Hand brake worn

[dragboat]

hay guys
the hand brake on my70 ghia is worn . where the pin goes through the bracket .
the hole in the bracket is so worn the handle falls out . is there a fix for this ? does any one know where i can get a new bracket , to weld in ?

[Loren]

You could weld the bracket smooth and re-drill the holes for the e-brake handle or find another bracket and weld it in. It's easy to drill the spot welds out and replace it.

If you want to find another bracket place a wanted ad or search the classifieds for people that might have one on a pan. You might contact Jeff Gannon. He seems to cycle through a lot of pans and parts:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=28541

[dragboat]

i found someone who has the bracket for hand brake . washburn metals in huntington beach california . i think replacing the bracket is a little easier than filling the hole in and redrill the hole .

[74 Thing]

Do you happen to have a link for the bracket or photo and how much did it cost?

[dragboat]

i don't know how to do a link , but here's the info i have . i was recommended to him by a VW parts guy . his site is washburn's metal . phone # 816-806 9160 he's charging me $35.00 total . that includes the shipping from california to levittown new york . the person i spoke to was brian . there address is 428 17street apart. F , huntington beach , california . the price he charged 35 ,was very fair .

[Era Vulgaris]

The only one I see on their website doesn't have mounts for the heater controls

https://washburns-metal.myshopify.com/products/eme...&_ss=r
_________________
Currently own:
66 Karmann Ghia, L390 Gulf Blue, under construction, here: www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=760505&highlight=
99 Mazda MX-5 10AE, Sapphire Blue Mica, 6 speed, LSD

Previously owned:
98 Porsche Boxster, silver, 2.5L -- 67 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1500sp -- 98 BMW Z3, Atlanta Blue Metallic, 2.8L I6 -- 75 Porsche 914, Laguna Blue, 2270cc -- 72 Porsche 914, Signal Orange, 1.7 FI -- 74 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1600dp -- 74 Triumph TR6 with O.D., sapphire blue

[dragboat]

i don't need heater control . my system is different in my 70 ghia . give brian a call . not all hand brake brackets have the heat control intergraded .in them .my ghia isn't very much VW anymore . front and rear are suspension are modern double A arm with coil over shocks , subaru STI powered with 6 speed trans .

[Era Vulgaris]

[dragboat]

i'll upload some pics

[dragboat]

had to do welding mostly on the rear suspension , to make it work with my changes . porsche axles and UV joints to handle the subaru STI engine and 6 speed . the porsche axles can handle the 450 HP this engine puts out . neumeric porsche short racing shifter mounting bracket is made and welded in and shifter is in. took me some time to figure out the transmission linkage and modify it to work with the shifter . rite now i'm working on the disc brake system .

[Era Vulgaris]

That thing is going to be a monster! I'd never driven a 4-wheel dual a-arm suspension car until I drove a Miata, and it sold me on that car. I can honestly feel the difference in hard cornering when I get into a different car with Macpherson struts. A Ghia with that setup would be so much fun. Although I'd be fine with 150hp, let alone 450...wow

The one thing I see in both the Ihmor and Mendeola front suspension kits that potentially bugs me is the steering linkage. From the cars I've seen done, they had to cut a new hole in the front firewall for the linkage to meet the rack, and I'm not really clear on how the column gets held in place under the dash. Do you have a plan for that yet?

I did a rack and pinion conversion on the Ghia I'm building now, and the kit I used allowed the use of the stock column tube to keep things looking stock inside the cabin, which I do prefer when possible. I did have to shorten the actual column and weld on an adapter for the u-joint. I also moved the steering wheel a little closer to the dash, so that it's not in my lap like the stock position. I like an arms-out driving position.

This is my current build. Not quite as impressive as your setup, but will still be a massive improvement over that garbage steering box that VW put on these cars.

_________________
Currently own:
66 Karmann Ghia, L390 Gulf Blue, under construction, here: www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=760505&highlight=
99 Mazda MX-5 10AE, Sapphire Blue Mica, 6 speed, LSD

Previously owned:
98 Porsche Boxster, silver, 2.5L -- 67 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1500sp -- 98 BMW Z3, Atlanta Blue Metallic, 2.8L I6 -- 75 Porsche 914, Laguna Blue, 2270cc -- 72 Porsche 914, Signal Orange, 1.7 FI -- 74 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1600dp -- 74 Triumph TR6 with O.D., sapphire blue

[dragboat]

imohr provides a steering kit for the stock steering column . you shorten the stock column . the pin is welded into the shortened end of the column shaft . the column is mounted in its stock location with the provided bearing housing on the lower end of your column . the bearing housing gets secured to the pan and the extension shaft with the 2 universal joints goes from the rack shaft to the column shaft pin that was welded in . very simple to do and works great . hear is a picture of the kit . extension at top , pin to be welded in underneith left , andto the right of it the bearing with housing . very simple to do .

[dragboat]

had to modify my tunnel on the opposite side of the pedals its an access hole to mount the master cylinder in the tunnel for the clutch . i welded the the extra support around the access hole to keep the integrity of the tunnels strength .i did that yesterday i'll make the cove to access the cylinder today and start mounting the pedals .

[dragboat]

upgrading the master cylinder from the tiny 19.5mm bore to a 25mm bore size cylinder . this will give me the added stopping power needed with my 4 caliper disc brake system .

[Era Vulgaris]

[dragboat]

all the rack kits that are available (about half a dozen) are basicly the same . have to drill a new hole cause the rack shaft isn't in the stock location . i see you
have an access hole in your tunnel . did you reinforce it by welding steel around it . a hole like that will greatly reduse the strength of the tunnel . the tunnel is the backbone of the car . i am including a pic of the piece i welded in to mount the clutch master cylinder and give me access to it . pics are the clutch master cylinder , reinforcement of tunnel access hole , master cylinder installation , master cylinder installed .

[Era Vulgaris]

[dragboat]

i misunderstood , i thought that was your car .