MTFCA Forum

Sure seems like one of those easy tasks to check off your list in short order on a rainy day. Well, it isn’t. I did one, for the first time, this afternoon, and must say that it took a good 50% of my mechanical ingenuity along with about 4 hours of my afternoon to accomplish. The result was perfect, but man, I never expected to incorporate the vast amount of tool stock that was needed. Maybe this can help someone do it easier. I know that the next time I have to, it should be a lot easier than it was today.

The main tips are: You can’t do it in the car. You can’t do it with the squeeze handle attached to the cast brake lever. The rivet that holds the handle to the lever is not a size that you will have on hand. The bend of the new spring is not quite right.

Here’s a task rundown: Remove the whole brake lever assembly from the car. Pull the cotter pin from the pawl rod. Grind the peened head off of the handle pivot rivet. Punch that out. Now you have the steel handle free from the cast brake lever. Grind the two old spring rivet heads off. Punch them out. Remove most of the bend from the small end of the new spring. Install the new spring with its two tiny rivets by having the rivet heads on the outside and peen them on the “inside”. Now, that rivet that was removed from the casting is a bastard size that I do not have and I have MANY sizes in my shop. Drill the steel handle pivot point holes to 1/4”. Drill the cast hole to 17/64”. Put it all together with a short 1/4” dome-head rivet. The rivet has to be very quickly heated in place, without heating the spring and without overheating the steel. Whack it with an air impact concave riveting bit. Air blast it to cool it. Paint it. Re-install it in the car. Easy-Peasy… the second time.

Thats why vendors offer a neat clip on spring that works very well.
I know, not a restoration, but functional for a non show car.

I got a pair of handbrake spring rivets from Lang's. I had my wife hold a socket on its side against the rivets while I held the brake handle with one hand and smacked the rivet ends with a ball pee hammer. Wasn't easy bit worked.

I may get around to that job someday, but if I don't it doesn't matter.

This temporary fix from the local hardware store is still working twelve years later.

Thats very much like what the vendors sell, but you dont have to wait for the mail.

Steve, that's exactly what I replaced. I had that on there for years and finally wanted to make it original.

Hey Dave! This is what I used. Worked great, no need to heat the rivets, I squeezed them cold. I was able to keep the handle attached to the brake lever also. Let me know if you plan on doing another one.

Great tool tip, Ed; thanks for sharing. The original rivets in that spring & lever certainly were never heated during assembly. jb

Great to know, Ed. Thanks!