Removing parking brake street/strip car

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rmchrgr

rmchrgr

Skate And Destroy
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OK for the street/strip guys - do you have a parking brake? I'm starting to get my car back together and am leaning towards leaving it out. #1, it's dead weight. #2, it's extra clutter and #3, see #1. I figure it would be one of the first things gone in a dedicated race car but a street machine is a slightly different story.

If you removed it - do you wish you had it sometimes? Is there any particular situation where it would still be useful? Do you carry wheel chocks around?

My one concern is that I live on a steep hill. If I forgot to put the car in gear and walked away it would literally be in my neighbor's front bedroom. It's not far-fetched because a similar thing happened when I was little. Someone was visiting for a minute and the mother left her baby in the back of her Vega. (yep, early '70s) From what I remember the baby managed to crawl in front and knocked the car out of gear and it rolled backwards into a tree. Kid was OK, Vega, not so much.

So street/strip car - parking brake yay or nay?
 
Yay. Aside from the obvious safety aspect, if your car is licensed and you live in an area subject to vehicle inspections, you won't pass without a functioning E-brake. And if something were to happen, your insurance company would likely deny any claim if they found you had disabled/removed the parking brake.
Just make sure it's adjusted properly so there's no drag when not engaged.
 
Yes, but have mine in there. More so important on a manual pedal car. It proved useful on the wife’s automatic car when the shifter crapped out.
 
I had it on the Duster street/strip I liked it for safety. The new car has Strange race brakes and there is no provision for a park brake. Wheel chalks will be needed.
 
If I had a street strip car, I'd keep it. You never know where you'll have to park & you don't want the weight of the car on that parking pawl ? If that's what it's called
 
Most racing classes require a working parking brake.
 
Professor Fate said:
Yay. Aside from the obvious safety aspect, if your car is licensed and you live in an area subject to vehicle inspections, you won't pass without a functioning E-brake. And if something were to happen, your insurance company would likely deny any claim if they found you had disabled/removed the parking brake.
Just make sure it's adjusted properly so there's no drag when not engaged.
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As far as I know, the only 'safety aspect' of a parking brake is to keep a car from rolling away on a hill. If the hydraulic brakes completely fail, the parking brake may help slow it down over a longer distance though it certainly won't stop the car in a panic situation. I actually do use it in my truck all the time but more so it does not rust away from not being used.

Didn't really think about the DMV inspection point which is a good one, ultimately I may have no choice about it.

The weight and clutter are big factors for me. Between the lever, cables, rear actuator hardware, and brackets it's probably 8-10lbs of dead weight.
 
rmchrgr said:
For what type of racing? I don't believe NHRA requires a working parking brake. Most dedicated race cars I've been around didn't have them.
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I have found absolutely 0 mentions of parking brakes in any class
 
rmchrgr said:
As far as I know, the only 'safety aspect' of a parking brake is to keep a car from rolling away on a hill. If the hydraulic brakes completely fail, the parking brake may help slow it down over a longer distance though it certainly won't stop the car in a panic situation.
Click to expand...
Nor is it meant to- it's purpose is to keep the car stationary. I suppose the term "Emergency brake" is somewhat of a misnomer, I should more properly refer to it as "parking brake".
And yes, the safety aspect is keeping the car where you left it.

It's other purpose is doing "Rockford turns"... :)
 
Leave it. Wouldn't have a 4 speed car without one. Besides, it would be nice to have if you bust a brake line.
 
My Dart has Wilwood rear disks with an internal (Ford Explorer) parking brake and I made brackets to hook the factory cable to the activation lever on the brakes. Many years ago I experienced brake failure, it's a sick feeling if there is no e brake. Never had any issues with this car but the e brake is there for peace of mind.
 
Professor Fate said:
Nor is it meant to- it's purpose is to keep the car stationary. I suppose the term "Emergency brake" is somewhat of a misnomer, I should more properly refer to it as "parking brake".
And yes, the safety aspect is keeping the car where you left it.

It's other purpose is doing "Rockford turns"... :)
Click to expand...

Not really a misnomer. Or at least it didn’t used to be. In the event of a hydraulic failure, a real emergency brake can be used to stop the car since it’s mechanically actuated. Yeah, the stopping distance won’t be good, but it’s a crap ton better than nothing.

I like having a real emergency brake, most newer cars have done away with them. They have parking brakes, but if it’s a button on the dash you sure as heck can’t figure that’ll work if you push it at speed.

So it depends, “emergency brake” and “parking brake” get used interchangeably but they’re really different things. An emergency brake should still function after a hydraulic failure so you have some kind of way to stop the car. A parking brake either isn’t totally separate or isn’t actuated in a way you can use to stop the car. At least in my book, for whatever that’s worth.
 
keep it, if ever loose brakes , you'll wish you had never took it out. as for weight, it's not 10 #, has no rotating parts. just lever and cable. doesn't affect car at all.
 
I know what I was thinkin about. The fact that automatic cars ARE required by NHRA to have a working PARK on the gear shift. I knew there was something rollin around in there regarding the work park. lol But back to the parking brake, I can't figure out why someone wouldn't want a working one.
 
I have had to use the E brake in an emergency situation. Trust me, you will miss it if its not there.
So whats the proper term for these? I always called them emergency brake, what do you call it?
-Emergency brake (E brake)
-Parking brake
-hand brake
 
All I can say is, if you have a total hydraulic failure, through the parking (or E) brake and down shifting, you gotta chance to get it whoaed before you hit something. And that's the truth.
 
Guys - it's "chock", not "chalk", OK?

But to the point, thanks for the input thus far. I can definitely see the reasoning for re-installing it but I'm still on the fence about it. Basically, I just don't want to re-install it. The rear cables suck and so does the one coming out of the firewall. Can't say my reasoning is logical because it's not. That's really all I've got.

The car is an automatic so putting the thing in park is enough to keep it from moving. Except for my driveway, parking on a steep hill is not a regular occurrence. Frankly, I'd have to be pretty out of it to have the car roll on me. Don't think it would be a big deal to chock the wheels either.

That said, does anyone know if there are Mopar A-Body specific parking brake cables available with plastic sheathing as opposed to the OE steel? I see there are universal kits available from Summit etc., but I'd rather not get too involved with modifying the parking brake system.
 
I wonder why e brakes always apply the rear brakes? After all, most of the braking is done by the fronts.
I took mine out. I’ve been in a car that lost it’s brakes, too. The e brake did little. The telephone pole stopped us.
 
I would keep it...that being said, I have not had one on my car since I have owned it (29 years and counting)....I will probably add one some day.
 
It became a " PARK" brake when they couldn't fit the word " EMERGENCY" on that little tiny pedal on the left.
A true "park" brake has a brake drum on the back of the trans to secure the driveshaft from turning either way .
Most Motor Vehicle Acts require a "secondary mechanical brake" for emergencies to qualify for plates/insurance .
Very few people know about " curbing" the wheels when parked on a hill .
 
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I would think the lawyers got together and said there’s too much possible liability in using the word “emergency”. “Parking” brake, yeah, that’s for when you’re not moving.
 
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