VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc 41 parking brake

I am working on a 41 Cabriolet and can not get parking brake to apply. It looks like there may be a spring missing or the levers are wrong. I did not assemble the brakes so have no idea what last guy did. Anyone have any pictures or ideas? I have pictures but don’t know how to add to post

if you do not have one consider buying a genuine 41 parts book, there are three editions a green one that came out when the car was introduced this was a smaller book that had limited info in it then there was a maroon one that is the most common one and the third which came out effective aug 1 1941 and was a bluish or gray color & would be the one to get as it had all the updated info for the year because it had info on the fleetline and the easter models as well as the other models. these books have all kinds of information as well as plenty of diagrams of the different systems that were used on these cars, and should answer most of your questions, there is usually one or two on ebay,and well worth the money. I have all of the them and usually use the aug edition. good luck with your project.dlz

While I’ll agree on the need for a service manual with when servicing our cars, I have never seen an assembly manual for 1941. Since restorations usually require much more disassembly that a service manual covers, pictures documenting the original details are invaluable as we all know. That said, since the OP did not specify where he thinks the levers or missing springs are located, here are a couple pictures of the parking brake linkage where it connects to the frame. The first is a picture of a closed car frame showing the parking brake linkage where the two cables connect. If you look close under the two cable connection tabs, there is a third tab hanging underneath. A spring connects to that lower tab and goes to the torque tube housing behind the universal ball joint. The second picture shows the spring on a cabriolet frame looking up. Disregard the ball joint hanging under the linkage. Hope this helps. Mike

I like your steering wheel in the 1st pic. I had a customer drive his car 20 miles to the workshop using the same method as he had damaged the top of the shaft and the proper wheel would not fit back on.
Tony

My problem is inside drum. I have a huge gap between the lever and the link bar that attaches to front shoe. Even turning the eccentric bolt I can’t get close. How can I add pictures?

It looks like everything is there. Just too big of gap between levers and parking brake won’t grab. I will try to get pictures loaded. I have them on my phone. I have a 42 service book but it’s not clear. It just tells you to turn eccentric which I tried. The car is a complete restoration and the guy who put the brakes together is no longer here. He even took all the pictures and videos of disassembly and partial assembly with him when he quit. I have managed to get it pretty complete with help from a few guys online and here. I will be firing it up next week.

Have you removed all of the slack using the threaded end of the parking brake cable. I have found the cable needs to be surprisingly tight.

I looked at another 41 and it appears there is a spring missing on emergency brake extension link where it goes to toggle lever. It looks like maybe 1/2 inch diameter by an inch. None of parts catalogs show it. Any ideas or should I just go to hardware store and try to find something

The spring is only an anti-rattle spring and is not round but oval shaped.

Until the pictures come, I am wondering if you still have the Huck brakes. If they have been changed to the Benedix style, maybe the brake hardware is incorrect;

there is a picture of the pull back spring in the 41 parts book if it is the spring you are looking for, under group 4.827 part number 3653271, google it . and you will find where it is for sale hope this helps. dlz

The car still has the huck brakes. I will figure out how to get pictures loaded