MTFCA Forum

I have a mid 20s handbrake lever I am restoring for use on a 27 roadster. I need to determine where the lever should be bent so that it conforms to the look of a 26-27 lever. I dont have a 27 for a pattern but I recall the lever is bent to the left after it clears the floorboards and the handle/release flipper is angled to the right so it doesn't hit the interior. I can probably figure out the first bend above the floor boards but dont know where to make the bend in the handle area. I also dont know if the thin rod that attaches the release to the pawl shold be bent or not. Any explanation or photos would be greatly appreciated.

For me, this is useful bend on the '26-'27 open car for good left foot space on the low pedal.

Low # 1 bend starts approx. 4 1/2" from the pawl rivet. Then the # 2 bend , going back to straight is appox. 11 1/2" from the pawl rivet.

That provides a fairly nice offset of about 2" or so.

Views showing engaged high speed and 'free neutral' locations. Scales show the approx. offset. The pawl control rod kinda follows the same bends, but doesn't have to be spot on.

How this helps

Thank you Dan. I thought the 26-27 hand break was different than the earlier style because of the bends I've seen. From your post I get the impression owners made the bends themselves to have more access. Is this correct?

Your initial impression is correct Richard. The New and Improved handbrake lever has a factory ‘bend’. The OP just wants to adapt an earlier straight lever/handle to approximate the ‘factory bend’.

Owners could 're-shape' the hand brake if needed, good Ford steel easy to bend cold.

Original '26-'27 show different patterns, what works for you is what counts

The open cars have lots of cut-away at the dash panel for the hand lever to keep your fingers from getting mashed.

Thanks for the help. Here's the handbrake test installed with long pins thru thru the flipper to hold it in place. The spacing/fit is good but I need to set the pan in the car with the hogdhead and pedals to check for clearance. Sorry for the poor photos.