VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc Emergency Brake

Had to put in a "used" new rearend in my '41. It is from a
'48, but looks the same. Everything is working, except for the
emergency brake. There isn't any. I have tried adjusting the cable. I have also checked by the shoes in the rear end.
I have loosened the eccentric bolt and have tried moving the toggle lever. But there is little movement in the lever. The manual says to move the lever to shoes, and back off a bit.
Should this lever move freely before adjustment and being tightened? (Also, the adjustment screw didn't turn that much.
How much should it turn, and should it be hard to turn?)
Help. I don't like driving without my emergency brake, especially if I am on an incline.

Hi Dan,

Sorry no one has gotten back with you. Here are a few questions that might help with things. Did you rebuild the rear brakes as part of changing rear ends? Do both rear brakes not have working emergency brakes? Is the emergency brake linkage installed properly? Do the brake cables move inside their protective casings? A lot of times the cables can freeze up in their casing from corrosion.

Here is a picture of one of my rear brakes. On the right top you can see where the emergency brake is adjusted. You should be able to loosen the nut and turn the bolt easily with a screwdriver without it binding. Page 133 Fig.21 in the 41 manual shows the bolt which they call an eccentric bolt.



With the emergency brake not engaged you should be able to move the emergency brake cable about 3/8's of an inch by just pulling on it where it attaches to the frame. The eccentric bolt is what can be adjusted to move about 3/8's of an inch to align the brake shoes to move the correct distance when the emergency brake is applied.

Here is a picture of what the emergency toggle levers look like.



Good luck, Mike