How many clicks do you have on your handbrake?

[busheytrader]

If you were to pull it up as much as poss?

I recently replaced the rear shoes on my 7V8 since one of linings fell off during my pre mot check.

The new shoes have as much meat on them as the ones I replaced which had about 10k miles on them. The handbrake with maximum adjustment (stretched) engaged fully at 5 to 6 clicks. The new shoes go to 10 clicks meaning I'll have to fit a new handbrake cable. Everything is fitted correctly and moves as it should.

Adam

[FI Spyder]

The hand brake cable is adjustable you don't need a new cable. Not sure what the clicks are (the Spider is under car cover and tarp while Tercel is in for resto) but the Tercel is about 6 clicks. I adjusted the Tercel to about 3 or 4 like the Integra (rear discs) but wore out the shoes. Check the OEM manual. I think the 7 is less than 6. It holds on steep driveway.

[littlepippin]

Only about 3-4 clicks. The hand brake is not as effective as a modern car, and I really have to pull hard to make it hold on even a medium hill.
I seem to remember once seeing for sale on ebay a little mechanism you could add in to improve the performance.

[Hasbeen]

I have found that if your shoes are adjusted properly, by the automatic adjusters like mine if you are lucky, or manually, 3 clicks has the brake on, & 4 has it on hard.

There are 2 places for adjustment. The first is at the attachment to the brake handle, & the second is at the balance lever on the diff.

I do have the extensions on the hand brake levers at the drums, made & kindly given to me by Stag 76. These are worth their weight in gold making the handbrake about 3 times as effective.

Hasbeen

[sonscar]

In my experience the auto adjusters do not adjust sufficiently.Try removing the drums and applying the brakes,listening to the clicks,and refitting the drum to check clearance.You may overdo it and have to slackem and repeat to get good results.Three to four clicks on the lever make for a very good handbrake.Years ago an experienced mechanic told me,the cable never needs Adjusting once correctly fitted.He could be rightSteve..

[busheytrader]

Hi, thanks for the replies. The handbrake cable is the original and has stretched that much it's run out of adjustment as per my post. I used to adjust it to 5 clicks max but it's finally gone past the point of no return.
All the adjusters / ratchets inside the drums are free and working nicely, a good thing too at approx £80.00 for a replacement set.

I remember the drawings of those extensions which increased the leverage. Maybe one day I'll make up a set. I remember reading that e-types owners back in the day used to adjust their handbrake before each mot and then just accepted its uselessness between tests. I've never had that issue with the wedge although I do leave the handbrake off when parked up in the garage to prevent the shoes sticking to the drums.

Adam

[darrellw]

I'm pretty sure there is a third place to adjust the cable, that is where it connects to the handbrake lever. But you probably have to remove the driveshaft to get to it. But you would have to remove the drive shaft to change the cable as well, so might be worth a shot.

[Stag76]

I'm pretty sure there is a third place to adjust the cable, that is where it connects to the handbrake lever. But you probably have to remove the driveshaft to get to it. But you would have to remove the drive shaft to change the cable as well, so might be worth a shot.

There is.

[dursleyman]

Seems unlikely that a steel cable would stretch that much to make it unusable? I would suggest you check that adjustment in the tunnel on the end of the handbrake lever as in the Stag76 photo first then work backwards. The "auto" adjusters mostly do not work so you will probably need to do it manually by trial and error. Adjust each side up a bit at a time until they are just short of dragging. You will need to make sure there is no wear lip on your drums to do this as well. All those moving parts in the drums and the centre pivot on the axle all need to be in good condition and free moving. Once its all set up your handbrake should be quite good or at least reasonable to pass a test.
If you still want more then you could look at those little extensions something like you see in the Roger Williams book. I was very lucky to get a pair from Stag76, like Hasbeen uses as well, and these are the icing on the cake. They are not an answer to a badly set up system though, it all needs to be in good order to begin with.

[Hasbeen]

I have found it is reasonably simple to get the auto adjusters to work.

Simply polish, just with a wire brush, the part of the shoe where the adjusters rub, & the adjusters, then assemble with a light puff of graphite powder on these areas.

I have done all of my 7s, & the 8, before we fitted rear discs, & they all worked perfectly. On my current 7 they worked foe 12 years with no further attention. A couple of others I've done were similarly successful. Check there are no dags of weld splatter where they have to slide. This will stop them working for sure.

Perhaps it is easier to get them to keep working here in Oz, where the shoes don't rust, but it has not proved a problem.

Hasbeen

[john 215]

Hi,

When I was working as a mechanic in local BL dealerships ( we had three within 5 miles of each other !!! ) We would inspect the rear brakes, normally at least one cylinder would be seized or leaking, also checked the the pin on the handbrake linkage internal section, these would be seized or at best stiff, then refit the drum. Disconnect the cable and pump the pedal a few times and the adjusters would click up if all was well, then adjust / balance the cable. Have to admit most TR7's and SD1 have when compared to modern car a poor parking brake even in perfect condition. You have achieve 17% efficiency on a MOT to gain a pass.

Cheers John