Hand brake trouble

[FuryCosworth]

So MOT came and went with a failure. The hand brake was expected - I have a Mk1 Escort lever up front (I think!) which is designed for a single cable. At the rear I have a Capri Atlas axle + disc conversion which runs Wilwood calipers for the brakes and a spot caliper for the hand brake. Two questions for you:

1. The spot caliper moves a few mm total travel, is this normal?
2. My hand brake cable arrangement is currently terrible, what is the norm to get from an Escort lever to rear calipers?

James

[adithorp]

Have you got any pictures of the spot caliper and lever/cable attachment?

Some movement isn't unusual. My Wilwood Handbrake Powerlites have a bit. There's a bit of play between pad and caliper thats taken up by spring shims but of course they... erm... spring. Did it fail due to the play or was it just braking force? I had to add a multiplying lever in the tunnel to overcome lost leverage in the modded Sierra lever.

[FuryCosworth]

Cleverly I took some pictures without a memory card in but will try and get some

Sorry my question wasn't too clear, what I was trying to say is how far should a spot caliper move? It seems that there is only a very small amount of movement to apply pressure on the pads when the lever moves.

There was 0% braking force which is no surprise due to the terrible cable arrangement. I'm trying to determine whether I need new spot calipers or whether I can just address the cable.

Regarding the cable I found on ebay a Escort hand brake to Cosworth calipers cable which looks good but will presumably be way too long so I'm not sure how to deal with that yet - any ideas would be useful!

[adithorp]

You mean the lever only moves a few mm? Not really familiar with spot calipers but that doesn't sound right. Even then I wouldn't expect 0% effort. With it jacked up can you feel any braking effort when you pull the lever?

[FuryCosworth]

I stripped the spot caliper to bits today and the 'piston' that is actuated by the arm moving was the wrong way round! It has a flat edge and a rounded edge, it is obviously designed so the rounded edge sits in the cutout for the arm whereas with the flat edge in place there is almost no movement. I've ordered a new set of pads for it and a Escort to Cosworth handbrake cable and I'll try and make it good, pics will follow but I'm off to Scotland for a week so won't be until after then!

[FuryCosworth]

Sorry for the delay - pics as promised.

After sorting the spot calipers, my only remaining obstacle between me and a 1,000 mile trip in 2 days (without an MOT at the mo!), is the hand brake. So I have a new lever on order as the current one is broken, this should arrive tomorrow. My issue is that the cable is way too long.

Arrangement at the disc end:



After a little bit of grinding I managed to mount the cable, it's one of these : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251320294246? ... EBIDX%3AIT
Designed to convert Escort front end (which I have), to Cosworth calipers at the rear (which are pretty much identical to my Wilwood spot caliper and fits perfectly).

The cable routes into the car OK but I have this much left:



You can just about make out the piece sticking out the front of the hand brake which is supposed to attach to the balancer, suffice to say this isn't particularly viable!

So, answers on a postcard please - what are your thoughts on the best way of fixing this little issue.

[adithorp]

I'd be inclined to cut the cable in the middle, loop both ends through the saddle (so it's now doubled up) and clamp them together with a couple of cable clamps each side. Not pretty or elegant but it'll do the job.

Clamps like these..
.
http://www.tecni-cable.co.uk/Products/S ... ps-DIN-741

...but I think I got them from B&Q hardwear section in the past.

[FuryCosworth]

That's what I removed! But thanks, I was hoping to use standard parts and have a less 'bespoke' solution!

[adithorp]

RallyDesign do a kit where you can cut the outers and inners to your desired lengths but that still involves using clamps.

The other alternative spending a few hours looking through QH or FirstLine catalogs and comparing dimensions until you find one that will do: Something from a Fiesta or other small hatch maybe but it'd be pot-luck.

Short term, "cut and shut" looks best.

[FuryCosworth]

I'm sure you're right (although I'm struggling to find them), I was hoping to come up with some clever alternative. I think it's a choice of cut it or put the handbrake in the engine bay at the moment