[RallySnake]

Excaliber,

I really can relate to your frustration with the Jag system. I spent a long time woking on mine before I figured out how to make it work well. I had hoped to use it to make handbrake turns on the solo2 course, but the rear tires are too big and will not slide. It will absolutely hold the car in place on any hill, though.

To set the handbrake up properly, you need to work on the rear end with the body off the frame! All those little self adjusting parts inside the handbrake arms must be clean and well lubricated. I used fairly large coil springs (4" by 1") from a hardware store to pull them back. The outside end of the springs are attached to "L" brackets on the inside of the frame rails. These are important to fully release the brakes. Forget that ridulous hairpin spring.

The BIG issue is the bellcrank. It is does not provide the leverage you need to actually hold the car. I welded a steel strap to the center member that the handbrake attaches to. It effectively doubles the length and the leverage of the bellcrank. I used turnbuckles to attach the bellcrank to each handbrake arm. That way I could get exactly the right length so that the brakes fully release. Note that the handbake handle will pull up to 5 or 6 clicks now.

I mounted the handbrake lever onto the top of my transmission tunnel and used a steel rod (and a small turnbuckle) to connect it to the bellcrank. I hate cables, they will always let you down!

I have enough confidence in my hand brake that I regularly push the car out of the garage and let it roll down the sloping driveway. I walk along side, then reach in and pull the handle to stop the car on the slope. If it didn't work, I'd only have one foot now!

Paul