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Lokar's Universal E-Brake Cables - Easy Hook-UpWhile Lokar's Universal E-Brake Cables Are Simple To Fit, Routing Them Under The Purple Pig Wasn't So Easy From the April, 2011 issue of Rod & Custom By Kev Elliot
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There are certain components that never seem to make it onto some project builds, but really should. I'm thinking stuff like wipers and windshield washers, especially on cars built in the drier, Southwestern states. An emergency brake is another item that seems to be missing on an alarming number of projects. If you've ever had your brake system fail totally, you'll appreciate the value of a back-up system, especially with an automatic transmission! Of course an e-brake is not just for use in emergencies, but useful when parking, especially on a hill, or to stop a car from moving when it's started in gear because there's no neutral safety switch fitted-another item often overlooked! Add in the fact that the Purple Pig project Chevy will carry children-hence the seatbelts in the back-and there's no way I wasn't going to fit an e-brake. On the left is a pair of Lokar... On the left is a pair of Lokar universal emergency brake cables. The ends with the springs locate in the e-brake mechanism inside the rear brakes, while the other end is cut to length to suit each application. Also included is the adjuster bracket, as well as the junction block and clevis to attach to the lever. On the right is the cable that connects the first two cables to an under-dash e-brake lever. Lokar very kindly supplied me with both a floor-mount handbrake and their under-dash emergency brake lever, so I could trial fit each and see which worked best for me. I really wanted to use the under-dash version to keep the floor uncluttered, but there was no way I could see to make it fit the Chevy easily and be unobtrusive. Checking STREET RODDER magazine's Road Tour '52 Chevy, which happened to be in our Tech Center at the time, revealed that though it had an under-dash e-brake, it's foot-operated, plus the builder had cut into the footwell panel and created a box for it to fit into. I'm too far down the road to start cutting my car up at this point, plus my fuse panel is mounted there so that would need moving too. Sure, I could have planned for this earlier, but it's hard to remember everything, and my head still hurts from packaging the fuel, air, and brake lines, wiring, and exhausts to fit over and around the rearend! So I elected to use the floor-mounted e-brake lever. Obviously the e-brake lever needs to be easily reached from the driver's seat, and bearing in mind the whole top of the trans tunnel is removable in a '49 Chevy, I was left with three options for a suitable mounting position: to the left or right of the tunnel, or to the left of the seat, just inboard of the rocker panel. The most unobtrusive position would have been to the left of the tunnel, immediately behind my right foot when sat in the car, but even a cursory glance underneath revealed there was simply no room for the cables and bracketry, as the exhaust, brake master cylinder, and shifter arm take up all available space there. I could have fitted it by the rocker panel, and clearance the chassis outriggers to run the cables, but decided I'd end up tripping over the lever on a regular basis when exiting the car. Not how I like to arrive at shows! The third option proved to be the easiest in terms of mounting the lever and running the cables, and is still accessible from the driver seat, though I'd ideally not wanted the lever on the passenger side of the car, it was a small compromise for safety.  Here's Lokar's under-dash...  Here's Lokar's under-dash lever on the left, and the floor-mount lever on the right. Associated bracketry and mounting hardware is included for each. I opted for the floor-mount lever for reasons described in the text.  Here's the position in which...  Here's the position in which I eventually chose to mount the lever, to the right of the trans tunnel, and as close to it as possible on the flat section of floor.  After checking that the lever...  After checking that the lever cleared the seat in its fully up position, even with the seat as far forward as it could move on the sliders, I marked and cut a slot in the floor. I placed a fire-retardant blanket under the seat.  Removing the cotter pin and...  Removing the cotter pin and pivot releases the clevis supplied with the lever. This way the slot in the floor only needs to be as wide as the chromed lever handle.  Though supplied with nyloc...  Though supplied with nyloc hardware, I used regular nuts and bolts for trial fitting, using the nylocs for final assembly. Note some holes are larger than others on the L-brackets. The smaller holes are for the bolts shown here, the larger ones to mount to the floor. I rectified this prior to installation.  Seen from underneath the car,...  Seen from underneath the car, I chose to mount the lever here as the rearmost two mounting holes could be drilled through the front of a body crossmember, as well as the floor, offering increased strength as the bolts pass through two layers of steel and not just the floor.  Packaging everything under...  Packaging everything under this car has become something of a nightmare, and the e-brake cables should be routed as straight, and with as few bends as possible, and definitely no tight kinks. Ideally, I'd have routed the cables parallel with the exhaust shown here, but as it passes through the crossmember shown, the exhaust immediately turns to the right, so I elected to run the cables down at an angle through the crossmember and under the exhaust. Here I'm planning the route and measuring the length of what will be the cable adjuster bracket.  After fabricating the bracket,...  After fabricating the bracket, I used Rotabroaches to drill mounting holes, as well as these two holes for the cables to pass through the Classic Performance Products (CPP) crossmember.  Here's the bracket fabricated...  Here's the bracket fabricated and installed. The route the cables will take should now be clear to see, with easy access to the cable adjusters.  The Lokar e-brake cables are...  The Lokar e-brake cables are simple to install. With the inner cable removed, the end of the outer cable passes through the brake backing plate.  It's not necessary to strip...  It's not necessary to strip the brake shoes, adjusters, and springs from the backing plate to install the cables (at least not with a Ford axle, I can't vouch for other applications). There's sufficient access to get to the lock nut with a wrench.  I was going to remove the...  I was going to remove the lower spring mounts on the CPP trailing arms as I don't need them for my application, but they proved ideal to mount the outer cable on the passenger side. This prevents the cable rubbing on the chassis when the suspension's fully dropped, as shown here. Air suspension certainly creates a challenge when fitting other components!  The driver side cable, however,...  The driver side cable, however, proved more difficult to route. I could have passed it under the driveshaft, but that seemed like a clumsy solution. It was just long enough to route up and over the third-member pinion with line clamps securing it to the bodywork behind the lower rear seat and then route it along the passenger side trailing arm with the other cable. Care was taken to ensure it didn't come into contact with any moving parts throughout the suspension travel.  CPP supplied the trailing...  CPP supplied the trailing arms with e-brake cable brackets. I used a rotary file to enlarge the hole so both cables could pass through.  I'll wrap the cables with...  I'll wrap the cables with a 3-inch length of rubber hose to prevent chaffing, yet still allow slight movement through the bracket to allow for suspension travel.  Both cables then pass through...  Both cables then pass through the crossmember adjacent to the passenger side trailing arm forward mount. I will fit grommets here in due course.  Once the cable adjuster bracket...  Once the cable adjuster bracket is installed, and the cables are routed safely and securely, they can be cut to length. Here the passenger side cable is marked for cutting (arrow). The driver side was the correct length as supplied.  With the inner cables pushed...  With the inner cables pushed through, and the adjuster block set to about three-quarters of the way in, as per the instructions, they can be fed through the junction block and pulled to tension them before the setscrews are tightened. Note how the driver side cable is only just long enough, while the passenger side cable can now be cut to length.  The cable adjusters can now...  The cable adjusters can now be tightened, not forgetting to use antiseize lubricant on the aluminum threads.  Once the outer cables are...  Once the outer cables are secured, the inners can be fed through them. The spring was installed over the cable, which was then fed through from the backplate. Though difficult to see here, the brakes don't have to be stripped down, but it's fiddly getting the cable end hooked up. The nipple on the end of the cable locates in the corresponding slot on the E-brake mechanism inside the brake drum. Using pliers to compress the spring, the nipple can be hooked over the mechanism using a screwdriver.  Four clicks up the ratchet...  Four clicks up the ratchet and the emergency brake lever is operating perfectly, with both rear wheels locked up.
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