all worked just great....except the hand brake ratchet gear.

I could NOT get he hand brake ratchet functional, not matter what it did, short of stripping the rear suspension again in less than one week. That was over 40 hours I care NOT to repeat for a stupid hand brake rathcet.

I have a functional hand break now but it will NOT lock in place. So be it- We are talking about the Crypt Car not
Paul or BobbyD's muesum car.

thamks,

dale- I just gonna drive my POS, AAMCO painted, maybe breaks down, pedro-ized but but getting better-1969 TR6.

dale

 

[Tinster]

Reply----------

My problem exzctly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rlandrum]

Interesting. I was under the impression that the TR6 was a "push-to-release" handbrake, not a "push-to-set".

Dale, are you sure you're operating the brake correctly? It would appear to me to be set by lifting up, pressing the button and holding it, while releasing tension on the handle.

I could be wrong...

 

[TR4nut]

Bob-

Your drawing shows exactly my earlier point. If the rod is attached to the hole you've shown with the arrow, when you push the button, you would move part DR5 foward and engage it with DR7. Are you sure about that? That is more of a TR3 style engagement. Isn't a TR6 handle push to disengage?

Randy


edit: too slow at typing, what rlandrum said!

 

[TR3driver]

Perhaps the secret in assembling all this properly is to forget about the fact that you'd had "newly adjusted hand brake cables"?

Should be no need to lose the adjustment. Just pull out the pins where the cables attach to the levers at the rear brakes. That should give you enough slack to work on the handle. When you are done, as long as you've not moved the handle's pivot point on the body, you should be able to just put the pins back in and have the cables still adjusted.

As I mentioned in the other thread on this subject, I learned the hard way some years ago that a working handbrake is a necessity. Had my TR3A parked in the 'overflow' parking at the condo I lived in, on a rather steep hill. Needed to get the car ready to move as we had lost our lease, so I hopped into it and headed down into the underground parking garage. Halfway down the hill (past the point of no return) I discovered that ALL of the brake fluid was still back in the overflow parking; the pedal just dangled loosely.

Did everything I knew how to stop the car, including racing the engine to get it into 1st gear (no synchromesh on a TR3A) then shutting the engine off completely; plus weaving back and forth and literally dragging my left foot on the pavement. (Ruined my shoe, too.) I honestly thought I had it slow enough that it wouldn't jump the curb at the end, but I was wrong. Mashed the bumper and apron back into the radiator.

Later I lost the car entirely ... the old manager said it could stay in the overflow parking for another month, but the new manager had it towed away the very next day. By the time I went looking for it, it had supposedly already been crushed.

 

[TR3driver]

Nope, nope ... the TR6 never had a "fly off" handbrake, you have to push the button to release the brake. Consequently, the rod does NOT go through that hole as Bob has shown.