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[rascott]

As far as the emergancy brake assembly goes, I came across an electric actuated cable assembly. It's called E-Brake and is rather expensive but would eliminate all the in chassis routing.  The assembly mounts to the rear chassis and with a push of a button it pulls the emergancy brake cables. There seems to be a few different manufactures so hopefully prices will come down. I plan on using one when I get the car to that point of restoration.   Tom

i've heard of hydraulic locks-i think they are often used in offroad vehicles after disc conversions.
and construction equipment may have similar equipment?
i haven't leaked enough yet. I'm gonna grope around blind in the tunnel and feel what's in there.
found a couple more black widows calling my project home. i know i got one of them.

[4129R]

You will find the two black water tubes connecting the engine to the front radiator do a very adequate job of preventing access to the hand brake cables, U clamp, and spring. The spring from the U clamp to the Y of the chassis brings a whole new meaning to impossibility, and the C clips hold the hand brake cable outer to the Y of the chassis, are in a different dimension.

Have hot water, antiseptic, bandages, and a tourniquet handy, and give your next of kin your blood group details for easy transplant.

Good luck Jim, (cue Mission Impossible music.........).

[jbcollier]

Hydraulic locks are not a legal e-brake.  I also wouldn't leave a car parked on a  steep hill with only a hydraulic lock holding it in place.

[rascott]

googled the e-brake. example http://www.speedwaymotors.com/E-Stopp-Electric-Emergency-Brake-Kit,65217.html made it clearer, and better suited for parking. figured the hydraulic lock worked all brakes, which can be handy offroad(and is under consideration for my suzuki).
got the second black widow. evenings are best for hunting them. may have gotten the last one. they grow them big in the central valley.
i will start groping around the tunnel with gloves on to see what i may run into. i have thin skin and bleed easily.
there is some big rod in there to work around, just to make it easier.
getting the windscreen opening tidied up, "properly" supported, and ready to see if glass might still fit.
mabe there was always a problem with it after the roof was replaced.
the first cosmetic attempts around the windscreen area were not sufficient(even for me), and require much more something.
trying thicker primer this time.

okrept022115
seems a windscreen will still fit.
also considered the hydraulic lock for my suzuki would work for front or back- not both. be interesting to be able to lock the front.
hmmm.

[4129R]

The big floppy metal rod is the gear change. The two tubes which don't move are the radiator flow and return.

I managed to change the rear cable with one of the radiator tubes out, and the engine and gearbox out, to give clear access to the Y of the chassis where the outer cable goes into a U.

Once you get the C clips off the outers where they are holding the U into the Y, once you take out the split pins and spigot pins from the back of the drums, the whole cable will go into the black hole, and you can then get the U clamp and cable out through the hole in the top below the rectangular pad.

Then you can get the U clamp off with a metal chisel to put on the new cable.

[rascott]

The big floppy metal rod is the gear change. The two tubes which don't move are the radiator flow and return.

I managed to change the rear cable with one of the radiator tubes out, and the engine and gearbox out, to give clear access to the Y of the chassis where the outer cable goes into a U.

Once you get the C clips off the outers where they are holding the U into the Y, once you take out the split pins and spigot pins from the back of the drums, the whole cable will go into the black hole, and you can then get the U clamp and cable out through the hole in the top below the rectangular pad.

Then you can get the U clamp off with a metal chisel to put on the new cable.

i have only been leaking a little bit so far- just reopening the original wounds.
got the spring off the intermediate cable, removed the adjusting nuts, and freed the intermediate cable.
managed the cable clip removals inside, so the cable should pull out "through the slit in the rear of the chassis", after removing the "horseshoe"(haven't figured that out yet).
what slit?
this started as an inspection kinda thing. starting to fall down the rabbit hole a bit, mabe.
gonna have a harp and give it another coat of looking at.......

suces022215
managed to get that horseshoe off. as bda described, it was not easy to open the crimped thing, especially inside the chassis, and i only bruised my forearms getting them both down the hole and holding and prying, and will look bad for weeks(you know- what happened to you?).
the slit was cleverly hidden with a piece of tape.
the cable is out.
a side benefit is that i pulled the dud choke cable and the heat control cable(reuseable).

[BDA]

Congratulations on finally defeating the e-brake cable! 

Assuming you'll be re-installing the e-brake cable when you get that far, you can decide how you're going to re-crimp the shoe so the cable doesn't fall out. I cheaped out and wrapped a couple of decent sized nylon zip ties around it. I didn't like it but that was all I could think of. I hope you figured out something better and can show my what I should have done!

[4129R]

If the cable from the U to the reaction lever (the cantilever above your legs) is disconnected by the adjustment nuts at the U, and the 2 C clips are disconnected from the cable that goes from drum to drum via the U, there is nothing to stop you taking the whole rear cable and U out through the tunnel, except that horrible spring from the U to the Y.

[BDA]

That sounds different from the TC. The shoe was crimped on the cables to the brakes and they wouldn't come out of the frame with the shoe on it. I just checked the parts manual and what I've been calling a "shoe", they call a "compensator"... interesting name for it.

[Roger]

I was amazed at the way the e-brake cable system was put together! The only way I could take it apart was to open up the "shoe" (where the one cable attaches to the cables that go to the e-brake mechanism) using a cold chisel, but then when I went to reassemble it, the only thing I could do was wrap some tie wraps around it to hold the cable in. It doesn't matter to me because my e-brake is useless anyway and thankfully, my car no longer needs to be inspected.

On my TC I disconnected the cables from the rear brakes then pulled the whole lot out through the hole in the top of the backbone.
On a side-note, the device you call a shoe is a "swingle-tree" in Olde English, and as an old Englishman I like it! It's a compensator in that when you pull on the centre the forces on each cable are equal. This tends to prevent one wheel or the other from locking up and compensates for uneven wear.
An original swingle-tree compensated for unequal-strength horses.

[rascott]

If the cable from the U to the reaction lever (the cantilever above your legs) is disconnected by the adjustment nuts at the U, and the 2 C clips are disconnected from the cable that goes from drum to drum via the U, there is nothing to stop you taking the whole rear cable and U out through the tunnel, except that horrible spring from the U to the Y.

haha!
i kept trying to figure out what the slot was. only sort of visible from inside, and i still have the engine in, so i didn't know i was dealing with a piece of tape until i got the cable loose enough to pull out.
from what i could see, i imagined a slot just big enough for the cable.
now i feel silly, with more than just bruised forearms.
this will be easier next time.

[BDA]

IIRC, on mine the metal sleeve on the rear cable had a flange on it that is wider than the holes for it in the frame (the cable sheath is affixed to the frame with a C-clip on one side and the flange on the other) . Maybe I missed something - it wouldn't have been the first time and wasn't the last.

"Swingle-tree"... That's a new term to me but I did a search and you're right! The definitions I've found reference part of a horse harness for pulling a wagon, for instance. Yet another new thing I've learned here. In fact, I don't remember where I got the term "shoe".

[4129R]

There is a larger central hole, so two small holes for the two outer cables, linked by a slot about 1/4" wide to a central larger hole.

[BDA]

I remember the slots but I don't remember a way to get the cable out of it. It's been a long time so I don't remember precisely how it worked.

[4129R]

Once the cables are released by taking 2 x C clips off the outers in the chassis Y, and the pins are taken out of the levers connecting the cable to the two brake drums, you push both outers in the chassis Y towards the bigger hole in the middle, and the whole rear cable, which is a giant U shape, can be pulled into the black hole under your elbow between the seats.

The metal U clamp has to be disconnected from the spring which holds it to the chassis Y inside the black hole, and the two adjusting nuts on the cable from the reaction lever to the black hole, get undone with a 7/16th spanner, and then the whole rear cable and metal U clamp come out of the black hole (where the choke cable and heater cable are operated from).

Then you can start attending to clearing up the blood, and bandaging the fingers, knuckles and hands.

Wait about 3 weeks for the hands to heal before fitting the new cables, which is 3 x as hard as taking out the old cable.