Emergency Brake Picture

[ChapinBusDude]

I'm working on a 73 Thing that has Ebrake issues. Since I'm a veritable novice on the Thing I gotta ask for help on this one When I am installing the ebrake assembly it looks like there must be a metal tab broken off the chassis where the cam slides forward into, and hold it all steady. Does anyone have a picture of this spot that shows a correct set of tabs with the ebrake not installed. Looks like I may need to weld a tab back in place on the chassis. Currently there is nothing that holds the assembly from simply rotating up as a whole....

[mondshine]

There is a small tab which is part of the tunnel to engage the slot on the ratchet segment. They are a little fragile, and often break off.
I "repaired" mine many years ago by bolting a flat piece of steel to the top of the tunnel to engage that slot in the ratchet segment.
There is a ~1/2" diameter hole, presumably for a switch to alert the driver that the hand brake is on for Beetles, Ghias, etc. Things don't use any switch there, but that hole is in a good spot to bolt the steel piece to the top of the tunnel.
This "repair" is a little "half-assed", but it has worked well for a very long time.

Maybe this sketch will help...

Good luck, Mondshine

[ChapinBusDude]

Here's the picture of what I'm dealing with! See the tab in there? perhaps it is simply bent down? But it does not line up with the cam notch. Instead of getting hooked below the tab, the cam notch aligns with that shorter bit of metal seen just above the tab. My question is this: is the tab a two piece thing where the cam notch fits under a theoretical broken off tab, but above the lower tab seen in the picture (but apparently too far down to align with the cam notch). Are there two tabs on the chassis, one to keep the brake lever from rotating up and one to prevent rotating down?

[mondshine]

Yep. That's the tab!
You can see in the illustration I posted that the tab should be parallel with the top of the tunnel.
I think you will find that even if you manage to straighten it out, the first time you apply the hand brake, it will bend right back to where it was.
My '74 has a hole there (like I described previously) which I do not see in your photo.
If you choose to weld a reinforcement in that spot, be careful not to ignite flammable crap inside the tunnel; remember, besides all that grease, there's a fuel line in there.
With the tunnel (tab) reinforced, you might need to enlarge the slot in the ratchet segment; perfectly OK.

[74 Thing]

Cracks in the tunnel by the e brake handle are a common occurrence with the Thing. There are some fixes in this thread

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=644779&highlight=cracks+emergency+brake

[ChapinBusDude]

Thanks, a good thread. I will try bending the tab up and if that does not hold I will try the mod similar to the one in the thread that mondshine modeled out. I may have to drill holes since mine does not have these already

[Hot Rod Harp]

It seems a PO repaired the broken tang or dog on the E brake with a screwed on strap. I was going to replace with a welded piece to look better, but due to the gas line and flammable stuff in the tunnel i'll leave it as it works ok.

I just noticed the pin is broken off the handle, I'll replace the handle one day.
_________________
74 Thing 1600DP
76 Westfalia 2.0L FI
69 Beetle 1500SP sold
88 Goldwing GL1500/6 sold


RinTinTin in Waldorf Astoria 1956

[partsman914]

no word of a lie, I am dealing with the EXACT situation, discovered it this weekend...I actually spent time last night searching around.

My tabs look exactly the same...what I don't understand ( and can't find any explication for) is why there is TWO tabs...one short one, closer to the top of the hole, and a longer one, sort of underneath the short one. Which one is the ratchet suppose to slide on to?

[74 Thing]

Modified emergency brake handle part

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=968118

[germanbilly]

[Ron Domeck]

Since I made the modified ebrake part I now use a bolt and lock nut instead of the pin and clips. Most time the handle will move side to side because the mount has bent over the years. With this bolt setup you can tighten until the slop is gone. The bolt is 14mmx1.5 50 mm long.

[Ron Domeck]

Since I made the modified ebrake part I now use a bolt and lock nut instead of the pin and clips. Most time the handle will move side to side because the mount has bent over the years. With this bolt setup you can tighten until the slop is gone. The bolt is 14mmx1.5 50 mm long.

[germanbilly]

Ron I have done the same thing I also used some very thin brass sheeting to shim the bolt so there is no side play in the E brake and also no more problems at all. Wrapped the bolt with the shim.
GB