Update on brake imbalance

Kelly - There is no way just having my e-brake disconnected would keep me from Carlisle.  What HAVE you been smokin'?

I like the idea of redundancy, but the hydraulic line-lock does sound like an interesting alternative.  I could then cover the e-brake bracket with an armrest.

It's called a parking brake, Gordo. Important if you're fueling up and stuff or just heading out for a quick one before taking off again..... ?

And Laner...think of the possibilities....ice, JD, papers, etc....arm rest ?

Well, armrest with a storage area under it.

The thing about a "line-lock" parking brake is that it still relies on the hydraulic brakes to stop the car. It might be a "parking brake", but it is by no means an "emergency brake". If your regular brakes won't stop the car due to a m/c failure, a ruptured line, or whatever-- a line-lock is not going to stop the car either. A cable-actuated brake will. That's why it's called an "emergency brake", and it's why most states require it. It's a redundancy on the most important system on your car.

Lane- Before doing away with your parking brake altogether, it might be a good idea to check with your local department of motor vehicles; most jurisdictions require a working mechanical parking brake that operates independently of the hydraulic system to be street legal. All it would take is an officer looking at your car and noticing parts missing and then the fun would begin... Al

PS- If the problem is that the cables are too short, the solution is to buy some new cables, cut them to length (use an old cable as a guide so you don't go too short again) and install. Not terribly difficult, and less work than plumbing in a line lock.

PPSS- Didn't see Stan's blurb before I posted; what he said...

Waiting to hear the next Chapter from Lane about all of this.  Guy sure does have a lot of "fun" w/ his hobby car . . .

David,

How's going, eh?  I've been copying some of your posts here, w/ grand amusement, and some interest, esp'y the bit about your hardtop.  How's that one going to shake out?  Seems to me there is nothing that you will not and cannot tackle when it comes to working on the car.  I look fwd to admiring the progress to date come the middle of May and the Carlisle meet, plus a few pints, and such.  Stay safe in the meantime, and wear the damn sunscreen.

"fun"  Yeah, you're right, Kelly.  It's at least partially because I can't leave well enough alone.

ALB - That's funny!  Everybody knows there are no DMV regulations to speak of in South Carolina.

That certainly makes things easier...

E-brake, P-brake.  I have a P-brake.  If I get in a bind w/ a hydraulic system failure while moving, I'll be hitting the lower gears, and turning off the key and hoping for the best.  And w/ no inspection of Street Rods in MD (a BIG loop hole if you ask me), I can get by w/ this arrangement.  PS:  I still have the handle, brackets and cables that could be connected to the e-brake actuator on my rear disks.  All the hardware is available if I have to go that way.  And if I could hide the handle under the dash, I'd do that, but I understand that the traditional umbrella handle installation deal is a nightmare: cutting body parts, fabing and welding custom brackets, and God only knows exactly what.

And Lane, the line-lock gizzy in the cabin is quite small, on the order of what your headlight push-pull switch on your dash looks like, so it does not need an arm rest to cover it.  Mine hides behind the seat, attached to the floor.  I'll show it to you at Carlisle, and you can see.  You can even ask John Steele about how to put one in, although I think it is pretty straight fwd, if you are OK w/ cutting the rear brake line and dicking around w/ small flared fittings -- and if you can deal with John . . .

You know, for all the effort of adding a brake line-lock, you could buy a pair of new, stock, VW e-brake cables and have a local rigger make them whatever length you think you need for them to work properly.

I'm jus' sayin........

Exactly, Gordon. I couldn't agree with you more. Lane, just measure them up, buy new stock ones, and take them to a boat shop for a swaged end.

For me, the only reason to have a line lock would be for a solenoid-operated staging brake(fronts only) for drag racing!

Is this fixed, yet??  Hope so.

I haven't worked on it in two weeks.  The weather is so nice, I've just been driving it.  The brakes are working fine, and the leak appears to be fixed, but the e-brake cables are still disconnected.  I'll get around to it before Carlisle - or not.

10-4.  I was having trouble gauging your state of distress over this, which seemed quite high at one point.  Very glad to hear the leak thing was not compounding the problem, and you now down to your normal state of distress.  Good on ya . . .