Handbrake and gear change handles

[Howard Wright]

Hi All

I hadn't realised that not all handbrakes are the same length!  I've merrily fitted a Beaulieu find to my uncoupled brake chassis and now I've started thinking about bodywork for the special realise it is too long and will collide with the chummy tank I propose to use and probably end up being behind the dash board.

So I want to shorten it but would like to keep the alloy (mazak??) handle.  I also want to extend the gate gear change lever which also has an alloy ball handle.  I could just cut a section out and weld the two bits together but I would prefer to remove the handles, adjust the length of the shafts, reshape the tops and refit.

Any idea how to remove the alloy handles?  Is it brute force? or heat and brute force or some other more complex method?

Cheers

Howard

[Robert Leigh]

I had a loose handbrake grip once, but it never came off. The steel portion appeared to be spread at the top, rivet fashion. Even if you ground the top off you might find that the alloy/mazak was still a tight fit. On the other hand it might be possible to drive the remaining steel square spike portion through it. If you try something like this, good luck!
Robert Leigh

[Jack in the Box]

Howard,

Thought you might be interested in the gear lever extension fitted to our Chummy.

Alan



[attachment=6868]

[Tony Betts]

Hi Howard,

If the parts are in good condition, be careful before cutting.

Gate gear lever are extreamly rear in good condition.

And getting hard to find the parts to make cut and shut levers.

it would be better to add an extension as above.

Tony.

[Greig Smith]

Howard I have a friend with a spare hand brake complete with alloy/Mazak handle

The shaft isn't 100% straight - has a few little bends in it, so would be a perfect candidate for your experiment - If you are interested, I'll get some pictures for you

Aye
Greig

[Howard Wright]

Hi Thanks Everyone

As mentioned the handle of the handbrake slides over a reduced AND tapered section of steel which is peened over at the top.  I filed the peened steel off and with not too much effort the Mazak grip slid off.  It is fragile and cracked slightly at the base.  I've cut the shaft down and ground it to fit the grip.  I'll repair the cracks with a bit of JB weld which turns out to be the same colour as the Mazak!

Thanks Tony for the info I've decided not to take the ball off but make an extension!

Thanks Greig but I think the job is done!

Cheers

Howard

[Duncan Grimmond]

Unless you're offended by the lack of authenticity, for your handbrake you could cut and file a new pair of aluminium "scales" from a piece of greenhouse dural angle and rivet them with ali csk. rivets...

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Overlap, sorry...

[Tony Press]

The very early handbrake lever is shorter- not sure when it lengthened. The Latrobe Sports has a short handbrake which fits easily under the dash.

I thought the brake handle and gear knob were alluminium. (spelling?)

[AllAlloyCup]

I agree Tony , pretty sure it’s aluminium that
these handles are made of.

On my Cup the short handbrake only just fits under the dash.

The gear lever on the 3 speed gate is also a bit short for
convenience and I’ve seen longer ones on other Cups
so perhaps a future improvement, though a remote would
be nice.

Regards

Bill G
Aka AllAlloyCup