stephen grant Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 i am about to buy a 1998 1.6 k-series ex-racecar. It's been converted to road use and has a valid MOT. I had a couple of questions that I was hoping someone might be able to answer; 1. there was no handbrake. I've checked back through this forum and it seems like some racecars have a handbrake under the dash. the owner wasn't aware of there being a handbrake, but then again he didn't know what half the buttons on the dash did either. Should there be a handbrake anywhere and, if not, how much of a job is it to install one? 2. The powder coating on the chassis was just starting to flake underneath, and there were several patches of loose surface rust on the chassis. Assuming i'm keen to avoid taking all the bodywork off and re-coating the chassis, what can i do to keep the rust from taking hold and to re-protect the chassis? 3. Being an ex-racecar, it had no real security; all there is is a twistkey on the outside of the car for the electrics, then flick the switch and press the starter button. How difficult would it be to fit either a barrel lock or an immobiliser many thanks for any help on this stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julians Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 I didnt think it was possible to pass an MOT without a handbrake. sounds a bit fishy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubbster Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 Hope it's cheap Not sure how it got through an MOT without a handbrake. As for how easy is it to fit one it rather depends if the bracketry is still there to bolt the lever to and whether the calipers are designed to accept a handbrake. It could be that both these vital elements are missing and therfore it is a bigger job than one may expect. Steve Newman may well be along shortly to explain how he did his! Powder coating has a history of being a bit flaky, as a minimum you could spray dinitrol on it (or Waxoyl), or you could paint with Hammerite? As for security - I don't know the answer but someone who does will be along soon I'm sure Roadsport build photo's here Le Mans 2004 photo's here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tight fart Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 1, my race car never had a handbrake, I had to fit one to get through the SVA. It cannot pass a MOT without one and the guy selling would know this. It's either a bent MOT or the handbrake was removed afterwards. 2 "They all do that sir" 3 to fit a barrel lock may need a change of loom. An immobiliser shouldn't be a Problem T.F@O.F pics here www.p1spot.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neville Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 With regards to security, my 1996 ex-grads car is the same as this but the insurance required an immobiliser due to the fact it isn't garaged at night. I got Caterham to fit a Surlock immobiliser when i bought it a year ago so it's not too difficult. Make sure you have somewhere to put the keys when you are driving though as I ended up rummaging around upside-down looking for the immobiliser key in Reading services afer it fell under the seat. The powdercoating on mine was also coming off so a wire-brushing session followed by copious amounts of hammerite and waxoyl sorted it out and I use mine pretty much daily in all weathers. Just give it a check over annually and touch up where appropriate. Mine had a handbrake so I can't help with that but I personally would be a little wary if he has got it through an MOT without one and also doesn't know what everything on the dash does. Still, if it's at the right price though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen grant Posted August 8, 2004 Author Share Posted August 8, 2004 ok, thanks for the quick answers. it looks like the handbrake is the real issue. i'll give him a call about this, since it's a fair point that it probably needs one for an MOT. anyone know if the handbrake should be under the dash on this car, since it's very clearly not on the transmission tunnel? regards, stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubbster Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 Not sure but 1998 I would say could have been either under dash or on tunnel. Either way you need to check if the rear calipers have the necessary points for attaching a handbrake cable like this one here, if not then you either need to replace the calipers or add a secondary unit for operating the handbrake (this is what Steve Newman has done). You could also look in the tunnel for the handbrake mounting points like here, I don't know what the under dash one looks like though. Roadsport build photo's here Le Mans 2004 photo's here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Smith Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 A '98 race car would have had the handbrake under the dash. Its only in the last couple of years that race car handbrakes have moved the the tunnel (so they could get thro the SVA). If its an ex-Roadsport Challenge car shouldn't it have a handbrake anyway? Edited by - Graeme Smith on 8 Aug 2004 19:58:03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubbster Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 *thumbup*Graham Roadsport build photo's here Le Mans 2004 photo's here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen grant Posted August 8, 2004 Author Share Posted August 8, 2004 ok, thanks for all the replies. i suspect it's going to turn up under the dash; he had a team looking after the car and, by all accounts, just turned up and drove it. i'll get it checked out tommorrow. ta again, stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Sailor Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 This link here should get you to a copy of a diagram for an underdash handbrake showing the mounting points that need to be on the frame member for the handbrake. If they're there then mounting the handbrake is a doddle. The link isn't posting for some reason. If you want it, send me your e-mail address and I'll send the link directly to you. Tried to get the link going again. If it worked you'll see it. If not, e-mail me as noted. Ken Sailor Edited by - Ken Sailor on 8 Aug 2004 21:25:53 Edited by - Ken Sailor on 8 Aug 2004 21:28:05 Edited by - Ken Sailor on 8 Aug 2004 21:34:58 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Phillips Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 Most full-out racers remove the handbrake as it saves about 4 kilos. Sometimes they put in a hydraulic handbrake [or a line-lock]. MOT testers have been known to incorrectly pass these - the book says it should be mechanical. It has been known for a long bar to be inserted through a hole made in the tunnel and into the propshaft UJ - novel, legitimate but for all the trouble you might as wll have a handbrake. Should the calipers not have take off points you can buy Willwood handbrake calipers from Rallyspares though it might be cheaper to source replacement calipers and disks [from a Sierra 4X4 from memory]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 Stephen, As Grubbster said here I am 😬. I have a 1998 ex track car which came with no handbrake. There are two possibilities in your case. The handbrake could be under the passenger side of the dash (easy to miss if you don't know it's there) or it will be in the centre of the transmission tunnel. Do you know if the car you're looking at is an ex racer or ex PalmerSport track car? If it's the latter as mine is then Palmers ran these cars on LPG and made a number of mods in order to do so. The relevant one is that they cut out the handbrake mounting brackets from the transmission tunnel. This in my case meant I had to grind away the remainder and get new brackets welded in. As to where the handbrake should be for a particular car check the location of the battery and the length of the passenger footwell compared to the driver's side. If the battery is mounted at the bottom of the chassis in front of the passenger footwell the the handbrake will IMHO be under the dash. If the battery is mounted on top of the passenger footwell (which is the same length as the driver's side) then the handbrake should be in the centre trans tunnel. The former chassis was used for race cars at least up to 2001 (as per my Academy car that year). As to the MOT. If it ain't got a handbrake the MOT must be dodgy, beware. Hope that all helps a bit but if you need to know more just let me know. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 Stephen, Just tried to reply to your private mail but it was returned undliverable. Is you email address in your profile correct? Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie_pank Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 I would worry about buying a car from an owner who clearly knows so little about it. Perhaps it might be possible to enlist the help of a fellow Blatchatter to go along with you and have a good look at it. Perhaps it might also be worth doing an HPI and posting some more of the details on here to check that it is legit? BTW (and sorry for the hijack) does one now need a tunnel-mounted handbrake for SVA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 Charlie, I think IIRC that a the under dash handbrake is no longer SVA compliant because it can't be reached (by the driver) when strapped in. I think that the race chassis has now been changed to the centre mounted handbrake for this reason. Why the question 🤔 Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie_pank Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 Insatiable curiosity! Don't worry it wasn't a loaded question. Kermit is still well and happy here in Sunny Scotland. He had a good 150 mile run this weekend around the twisties of Fife, although at some point in the not too distant future he will need a new synchro ring for 3rd... BTW how pointless that SVA now insists on the handbrake being on the tunnel. I've never used mine except when needing to lock the wheels for working on the car. Any piccys of your latest baby Steve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 You know what curiosity did to the cat don't you 😬 Hope that doesn't happen to Kermit. We all know the handbrake is a redundant waste of a kilo or two but try getting that through the heads of those that make the rules. Not good news about the synchro. How are you sure this is the problem? When the CRB failed on my first seven the first problem (other than a squeal) was that I started having trouble engaging gears. No pics available yet. I'm useless at keeping build diary type records so there is nothing. I'll take a few once it's road legal. Apologies for the continued hi-jack. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen grant Posted August 9, 2004 Author Share Posted August 9, 2004 thanks all - the handbrake turned up under the passenger dash! steve; e-mail is sgrant@nospampobox.com or stephen@the-whitehousenospam.demon.co.uk, both with the nospam removed, obviously. I'll check why my profile's not working. i appreciate all the advice and help from everyone on this - for various reasons i'm pretty confident that the car is as advertised, including MOT, but it'll definately need some TLC over the winter and i'll be bugging you all with technical issues for a while yet ta again stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie_pank Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 Steve, in order to avoid continuing the hi-jack I've started the new thread now corrected link here Charlie'n'Kermit The plan is: There is no plan S5EVN Edited by - charlie_pank on 9 Aug 2004 21:46:54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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