Stop it!

[Been Here Before]

Question - is the thing on the left of a left hand drive Model T, a parking brake or emergency brake?

[Tadpole]

Its the "lever"! That's all!

[bowerss2]

I think ford just called it the "hand lever" but could be wrong.

I've always called pulling it all the way back the "emergency brake" out of habit, but also sometomes call it a parking brake because I hate being consistent

Pull the lever anytime your not moving and don't want to move, or moving and really, really don't want to be anymore. Dealers choice

[speedytinc]

With a stock setup on a small drum axle,(09-25) its a parking brake.(on level ground )
On the improved models its a parking & emergency brake in practice.

[Steve Jelf]

The Bible (shop manual) calls it emergency brake, or in some places just brake. My owner's manual (May, 1913) says hand lever and hub brake.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

I'd say if you're about to hit something, it's an emergency brake. If you're parking the car, it's a parking brake.

My silliness aside, I appreciate Steve's quotes from Ford literature!

[ModelTWoods]

Just call it the BRAKE LEVER, and be done with it.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

Just call it the BRAKE LEVER, and be done with it.

Perfect!

[Tadpole]

All this talk of brakes. To complicate things further, for a Model T driver in-training that's the clutch.

[TRDxB2]

The parts manual refers to it as a "hand Brake". Functionally it is to be used both as "parking brake" and as a "clutch". In panic mode it could be used in conjunction with the transmission brake along with engine braking as an "emergency brake" just before you crash

[Norman Kling]

It's a leg saver when stopped in traffic or at a signal for a long time. Also saves you from being run over if you start it on the crank. Not reliable for emergencies or for parking. Always use a chock block when parking anywhere not level. It also saves the bands and clutch when waiting for a light because finds the neutral better than with the leg alone.
Norm

[varmint]

It's a "gear shifter" because there is no other way.

[speedytinc]

The Bible (shop manual) calls it emergency brake, or in some places just brake. My owner's manual (May, 1913) says hand lever and hub brake.

The difference in nomenclature could be due to the "bible" having an updated section covering the improved models.

[signsup]

I have been told that if you need to emergency stop, turn your foot sideways and stomp on all three pedals. You will be going into low gear, trying to reverse and trying to stop. If you pulled back on the flux capacitor at the same time, I would think you're either going to stop or you are not.

[Steve Jelf]

In panic mode it could be used in conjunction with the transmission brake along with engine braking as an "emergency brake" just before you crash.

Don't tell anybody, but I have been known to use it in normal driving as an aid to the foot brake. I would rather change a brake lining than a transmission band.

[TWrenn]

I'm gonna play devils advocate here and simply say if you own a model T, and have learned to drive it then why the concern over what this lever is called for in the first place?
You use it to pahk the cah, set it to allow the cah to go forward as well as reverse, and then ultimately to go fast!

[TWrenn]

In panic mode it could be used in conjunction with the transmission brake along with engine braking as an "emergency brake" just before you crash.

Don't tell anybody, but I have been known to use it in normal driving as an aid to the foot brake. I would rather change a brake lining than a transmission band.

Devils advocate again!
I wouldn't WANT anyone to know I was doing that! If it's that necessary to use it as a service brake then it's time to consider adding either RM's or AC brakes to your car. I wouldn't have one without them. I love em.

[bowerss2]

In panic mode it could be used in conjunction with the transmission brake along with engine braking as an "emergency brake" just before you crash.

Don't tell anybody, but I have been known to use it in normal driving as an aid to the foot brake. I would rather change a brake lining than a transmission band.

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[Wayne Sheldon]

Originally, as Ford built it, from 1909 into 1925 it really was just a parking brake. Many years ago, a very good friend decided he wanted his model T speedster very era correct, right down to factory Ford brakes. He also liked to make grand entrances. Having gotten a nearly perfect set of original type cast iron brake shoes, he installed them. Cast iron shoes to steel drums? Talk about locking up the rear wheels and screaming in to stop! They worked GREAT! For about two dozen stops.
That was all.
Both the steel drums and the cast iron shoes were so badly worn out after about three days, that the brake couldn't even hold the car from creeping forward on level asphalt.
Never again.

About the same time, I had gotten a very good looking original set of after-market lined brake shoes for a model T. They worked much better in some ways. But would not lock the rear wheels no matter how hard one pulled the lever. They were the type made from steel channel bent to fit inside the drums with steel connection between the two shoes and a medium hard lining to press into the shoes. Over the years I have spoken with several other people that had used that type of after-market brake shoes in their Ts, with similar results.
I have come to the conclusion that the steel is too flexible. That once the shoes are pressed into the drums by the cams, any harder pulling of the handle merely distorts the shoes rather than applying additional pressure to stop the wheel. A few permanently distorted same type shoes I have seen at swap meets would seem to confirm this hypothesis.

Soon after that, I picked up an original era after-market lined cast iron set of brake shoes. It was also about that time that someone started reproducing that style brake shoes.
I installed and tried my original set, made sure everything was in good working order and properly adjusted. And they worked GREAT!

Since then, I have had and used one type or another outside after-market brakes on a few model Ts. Several others, especially the brass era Ts where I wanted to keep them era correct looking, I have used either original or reproduction lined cast iron shoes for the parking/emergency brake. And on those cars, I did USE those brakes! A lot!

Properly restored and adjusted, with the cams enlarged for proper rotation and fitting the drums, they will lock the wheels, even on the center-door sedan I toured with for some time. When I got that car put together and on the road, I made sure the rear brakes were ready to go. Because I wanted to be gentle with the transmission brake and not wear it out (for the obvious reasons), I routinely used the hand brake for most of my stops. I drove that car quite a bit for the short time I had it, and never did have to readjust the rear brakes.

That is my story, and I am sticking with it!

[tdump]

I just tell people it is the "oh crap" handle.
If you need to pull it back while driving, more than likely "Oh crap" or something similar is going thru your mind ,vocal cords or both.

[Allan]

Just a correction to an earlier point. If you use the lever in an emergency stop, you lose all engine braking. In a real emergency, rather than an unanticipated heavy stop, you could use all three pedals, but don't pull the lever.

Allan from down under.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Allan's point is a very good one. Engine compression should as a matter of habit be part of routine stopping of a model T. Under many circumstances, especially in the hills, it needs to be one of the primary means of controlling the car.
When brakes are needed the most, overuse of the usual braking systems are likely to fade and become nearly useless.

Time to point out that the disc brakes favored by some model T owners are superior under many conditions. They are much less prone to "brake fade" and in turn become more reliable sometimes when you may need them the most.
They become a debate between authenticity versus safety concerns and under what conditions someone should or should not maintain authenticity. That is not the question here. The original question leads to whether the original lever, more or less in its original use, is an emergency brake or is it only useful as a parking brake. Once authenticity is discarded, one should hope that all brakes, foot and hand, should be useful under any normal circumstances.

Under its truest authentic form, cast iron shoes and small steel drums, it is really only useful as a parking brake. However, with a minor and not seen alteration to lined cast iron shoes properly set up the hand brake can be an effective emergency brake.
Even with the lined cast iron shoes, habitual use of engine compression braking should be standard procedure.

[tmagill]

There goes one eyed Jake, grabbed her leg instead of the brake.

[Allan]

It really distills down to this. It is a parking brake. To use it in an emergency dis-engages much better braking systems provided by the engine and the transmission.

Allan from down under.