Cable brake information

[nlorntson]

[ToolBox]

[blood]

Dear kubel 42, A couple of comments. Hand brake pressure rod has two pieces, the rod itself which should not be two hard to fab up and the adjuster piece which is a little harder to make. You will need a small lathe to make that part. You can see photos of these in this thread. I can get you dimensions on both parts but it will take me some time. do you have a complete hand brake assembly? If so the long rod can be made out of round stock with a slot for the handbrake cut into the back end and the forward end threaded female for the adjuster. It is quite tight where the rod passes by the gear change lever so attention should be paid on the rod outer diameter. The pedal pressure rod comes in two variations, My car had the wrong one in it which caused the cables to exit the guide tubes at an upwward angle. The one I bought to replace was for the later version and fits properly but who knows what vintage my pan really is. My car is supposed to be a late 44. Make sure you get the right one. I would not trust it until you measure. I can get you the dimension the guide tubes to the rectangular base that the brake pedal rod rests on if you like. My opinion would be to keep the brakes period correct if possible. If you are not that skilled at fabrication I would bet someone close to you could assist. Best of luck David, PS let me know if you need those dimensions.

[Brezelfahrer]

Anyone in the know how the re-install the pedalcluster.
If there is luck involved for hooking in the brakepedal, than I am very unlucky today...
I had a look with a simple endoscope, but it gives no clues.
Any trick is welcome!
Thanks
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1952 typ 1 european standard
1959 typ 1 european standard sunroof

[blood]

Pull the brake push rod out the front of the frame head and reinstall it once the cluster is bolted in place with the clutch cable hooked up and secured in the rear. David

[Two Glove Boxes]

[rod_vw]

Those of us that are 'old school' have riveted brake shoes hundreds of times. As you say don't get too enthusiastic or you will crack the linings.

I've not seen this thread before although it begins many years ago, it is an excellent production by Nancy, better than most workshop manuals have ever managed. Congratulations Nancy.

My own experience with VW cable brakes goes back to the early 1970s, long before the luxury of the internet but back then many people had first hand experience of mechanical brakes in various guises.
_________________
Rod,
Please visit http://www.historicvws.org.uk
https://www.facebook.com/historicvwclub/

1946 Beetle (Back on the road after over 50 years! Last major outing - Hessisch Oldendorf 2022)
2016 T6 Selfbuild Camper and a LWB MAN TGE in build.

[Martin Southwell]

As you say, us 'old school' types had to rivet on our own brake linings for many years, as the brake shoe sets available from VW seemed so expensive at the time. In contrast, I used to buy the lining sets, complete with rivets from VW themselves, which were inexpensive.

I still have some sets somewhere, including clutch linings, but in these asbestos free days, they are probably best left alone, if we want to live to be 100, although the damage may already be done! Having said that, I was always sensible about handling the material, and never blew the brake drums out with compressd air, etc, as the dangers were well known about, even in the 1970's. There was a good booklet called 'Asbestos Kills' by Nancy Tait I recall reading with interest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Tait

Anyway, back on the subject of rivets, to I used to use an M8 x 30 ish bolt, held vertically on a solid piece of wood, with the 13mm head gripped by a pair of Mole/Vice grips, and use a narrow centrepunch to 1st splay out the hollow centre of the opposite end, and then a fatter centrepunch, eventually using a fat ended chisel to form a nice circular pattern of flattened metal.

The positive side was that the lining material was ideal for good braking, but with the rivet head in place, it reduced the useable height of the brake lining, and therefore service life, whilst frequently scoring the drums if left in situ too long. 'Modern' bonded 'cardboard' linings obvously don't do this until down to the brake shoe itself, and are relatively cheap for what they are, relegating the skills of us 'old skool' types to the dustbin of time, along with the likes of gas lamp lighters, and stage coach drivers!

[Telephunken]

Great thread Nancy! this is very useful as I am going to be assembling the cable brakes on my 47 pan soon. I actually was looking at all the pieces tonight studying how they all go together. Your pics and Diagram was very helpful to confirm some of the things I had already suspected but wasn't sure of; the one thing I am missing is the return spring. does anyone know how much tension it needs to have obviously I can probably buy something from my local hardware store that would work, I would need to know how much tension it needs....i also dont have the little cover...
Nancy, I remember you and I talking at Kelly Park about the grease coming out the front tubes and making a huge mess. so once I get everything together should I use a grease gun on the Zerts, and if so should I watch for the grease coming out the front of the tubes and then stop? what's the best procedure??
--Shawn

[nlorntson]

[Telephunken]

Does anyone know where I can locate these two particular pieces to complete my cable breaks one is the return spring that hooks to the front of the break push rod the other is the small clip that goes just under the cotter pin....

[nlorntson]

[Telephunken]

Thanks Nancy. I think I located the spring steel piece from the friend I'm already getting parts from; and the spring I think is available from the place in eastern Europe that sells the Type 82 parts. i'm waiting for a reply from my email to them.

[Brezelfahrer]

[rod_vw]

When I looked at that picture something looked wrong so the manual was consulted, here is the relevant page. Note the retaining bar across the shoes and the way in which the springs are placed.

_________________
Rod,
Please visit http://www.historicvws.org.uk
https://www.facebook.com/historicvwclub/

1946 Beetle (Back on the road after over 50 years! Last major outing - Hessisch Oldendorf 2022)
2016 T6 Selfbuild Camper and a LWB MAN TGE in build.

[Brezelfahrer]

[nlorntson]

[a1steaksauce]

[Brezelfahrer]

that was the last of the three differences
and the right side is correct from the first time!!

installed the two brakedrums and now it is ready for a good adjustment of all 4 brakes!

I had the shoes relined and glued, as the old ones always cracked on the rivets by time, and the glued version has a little more cm2 of stopping power...
_________________
1952 typ 1 european standard
1959 typ 1 european standard sunroof

[JWDII]