hand brake

how do you all run your handbrake's on your short wheel based scamp's ? What cables are you useing???

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I am going to use single later type lever on the bug .

Run the cables loose and fit a hydraulic handbrake ;-) they're the future :-D

will a duel h/brake pass a mot ???????????? i was thinking that hydro h/brakes was a fail...  

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Hydraulic is definitely the way to go.....

Walle (Mk2) is currently running a later tandem master cylinder, standard disc's upfront (12" rims), standard drums at rear with bias valve, with a hydraulic slave cylinder mounted to the handbrake, BUT still using the earlier twin cable handbrake as well.

Basically the brake line to the rear brakes goes into the inlet port on the slave cylinder, the outlet port goes to the inlet port of the bias valve, the outlet port of which goes to a tee piece & then across to each rear brake assembly.

The bias valve took about 1/2hr to fit & about about 1/2hr of leaving black lines on the country lanes to try & find the right balance, to stop the rears locking up due to the light arse end...

The slave cylinder used in the hand brake is designed so that when the handbrake is off, brake fluid passes straight through the cylinder allowing the brakes to work as normal. When the handbrake is pulled on it applies more force to the existing fluid in the rear brake lines causing the wheels to lock solid...

I've still got the original cables connected up to the rear brakes so even though i've got uber hydraulic power, i've still got a fully working handbrake....allegedly a car must have a mechanical device capable of braking the rear wheels for an MOT...as long as the cables move and appear to be operating the brakes the testers don't care (ducks & runs for cover)...not sure how the renaults with their lovely electro-hydraulic systems get through ?

Neil

In the Mini (and Mk1 Scamps), the cables are routed round the guide that's part of the rear subframe.  The various methods I've seen on later Scamps include:

• Original guide taken from a scrapped RSF
  
• Imitation guide made from sheet metal
  
• Steel hooks like Steve's
  
• Pulleys mounted in similar steel hooks
  
• Steel electrical conduit formed into a right-angle bend
  

The first and last have the advantage that the cable isn't being pulled over a tight radius or, worse, a sharp edge.

Incidentally it's important to make sure the cables enter the trailing arm quadrants square, not at an angle, otherwise you'll find handbrake operation is affected by the load on the rear suspension.  It's unnerving to pick up a heavy object out of the back, then while you are struggling to hold it, find the car running away.

minibuger wrote:will a duel h/brake pass a mot ????????????  i was thinking that hydro h/brakes was a fail...  

You can always enclose the master cylinder located behind the handbrake.

If it can't be seen it's obviously not there ;-)