Handbrake issues...
Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 7:10 am
AKA "Light the blue touch-paper and retire"
It's taken too long, but I've almost finished refurbishing my suspension. I began dismantling in January! New bushes, longer shocks and cosmetic tidying. The car was back on the garage floor on Tuesday and I had a couple of hours yesterday morning, before going to work, to start setting up.
I ballasted the car with my weight in the drivers seat and half of hers in the passenger seat. I then bounced the chassis vigorously to settle everything prior to a first check of the ride height. Doing so at the rear resulted in a nasty rubbing/scraping noise.....
My car was first built in 2005. At the time Westfield couldn't/wouldn't build you a "turn-key" vehicle. Instead, mine was built for its original owner by Jim Bickley. A racing driver with some success in the BTCC, he ran his own race preparation shop and was the factory test-driver for both Westfield and Marcos. By the time that he built my car, he'd had some practice as mine was his fifth build.
As built, the car had the short-travel rear end with the handbrake bar (bar) running above the Panhard rod (rod). The bar was slightly bent to clear. There were no interference issues and the handbrake worked well without the cylinder levers having to be re-drilled.
With the floorpan cut and long shocks fitted, it seemed obvious that the bar would have to run under the rod. That is how I rebuilt it, again with a suitable bend in the bar. With the car back on its wheels, the ride height at the back settled at a natural 6.5" with almost no preload on the springs. But the handbrake balance lever, sometimes called the "swinging-T", is at the exact same height as the rod and no amount of bend in the bar will have it clear, either above or below. The nasty noise as I bounce on the rear of the chassis is the rod scraping along the bar and you can see the RHS drum brake being operated as you do it!
Initial visual inspection suggests that the only (but quite obvious) solution is to extend the height of the balance lever by cutting it and welding-in an extension of a couple of inches, allowing the bar to run above the rod with comfortable clearance. This would have the added advantage of not having to bend the bar which, whilst it works, looks unsightly. I've already purchased another balance lever via eBay as they're no longer available new.
I wonder if anybody else has ever experienced this problem or tried this solution?
It's taken too long, but I've almost finished refurbishing my suspension. I began dismantling in January! New bushes, longer shocks and cosmetic tidying. The car was back on the garage floor on Tuesday and I had a couple of hours yesterday morning, before going to work, to start setting up.
I ballasted the car with my weight in the drivers seat and half of hers in the passenger seat. I then bounced the chassis vigorously to settle everything prior to a first check of the ride height. Doing so at the rear resulted in a nasty rubbing/scraping noise.....
My car was first built in 2005. At the time Westfield couldn't/wouldn't build you a "turn-key" vehicle. Instead, mine was built for its original owner by Jim Bickley. A racing driver with some success in the BTCC, he ran his own race preparation shop and was the factory test-driver for both Westfield and Marcos. By the time that he built my car, he'd had some practice as mine was his fifth build.
As built, the car had the short-travel rear end with the handbrake bar (bar) running above the Panhard rod (rod). The bar was slightly bent to clear. There were no interference issues and the handbrake worked well without the cylinder levers having to be re-drilled.
With the floorpan cut and long shocks fitted, it seemed obvious that the bar would have to run under the rod. That is how I rebuilt it, again with a suitable bend in the bar. With the car back on its wheels, the ride height at the back settled at a natural 6.5" with almost no preload on the springs. But the handbrake balance lever, sometimes called the "swinging-T", is at the exact same height as the rod and no amount of bend in the bar will have it clear, either above or below. The nasty noise as I bounce on the rear of the chassis is the rod scraping along the bar and you can see the RHS drum brake being operated as you do it!
Initial visual inspection suggests that the only (but quite obvious) solution is to extend the height of the balance lever by cutting it and welding-in an extension of a couple of inches, allowing the bar to run above the rod with comfortable clearance. This would have the added advantage of not having to bend the bar which, whilst it works, looks unsightly. I've already purchased another balance lever via eBay as they're no longer available new.
I wonder if anybody else has ever experienced this problem or tried this solution?