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Hi Guys
While the trailing arms are currently out for a rebuild, would anyone have pictures and/or dimensions for relocating the E brake brackets? I want to run slightly wider tires/wheels and the brackets relocated from the stock location will help in that regard.
Thanks much.
I think most members relocate them on top of each trailing arm. Be sure to completely assemble the trailing arm AND the Parking Brake cable assembly. The bracket has to be in the "sweet spot" when you weld it in place. If it is too close to the shoe assembly the cable HOUSING won't fit/clip into the bracket.
Is the pic below (Alan's Pic) showing the bracket you are concerned about?
Maybe I can take a pic of my '68 T A bracket I recently repositioned (apparently I deleted the original )
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
Are you planning on sticking to a 15 inch rim? My 68 had just over a 1/16th inch clearance with an 8 inch wide rim. When I went to 17 inch wheels, the bracket is inside the rim diameter and its a non issue now.
Are you planning on sticking to a 15 inch rim? My 68 had just over a 1/16th inch clearance with an 8 inch wide rim. When I went to 17 inch wheels, the bracket is inside the rim diameter and its a non issue now.
Thanks Rescue. I’m currently running 17s as well. 17x8 with 4” backspace. I think the relocation could gain me another inch. Your thoughts?
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
Are your rim lips getting close to the cable itself? IF so you will gain a bit and you could also use a concentric spacer to push the wheel out a bit to gain even more room internally as well if you wanted a 9 or 10 inch rim. When you measure your rim you can adjust the back space. And if the hub is centered, the offset would come in a half inch for every full inch of width you add. My 68 doesnt have any real fender clearance like a flare like the newer models did. I might be able squeeze a fatter rim in mine but it just comes down to time and money really. It wont hurt at all to do the mod if you have the time available to get it done once you start. I would do the mod then go to a wheel specialty store. They would have the tools to do the measuring you would need to get the most tire under there...the shop from that point
If you are looking for big gains you'll need offset trailing arms, but this is a good place to start for sure
Last edited by Rescue Rogers; May 24, 2021 at 10:38 AM.
Disconnect the center cable from the crossover, leave the end of the cable attached to the brake and bring the mounting ear around onto the top and put it where it want's to be without it it pulling the brake at all and tack it in place
M
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
Originally Posted by Mooser
Disconnect the center cable from the crossover, leave the end of the cable attached to the brake and bring the mounting ear around onto the top and put it where it want's to be without it it pulling the brake at all and tack it in place
M
That simplicity may have me doing this when I can afford some new rims!!
I am in the middle of doing this, thank you all for the pics and tips! Quick question, I still have the original cables and with the metal wrap around it, they are extremely rigid, hard to bend. I can't really even get them up around the top of the trailing arm... I haven't welded the brackets on yet because I wanted to make sure it was in the sweet spot as you all mentioned.
Any recommendations on what to do with this rigid cable? One of the pics above shows the outside metal wrap cut off? If I get new ones will they be more flexible?
Thank you all in advance for your time and help!!!
They are pretty stiff to bend. Mine were the original cables as well. Make sure to disconnect the crossover cable from the main cable so there's no tension on it at all. Make sure the actual cable slides freely (within reason) inside the outer casing. There's adjustment in the main cable / crossover so it's not like it needs to be in the "exact" spot. If I remember correctly I put a piece of tape on the cable to mark how much was sticking out before I disconnected everything and then tried to have that some amount-ish when it was on the top and the angle of the cable to brake looked decent and welded it there.
M
When I mentioned doing this modification to my shop while they replace my calipers they said this causes major slack in the e-brake cable, reducing the e-brake's effectiveness. He even said he has seen knots tied in the cable to minimize the slack. Is this an accurate assessment, or is he angling for selling/installing a set of off-set TAs?
Sure and if I let my dog install the new brackets it might not work at all.....
I can't imaging what kind of a hack would screw up the new locations so bad that they'd need to tie knots to correct it.... The distance from the actuator arm to the mount is held the same (or close) and the length of the cable doesn't change, any small error is taken up on the adjustment on the main cable.
I've done mine twice (old arms and new ones) has to be 15 or 20 years now without any issues....
M
When I mentioned doing this modification to my shop while they replace my calipers they said this causes major slack in the e-brake cable, reducing the e-brake's effectiveness. He even said he has seen knots tied in the cable to minimize the slack. Is this an accurate assessment, or is he angling for selling/installing a set of off-set TAs?
Your guy is either lazy or inexperienced. I have been doing this for years on but mostly off the car without a comeback or issue. If the car is on a lift and the guys knows how to use a cut off tool and welder it's an hour or 90 minute job to do both all depending on his time. With shop rates now $100 to $150 hr at dealerships that would be an easy $100 job. So maybe add dumb to the equation.
Thanks all for your feedback. It supports my theory that the owner is a salesman as well as a mechanic. The shop specializes in Corvettes, gets great reviews and has a long wait for appointments. But, I haven't received my estimate yet. So I may need to add "expensive" to the list. I will share the great contributions from this thread with him and see how he responds.
That's where I read it originally (in the vette magazine) and went out and did it to my car (literally in the driveway backed up to my brothers garage so the MIG would reach ad he had something in the bay so I couldn't get in) shortly there after since the edge of the actual bracket was hitting the inside of the tire just above the rim.
Perhaps his guy just doesn't want to do it therefor it's too bubba
M
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Emergency TA Bracket Relocation
