parking brake installation

[Mark F.]

Hi

I was wondering if anyone could tell me how to get the parking brake hardware inside the brake rotor (1965) installed. Specifically, the lever arm that has the hook that catches the cable and steel ball. This lever crosses through backing plate. The SSB Corp instructions say to fit it through the opening, but mine seems to be prevented from going through because the lever arm interferes with the spindle assembly. Supposedly, you do not need to disassemble the spindle assembly to get this to fit. Any suggestions??

Mark
26312

[Joe R.]

Re: parking brake installation

Everything should go in without removing the spindle, but the lever arm you refer to must first be separated from the link it connects to on the other side of the dust shield. Typically there is a C-clip that has to be removed to separate these two pieces of the linkage.

[Mark F.]

Re: parking brake installation

Thanks for the response Joe.

I definitely had the lever all by its lonesome....brand new out of the package. The instructions say to put the "hook" end of the lever through the opening in the dust shield, holding the lever at an angle. No matter which angle I hold it at though, it does not want to clear the spindle assembley. In otherwords, I cannot pass the lever arm from one side of the dust shield (inside) to the other side (outside).

Mark

[Joe R.]

Re: parking brake installation

Hi Mark:

I'm not sure what the problem is, but rest assured that it should not be necessary to remove the spindle. The entire parking brake assembly can be replaced with the spindle in place, but it's a tight area to work in.

It's been a year since I did my brakes, but I seem to recall that I had to remove the C-clip that holds the pivot pin connecting the outer lever to the inside lever. I think I also had to remove the pin itself, and then install the outer lever from the outside.

Below is a photo that shows an outer lever with the pin removed. Can you try this approach with the lever that you have?

[Mark F.]

Re: parking brake installation

Joe,
That would do it....I didnt think to try to press the lever pin out because it didnt mention that in the directions.

Just curious, do you have a photo of all the p-brake componets once they are installed? When I removed my brake rotor, there wasnt any hardware inside, so I studied what I saw to come up with what I though the assembly should be. But if you have a photo, then I can confirm.

Anyway, thanks agin. Removing the pin will do it because it was definitely preventing the installation of the lever from the outside in. The spindle hindered the install from inside out.

Regard,
Mark

[Joe R.]

Re: parking brake installation

Hi Mark:

I don't have a photo, but shown below is the diagram from the 1967 Shop Manual Supplement. This shows all the parts in their relative locations. If you don't have a manual you should definitely get one.

By the way, during the course of my project I learned some things that you might want to be aware of:

1) The stainless steel brake shoes I got did not index as well as the stock shoes with the three support "bumps" on the backing plate. They tended to rock off the supports, rendering the brake useless. Some other people have had this experience with stainless shoes. In the end I switched the shoes back to the OEM stock replacements, and that cured my problem.

2) Depending on which way you install the star wheel (item 10 in the diagram), moving the adjustment wrench in the up direction will either tighten or loosen the shoes. Make sure you install both star wheels the same way, and record which direction of the wheel corresponds to tightening the shoes. This will save you from having to experiment with both directions when you are adjusting the shoes.

3) Don't forget to line up the access hole in the rotor with the one in the spindle. Otherwise you can't access the star wheel.

4) Be sure to follow the shop manual method for adjusting the brakes. It is important to get the shoes adjusted before you adjust the cable.

[Mark F.]

Re: parking brake installation

Hi Joe

Again very helpful. It's amazing how much brain damage is connected with making the parking brake function! All the cabling is present under the car...and I have the SSBC parts, just need to get it done!

Thanks again!

Mark