Emergency Brake Options ??...

Paul,

What's your motivation for losing the bracket? The vendors sell a removable bracket which goes right across between the chassis rails. It is required to be able to remove the oil pan (along with the removable cross member).

You could replace the stock cable with two singles with independent adjustment, but as you say you would need to fabricate a cable sheath mount. This way you could probably get it closer to the e-brake handle, but it seems a lot of work for little gain.

Julian

Yeah, I think your right.. I'm just looking at the plumbing and kinda' wish that bracket was gone.

This was a great solution for me http://www.panteraplace.com/page137.htm and it works!

Mike

I changed to different rear calipers in mid- 1997, and built a pair of aluminum brackets that mount a sliding mechanical Wilwood e-brake caliper on each rear upright. Been running them ever since with no trouble, except that the Wilwood pads rattle a little. With the drivers window down at low speed, one can hear them. The stock Pantera e-brake handle, under-car bellcrank and stock cables all interface with the Wilwood with a couple minor tweeks. If you have back issues of the POCA News, its written up in the Oct '98 issue. Pantera East in FL now sells such a system as a bolt-on for Panteras or Vipers, saving you the fabrication. The Wilwood e-brake works no better than a stocker, but the change does allow wider rotors and/or lighter weight brake components for better handling. And the system is still a 'legal' cable operated e-brake.

The Wilwood E-brake caliper has a groove on the top for the caliper to slide back and forth on. It needs to slide because it has one piston. It uses a simple cam lever to move the cup.

I made a bracket for the MGB a number of years ago. When I did instead of using the groove I mounted it on rubber pads. In retrospect I should have built the sliding groove. The rubber does not work too bad but I may need to adjust the bracket if the pads wear much. So far no problems.

You can see the groove in the top of the caliper in the photo which should have been used for mounting:

http://www.rc-tech.net/MGB/em/cor1.jpg

http://www.rc-tech.net/MGB/em/cor2.jpg

http://www.rc-tech.net/MGB/em/fab1.jpg

http://www.rc-tech.net/MGB/em/fab2.jpg

The caliper looks very similar to go-kart calipers. Their cost is less than $50.00.
Mark

quote:

The caliper looks very similar to go-kart calipers. Their cost is less than $50.00.

Exactly, most are using the Wilwood Spot Calipers, however they don't have very big pads (i.e. contact surface for holding power). A solution for an upgrade with wide calipers is to cut the OEM calipers and weld in a slither to make them wider and retain them as an e-brake only, simple & cheap.

I fabbed up a bracket to mount an inline master cylinder which is operated by the handbrake assembly therefore acting as an actual brake rather than a line lock. Not any master cylinder will do. The correct MC's have fittings where the reservoir goes instead of the actual reservoir. Some of the rally cars use this type of braking. The fluid from the main cylinder plumbs into a fitting where the reservoir usually sits. At rest the fluid just free flows through the ebrake MC and when you need it it works in place of the main MC. The force on the caliper is enough to stall the car when engaged and I have left the car on an incline for prolonged periods of time with no issues.

Blaine

quote:

Originally posted by PanteraTurbo:
I fabbed up a bracket to mount an inline master cylinder which is operated by the handbrake assembly therefore acting as an actual brake rather than a line lock. Not any master cylinder will do. The correct MC's have fittings where the reservoir goes instead of the actual reservoir. Some of the rally cars use this type of braking. The fluid from the main cylinder plumbs into a fitting where the reservoir usually sits. At rest the fluid just free flows through the ebrake MC and when you need it it works in place of the main MC. The force on the caliper is enough to stall the car when engaged and I have left the car on an incline for prolonged periods of time with no issues.

Blaine

Any pictures?

Ron

Im sure I could get some easy enough .
Blaine

As promised here is a photo. I also moved the ebrake assembly to the drivers side of the hump. Technically I have a redundant system. With the dual MC's up front the car will still brake in case of failure of any single line and in case of pedal failure I still have the handbrake. The handbrake MC is also small enough and has enough flex in the assembly that I can get a bit of travel after it starts to get tight which in effect acts like accumulator giving me a slight safety margin in case of caliper leakage. You could also look into a pre-made unit like some of these. http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/...grp=M008&tlgrp=MS002


Blaine

...That is Good work! Will it 'Hold' on a 'San Francisco HILL' when set on a warm afternoon and going into a frigid night? That is the test...

quote:

Originally posted by MARLIN JACK:
...That is Good work! Will it 'Hold' on a 'San Francisco HILL' when set on a warm afternoon and going into a frigid night? That is the test...

I don't know that I will ever have the chance to do that test but it sits on my steep driveway all day just fine.

Blaine

Slick setup. If you have a leak will it still actuate or is only in the event of a MC failure?

Having a hyd cyl act as a parking brake is not ideal. Many have used line locks wich work ok for short duration. I know mine would bleed off withing about 30 min which would be bad if you expect you car to be parked where you left it.

Bleed back is one problem but change in temp as mentioned is another.

In the airplanes we have hydraulic line lock parking brakes. These are intended only for deplaning and starting the engines. They give you enough time to shut down and block the wheels on the jet.

At the same time setting the parking brake allows you to pull the wheel blocks and get the engines fired up. They are not to be left on continuously and in fact they have a relieve valve should a temperature change exceed maximum pressure.

Gary

I agree with Gary and would probably not park my car on very steep hill for extended periods. That being said I do feel the way my system is setup would be slightly superior to a line lock as there is some room for expansion and leakage. If one were to get creative they could incorporate a spring into the system which would allow a bit more safety.

Blaine

Reminds me of a truck I had in college with a weak battery. I would park it on a hill. If I could not get it fired up in the morning I would just let it roll down the hill and pop the clutch! We all had something like that at one time right?

quote:

Originally posted by Husker:
Slick setup. If you have a leak will it still actuate or is only in the event of a MC failure?

If there is a leak in the rear calipers or lines it wont work. In that particular case the front brakes would still work as I have a balance bar assembly with a MC for the front and a MC for the rear.

Blaine

quote:

Originally posted by comp2:
Reminds me of a truck I had in college with a weak battery. I would park it on a hill. If I could not get it fired up in the morning I would just let it roll down the hill and pop the clutch! We all had something like that at one time right?

You bet!! I didnt have a hill though just a couple of friends.