I would like to preface this post by saying the first time I cast my eyes on a C6 was while shopping for one at a dealer. Liked the exterior look, but the first thing I noticed when I opened the door and cast my eyes on the interior was "how odd does that ebrake handle look...is the ebrake on? The answer was NO, and I vowed to fix what looks like design and or Bowling Green mistake in my eyes when I purchased and took delivery of my 2007 C6 coupe a month later. So for those who think the ebrake angle is just fine and does not bother them....I say each to their own!

PROTOTYPE:
My first attempt was with my Porsche mechanic friend and we attempted to lower the angle of the ebrake by drilling 2 new (lower) holes where one side of the mechanism attaches itself to the tunnel. That had 2 problems. One, the contact switch that sits on a tunnel ledge had to be modified as with the mechanism now tilted/lowered about an inch the switch no longer sat on the ledge. The other problem was the fact that the stock vinyl ebrake boot would stretch (slide down the handle) beyond its designed use once the handle angle changed and would require either a) a redesigned vinyl boot with a longer collar length or b) a new leather ebrake boot with a longer collar length. Finding the oem vinyl material to make another ebrake boot turned out problematic and while I did get a Redline custom leather ebrake boot with extended collar I was not too happy with its quality nor it didnt have an exact matching color which would necessitate a) painting it to match ebony by my trim specialist or b) changing the stock vinyl shift boot to leather, which would necessitate a lot more work removing the console etc for an A6 leather shift boot install.

STAGE 1:
I then had a new idea and approached my domestic car mechanic with this and below are the results. The new design had two criteria. One, it had to work with the existing vinyl ebrake boot, and two, it required less fiddling around with the ebrake mechanism and without drilling new holes in the tunnel. What we did was cut out an angle piece of metal from the mechanism, test it for angle, then weld it together again. It worked! The angle was reduced from about 35 degrees to about 15 degrees. Note that while the pics (below) doesnt show it well, the ebrake handle is about 1/8" higher than the plastic console and does NOT touch the console. We could have dropped (and slightly tilted) the ebrake to almost horizontal and it would rest alongside to the plastic silver console but that would have resulted in the above mentioned stretched ebrake vinyl.

Stage 2.
Within the next few months we will be playing around with another ebrake mechanism. This time the goal is to take even more metal out of the ebrake mechanism and attempt to shorten the unit enough so it neatly tucks into the contoured plastic ebrake console area and by doing so, the handle will then be totally horizontal. No problem for the vinyl ebrake boot (now moving the handle rearward instead of moving foward), if anything, there might be an excess of material. We will have to reduce the cable pin length inside the actual handle for sure, but no problem. I am not sure how easy it will be to access and to push in the silver button on the handle, so I will find out. This ease really is not an issue for me with my A6 auto, as I very rarely use the ebrake, but of course it must work.

 

Looks like it was a lot of work, but looks nice.

 

It was/is a lot of time and money...guess that only shows how much it really bugged me ...I have owned all kinds of foreign and domestic cars in my life and never an ebrake handle at that angle

 

Great job. It would be nice if we could buy a handle like that.

 

"Great job. It would be nice if we could buy a handle like that"

Funny you should mention that There are a few ways to "handle" (hehe) this. One, I could sell a blueprint to a DIY'er. Or, sell the completed ebrake assembly ready to go (perhaps sans leather grip, silver button and vinyl ebrake boot). This would require the end user to install it himself or by a mechanic. This involves removing the passenger seat, pulling back a bit of carpet where it meets the vinyl, taking out the existing ebrake mechanism by removing 3 bolts, disconnecting the cable at the ebrake mechanism only and then reattaching the mod'ed one. Or, do the above but send in your own ebrake mechanism (core) for modification.

I want to see how Stage 2 goes...that might turn out really sharp looking, not to mention bringing that ebrake handle to its final resting place...that is, totally horizontal!!

 

My 10 year old Sentra beater has a better designed e-brake handle! The e-brake handle was the very first thing I noticed when I first sat in a C6. Whoever designed the C6's handle must have had some pictures of his boss with some sheep to keep from getting the ax for his (lack of ) design. Yes, a horizonal handle only makes common horse sense! Why would we expect GM to have any of this commodity? I think there is a market for a completely redesigned handle and mechanism that will store in a horizontal position within the console. Perhaps a ratcheting type. I'd buy it!

 

Looks good. You definitely get the prize for the most **** owner of the day and it is not a bad thing either.

 

I'm not saying that it looks the best, but I have a daily steep uphill brake/stop/clutch, and that angle sure helps in grabbing the eBrake to assist when needed.