I did not have a parking brake for years. The old mechanical one was too much trouble so I ditched it and decided to build a hydraulic one.
I raided my sons supply of various brake parts and came up with calipers with 2 live pistons that would fit my 12 inch rear rotor, a master cylinder that was very light, matches the calipers and easy to mount. I also used my old parking brake handle and a 3 inch piece of 2 ½ inch aluminum angle and a 2 ½ inch x 9 ½ inch by 3/16th piece of aluminum to mount the whole thing on.
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I took the stock parking brake handle and added a spur on the back. I bent a piece of 3/16th by 1 inch hot rolled around a ¾ inch pin, machined a little spur from ½ inch material and silver brazed it on the back. I then drove the stock 3/8th spring pin out of the assembly and installed a longer one including mounting my spur at the same time.

Another angle of the spur.


This is the caliper I chose. It has 2 live pistons of good size, it is aluminum so it is light but it was not thick enough so I made aluminum blocks to increase the width. It fits easily around a 12 inch rotor and 100% of the 2 pads ride on the rotor.

This is the assembled unit. The handle works smoothly, the travel of the master and the handle seem about the same. The master bottoms about the same time as the handle runs out of travel. The master has a powerful spring that pushes the handle back smoothly when released. It really feels good.


All I have left it to remove the trailing arms. They were coming out anyway for routine inspection and bearing checking and I will make a nice caliper mount and weld it to the arm. I intend to mount the caliper out front at about 2 oclock on the passengers side and 10 on the drivers side but that could change when I go to mount it.
All I need is some brake line, 2 flex hose and I should be in business.
Marck I am not sure if you can use a hydraulic setup. My son ships argos overseas and they need mechanical emergency brakes.

 

I'm impressed! Any thoughts about developing a conversion kit? I'll bet there would be plenty of interest.

 

Kinda neat, but seems like a lot more work than getting the original parking brake to work. A friend of mine with a street legal dune buggy, used a line lock for an ebrake, simple, yet effective.

 

Very nice I must say. But I know here it is not legal to use a hydraulic parking brake. But since you are using your original parking brake maybe nobody will notice. There is a reason the original parking brake is mechanical. Hydraulic systems are not really designed to hold a steady pressure for any length of time. I also have a VW Buggy with a hydraulic lock out but if you just put it in gear it will not go anywhere. It does not take much to hold 1000 pound car lol.

 

Ya took the idea outta my head Norval.

I didn't replace the emergency brake when I restored the car. I was planning on tackling this project this winter (amongst finishing the car).

Do you know what the calipers came from? Almost look like they are from a bike or ATV. Where is the master cyl. from?

 

that's exactly how I was going to do mine. I'm thinking about using a small disc on the pinion yoke that's doubles as a pulely, with the caliper/rotor on the pinion you only need 1 caliper and there's no added unsprung weight. I have never heard that a hydraulic systen is not allowed here and I doubt they will check.BTW, how do you keep the lower pivot of the ratchet in place? Normally that's under tension from the spring loaded 1st parking brake cable (the one that runs to the rear crossmember)?? Without it the lever can move around, you need to fixate that lower point but I can't see anything in your pic there.

 

No I will not develope a conversion kit. While it would not be hard to put the parts together quality of installation down the road is out of my control and that is where the problem lies.
Regardless of how simple it is to install someone will screw it up and it will be my fault.
NO I will stick to shoing horses. They are more predictable.

 

I have a line lock too but the cops are not all the stupid. If I hit the brakes and turn on the linelock one of them will see it and nail me.
No I want the stock handle working so they can see me pull the brake and lock the wheels.

 

My son claims it will not be legal here also but he sees alot of stock factory trucks with a simple valve in them that holds pressure to the rear wheels when a lever is pulled. He also produces argos that are street legal and they have nothing but a lever that falls into place and holds the brake on.
No one should notice if it is hid under the consol and I pull the stock handle.
I leave my car in gear all the time and it never rolls.

 

My son brought me a couple of different calipers that they use on the argos. The master cylinder is also from the same setup. I just picked the bright shiny aluminum caliper and went with it. With a simple modification it easily clears a 12 inch rotor so the pads are 100% riding on the rotor. The master cylinder just needed the angle to mount.
These master cylinders have a heavy duty spring so they push the handle right back easily.

 

Marck are you completley sure a hydraulic emergency brake will get you through a safety check??? In an inspection they will be visually checking.
As for a small rotor on the pinion I would not begin to have enough room. YOu are different with your battery boxes cut out.
The lower pivot bracket rolls along a heavy wire. You want the bottom of the ratchet to move back and forth. This is the required motion. While just playing with the handle sitting on the bench it won't feel right but as soon as there is load on it it moves predicatbly back and forth in a smooth manner. The heavy spring in the master gives a smooth handle motion.
Marck you could never tell the difference between this hydraulic system and the stock system.
I was concerned about it too but once the system was put together it really feels right. No chance of the spur comming out of the master.
It only took a couple of hours to make the whole thing.
I greased it well and cyled it through a number of tests trying to feel anything out of place and it was nothing but a smooth motion

 

Guys I will check with my son on availability of the 2 calipers and 1 master if some of you are interested???

 

Norval great idea and nice work as usual. Keep us posted and keep the pictures coming, maybe that's something I'll use whenever I get back to my 69 body off. I really hate the stock setup and never seem to get the adjustment where I like it with them- too loose or too tight!

Gary

 

whats an ARGO? an industrial truck of some sort?

 

An Argo is a small offroad vehicle. It has either 6 or 8 wheels and can go anywhere including being used as a boat. Nothing stops it and running down a road or across a plowed field the ride feels the same. It holds 1000 pounds and is used for hunting to hawl hunters in and moose out.
The arm is a big big customer and they even come with armered plating.
The range in price from $5000 to $20,000

 

On Big Trucks the button they pull is for the air brakes. What this does is purge the system of all air in the brakes and the safty valves will lock the brakes till you would restart the Truck to bring the air back up from Min of 60psi to a working pres of between 100 and 120psi. Then you push the button in and it fills the lines with air to disable the safty valves. And away you go. . Drove a Freightshaker with a 3408 Kitty Cat 13 speed 4.10 gear

 

I will get it through, the mechanics here are dumb as a doorknob and they only check the operation of the brakes on a roller type test bench, if it meets decel. specs it's fine and it has to be about the same left and right..so if you mount it on the driveshaft it';; be okay.

That's what I meant, the lower part moving back and forth. I rigged mine w/ a heavy spring so it can make that sort of tumble motion and engages all those teeth...kind of hard to explain but from your reply I get that you know what I mean and have addressed it

Is your spur only held by the pin and into the master cylinder or do you have some kind of arrangement that keeps it from dropping down (for instance when you loosen the handle and the spur moves forward faster than the pistons in the master, in which case it could fall out)

 

btw what's an argos?????

that master, is it cast? I'm goign to use a composite wilwood one and wilwood IR-GT calipers, they are super light...

I just figured there's not enough room around the pinion to mount a rotor I would have had plenty of room...damn pinion mount

 

OK, the only thing I know is that in Maryland, they did a safety inspection upon registering the car in MY name, and so it had to have the OEM style mechanical brake in good shape to hold on a incline of whatever, not too steep, really....but in reverse....meaning rolling backwards....

aside from that, on another car, my Lemans/GTO convertible I used as a tow car....I put a front end brake engage valve in it...similar to a line lock, but in fact I had to push the brakes down HARD to equalize the line pressure to allow the valve to dis engage....

this was on the front discs, and so it was designed to act as a temporary stop for the car on the loaging ramp with my 3000 lbs boat, to lock the front wheels so there was NO chance of the whole damn rig going under.....

I remember very clearly the mfgr. spec was about it lasting a MAX time of 15 minits....fine....and so I pulled a test, and sure enough it lasted about 30 minits, and the car would begin to roll down the drive....

obvioulsly there was NO leaking in the lines...apparently there is some sort of weepage problem in thise hydraulic systems and it's not much to loose pressure...just a few tiney drops....

GENE

 

Seems like the front brake setup from a motorcycle would be very similar to that. Very easily available in factory or aftermarket and very trick.

-Chris