Rear Hand Brake

[Guest nightracer35]

i am not sure how to shorten the hand brake cable on my series 3a. i wanted to use the 2 handbrake adjusters, but not sure how to shorten the cable?? (i dont like the idea of cutting the end off the cable as it is the sort for disks) any help greatly needed.

many thanks

ron

[Snapperpaul]

I have the drums on mine and have shortend one end of the cable, however i am going to use 2 cables so i can have more adjustment and will cut the 2 cables use a welder to put a blob on the cut end, loop the 2 cables over the equaliser and use small cable clamps and possibly some sort of wire wipping. not fully sure yet.

[Guest Battery Bill]

Ron

Dont worry about cutting the cable its easy to drill the excess out of the eyelet thingy and spot weld it back in its new position.

[steve in stockport]

ron

when i shortened the cable on mine i didnt fancy the "smack it with a big hammer and get your numbest mate to test it" method so i took it along to the local chandlers (like a car spares shop but for boats for those of us with no sea legs) who make up steel cables in different sizes.

he cut it to length and pressed on a new ferrule with a twenty ton press for £5 - proper job.

 

steve

[Guest chris brown]

I cut the cable in half then passed both ends through the bellcrank on the end of the lever mechanism in opposite directions and clamped them together with two cable clamps on each side as like most i didn’t like the idea of moving a nipple.

[Guest Battery Bill]

Not a Nipple man then Chris ?

 

[Guest salty_monk]

Like most??

 

I would have thought he'd be in the minority (depending on the nipple of course! )

 

Does direction of movement matter, you know clockwise or anti clockwise or is it just out full stop??

[geoff shep]

Few previous answers on this eg here - see my comment. I did it 10 years ago and its still holding well - good brake results each year at MOT. Either way, a bit of solder on the cable stops the strands fraying when snipped.

[harvs]

Think I'll go down the cut & clamp route....

 

What do the 'clamps' look like / and any ideas where you can get them from?

Cheers

James

[will]

I used the small clamps from B&Q (they look like small exhaust clamps- U-bolt with nuts on the end)

 

Have pics if you need them.

 

 

Will

[harvs]

Cheers Will - a pic would be great if it's not too much trouble. I'm finding it difficult to visualise how they'll be strong enough!

James

[will]

I used 3 of them just to be safe. Make sure you use small nylok nuts to keep me SVA man happy.

 

They haven't failed me yet, it's the same method as Mr Brown has shown in his piccy. I was not happy with cutting the nipple off either.

 

Will

 

(send me your email address and I'll dig one out)

[Guest macca]

I'd bite , er i mean cut the nipple off everytime.

 

I cut it with a junior hacksaw (cable fitted to the car). Then held the end of the cable with mole grips, with about 5 - 10 mm of cable sticking up. I dropped a smal nut on the end and blobbed (technical term) a bit of weld on the end. .

 

I guess it would be even easier wih the cable off the car but I'm a lazy sod at times.

 

P.S I never cut enough off the first time and ended up chopping a few more inches off, to get a good amount of adjustment. I guess the clamp method is easier to tighten as you will not have to take the rear brakes apart.

 

Good luck

 

Macca

[will]

Forgot to mention that I also bought another handbrake cable and chopped that in two too.

 

I wanted to have two adjusters at the bracket end, so threw the other halfs away.

 

 

Will

[Guest nightracer35]

thanks every one for your funny and not so funny advice i have a few good ideas now thanks again

 

ron