Tonight I started out by sanding down and painting some metal trim parts
from the interior of the car. That was easy. Then, I got into something
that was NOT so easy, changing the parking brake mechanism. This particular
unit is one of the vacuum actuated "Auto Parking Brake Release" kind. It is
similar to the manual unit except that it has a big vaccum pot on the top of
it. The unit that was in the car was, of course, rusted so badly that it
wouldn't lock in the applied position. I tried to free it without taking it
out of the car but that wasn't happening. Fortunately, I had a perfectly
good working unit from my 77 NYB parts car. I then took out the original
rusted over unit and installed the perfectly operating unit from the 77.
http://www.nybclub.org/membercars/bradhogg/76NYB/ParkingBrake/ParkingBrake1.
jpg
http://www.nybclub.org/membercars/bradhogg/76NYB/ParkingBrake/ParkingBrake2.
jpg
http://www.nybclub.org/membercars/bradhogg/76NYB/ParkingBrake/ParkingBrake3.
jpg
I decided to take off the remaining lower dash cover, only two bolts and two
screws held it on anyway. That allowed much better access to the mechanism.
I had to remove the hood release lever, the Hi/Lo beam switch from the floor
and the grommet where the parking brake cable goes through the floor. I got
the old unit out and the cable disconnected from it and then I installed the
"new" unit. To connect the cable I had to pull id out some to get enough
length to slip it through the keeper in the mechanism. I decided to
disconnect the cable under the car, about under the B pillar. When you pull
it loose, it just slipps apart. I got it all put back together except for
reconnecting the cable under the car, and reinstalling the cable grommet,
Hi/Lo switch and hood release lever assembly.
Any more 77 parts on this car and it will be a 76 1/2 model year.
That's about enough playing cars for tonight.
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