richiep
Club Member
As Gary notes, it’s geometry to a degree - making a handbrake cable and mechanism designed for drums work with the calipers. The caliper is in a different position to where the cable would attach to the drum, leading to slack and a nasty angle usually. A common hack (as on my red Z) is to cross the cable - right to left and vice-versa; that removes the slack and improves the angle to the calipers.
However, adjustability in the system due to the design of the existing mechanism is a limiting factor. One further hack is to make an extension for the arm attached to the handbrake lever, creating greater leverage on the adjustable rod in the trans tunnel. Also, adding more thread to that rod. I’ve done both on my car. Still, it’s limited in effectiveness and hence my interest in alternatives to the usual calipers and the idea of separate handbrake calipers as per Wilwood.
However, adjustability in the system due to the design of the existing mechanism is a limiting factor. One further hack is to make an extension for the arm attached to the handbrake lever, creating greater leverage on the adjustable rod in the trans tunnel. Also, adding more thread to that rod. I’ve done both on my car. Still, it’s limited in effectiveness and hence my interest in alternatives to the usual calipers and the idea of separate handbrake calipers as per Wilwood.