Handbrake operation

Wrong way round. The average driver hasn't been particularly interested in what makes cars work for probably 30 or 40 years. Certainly saying things about wearing out ratchets or not stretching cables to Joe Soap would get blank stares across the board as they attempt to yank the thing through the roof.

Manufacturers come up with new ways of doing old things to try and give them an edge in the market - new and shiny sells irrespective of whether it actually makes the drivers life any better.

I would argue that the electric handbrake is actually a retrograde step for 2 reasons. 1) They only ever pull on super tight as they have no idea of how much gravity they're fighting so more chance of stretched cables etc. 2) If they go wrong then the cost and complexity of getting them fixed is higher than a trad pull-lever type. I had one in my S-Type and never used it because of the horror stories of it a) getting confused and throwing a light[1] and b) failing and being a very expensive replacement[2].

Think of how a ratchet works. Designed to be fool proof. Over-riding how it is designed to work may be satisfying in reducing noise that cam annoy

- but can't possibly make it work better. It may, however, interfere with correct operation.

On a bicycle, would you avoid free wheeling in case it wears out that ratchet?

All totally valid points, but what has changed? Were us older car owners misinformed all those years ago?

Chris

Not really. Just a fashion of the day. Later it would be fitting K&N filters and Magnicor leads. But even those options are getting limited. May even have been to do with some sporty cars having 'fly off' handbrakes.

Think back to your father or grandfather or even great grandfather's days. They would have some very odd habits today. Like always making sure a mains socket switch was off so the electricity couldn't leak out.

That wasn't because of the electricity ... ;-)

Cheers, T i m

snip

Yes, me too by my (1979ish) driving instructor - 'wears out the mechanism'. I wasn't persuaded (having pulled apart my Mini's handbrake

- the ratchet was the last thing likely to give bother), but somehow the habit's sort of stuck.

a mini came in to me for something completely unrelated and minor, like a faulty light or not charging, with the handbrake flopping about, it had ripped out of the floor!, I told the owner's mother it was a deathtrap (which it was, for many other reasons too) she seemed to blame me for the car's condition, it was weird.

Yes.

I must admit that my own Sierra (an' 88 1.8GL, not the donor) still has more happy memories for me than any other car I have owned. Despite later ones being more powerful, faster accelerating, with better roadholding, etc.

SteveW

I had several Mini vans. When one became terminal, bought another and swapped the best bits from the old one. Never paid more than a few quid for one.

Of course they were dog slow - but very willing. And you could drive then down most roads then flat out all the time, with no need to slow for corners. Just as well given the brakes.

I'd been used to earlier BMC small cars that if you drove them flat out on say a motorway for any distance, the engine would blow up.

The handbook for your Focus said the same thing.

So it did! Proves I never read it properly.

Chris

Same here Steve. ;-)

My first decent / modern car was the ex company 'pool' car (that then became my personal company car) a 1300 Mk2 Escort Saloon and I got permission to put a towbar on it. Then I got a new Mk5 1600 Cortina Estate (that was ok, apart from being too low geared) and then 3 years later, a company 2L Sierra Estate. It was much 'longer legged' for motorway work and again, I fitted a towbar and towed everything from small camping trailers, the various dinghies, my 1/2 tonne goods trailer to a Cobra kitcar on a 4 wheel trailer for a mate (that was probably way too heavy!).

The long roof with gutters mean you could position the Thule roof bars wherever suited and so could easily carry the 16' canoe or kayak plus long lengths of steel stock or a sofa or two with hardly any overhang. ;-)

When camping two up and with the back seats down you had 'loads' of space to put your stuff. When EV racing my Sinclair C5 'pit trike' would go in it backwards (fitted like a glove) along with my mates electrically assisted racing bike, my electric motorbike and all the clothing, tools and batteries etc.

I even had the best part of a complete PDP10 in it and the goods trailer, inc about 5 VT100's, 2 DecWriters, 2 disk drives, 20 diskpacks and a lineprinter!

Whilst I only did 100k miles in it over the 23 years I owned it (we had other cars / the kitcar / motorbikes as well etc), it *always* did everything we asked of it and only let us down (both local and trivial[1]) twice (not including the broken clutch cable I replaced at the side of the road myself).

I have never lusted after any car as I see them all as just utility / transport but then I might like another estate before I'm too old to make full use of it.

One advantage might be that the folding boat(s) might go inside if we are only going sort distances (so the Mrs can sit behind me) or would be lower than the Meriva if we wanted to but them on the roof bars (easier for the 67 year old, 5'6" Mrs).

I just remembered, daughters Yamaha TY80 (trials bike) used to sit across the back (on one of those towbar mounted motorcycle racks) of the Sierra very nicely.

Sigh.

Cheers, T i m

We met a bloke who had an 850 Van in hilly Cornwall and he said it was fine but he had to 'row it around with the gearstick'. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Yup. But the wand type - if in good nick - was very pleasant to use. If you had the later baulk ring box.

Mine came from a garage - they used it for carrying their scrap to the tip. First gear would not stay engaged if asked to do any work, so I usually started it in second. Eventually I rebuilt the gearbox - interesting, but not cheap.

Later had a problem with an HA Viva gearbox so bought a recon unit from A1 gearboxes - much cheaper than buying the gears and reassembling eveything.

I had a Moggy 1000 that wouldn't change gear. I was told that the sync rings failed on these so went to the local DIY and bought a new pair.

Spent three days swearing at the box trying to get all the bits back in and eventually bought an exchange unit.

Never have I known such an apparently simple car have such a complex gearbox as the Moggy.

looks easy here:

I particularly like the line: "Be careful fitting it as the outer gear ring will move quite easily, move it too far and the detent balls and springs will fly out never to be found again."

My housemate did this before we fitted the synchro hub - finding the balls and springs on the lounge carpet was easy but re-assembling them took the rest of the day and much swearing!

My mate and I rebuilt one of these outside a lock-up garage. Some of the balls fell down the crack between the concrete pads, and the only way we could get them out was to put a dab of grease on the end of a long screwdriver and poke it into the hole. Two university graduates, grovelling on the floor, picking up bits of gearbox.

Ah, those were the days.