Parking Brakes Finished - Continued

This is the finished product. I had reservations about the smaller radius curves of the parking brake cable by mounting them at the top of the axle, but since these are new cables and coated, plus I greased them, even the smaller reduced springs are strong enough to relieve tension fully on the parking brake lever as shown. The hook is disengaged.

I applied force to the lever (where the pedal cable would attach) and the parking brakes fully work and disengage fully when released.

Plus the bleeder screw is now perfectly on top.

On both sides.

This turned out better than originally planned. But it was a long road.

These are the last parts I need to remake. These ride on the parking brake inner cables and slide down the 'V' to the torque boxes to prevent road debris from entering the casing. I'll have to order some EPDM rubber and drill these out as these old ones are falling apart.

The sheer amount of labour spent researching and then trying different methods and parts can be a bit maddening at times. But it's the little things that set your project apart from others and can often even make or brake a project.

What makes it often worse is the fact it's a full size Ford with little aftermarket support. Whilst others who buy a more collectable Camaro, Chevelle, Mustang, Challenger, etc enjoy often multiple sources for replacement parts (even if they are dubious in quality). The full size Ford guys are extremely lucky to have just one source.

I do feel for those who want an old car and are daunted by the initial price of even a worn out dilapidated Chevrolet or Chrysler, then see an old galaxie 500 which are often cheap and think oh I'll restore this. Or my favourite oh I'll flip this only to discover that whilst the initial car was cheap the replacement parts either new or used, if you can even find them, are astronomical in price.

I hate to buy galaxie 500's only to use them as a parts source, because they are potentially cars that could make it back to the road and be someone elses source of happiness, but it's the sad truth, often it's a: 2 cars to make 1 decent one exchange.

Misc Brakes and Overview

These are the dust shields I needed to make for the parking brake cables.

I have a sheet of EPDM and tried using a standard hole saw to cut out the discs.

However the pilot hole was too big, so I removed the pilot bit and slowed the speed on the drill press down to the lowest speed and it worked just fine.

I used a smaller drill bit and then a straight edge gasket maker knife to cut the slices.

Installed.

Just to recap I know the parking brake cable casing is routed differently and a bit extreme compared to the original configuration but the inner cable slides easily.

Now the chassis is ready for the next round of items; these are the body mounts, tail pipe hangers, bumper bracket hardware and of course an engine.