Handbrake Install

So the 67 Mustang is an under dash nightmare on the drivers side. My main concern is the outdated over engineered parking brake set-up. Starting with the clumsy handle that you had to twist to un-engauge then the crazy cables running under the car waiting to pickup road debris. I am solving this with a center hand brake on the tunnel (like most cars now days). While the Mustang never came with a center pull hand brake, Lokar has made a very nostalgic looking one that seems to be era accurate (assuming this era ever made on handbrake).

This is what the original brake pull looked like. Hard to pull, hard to release and poorly designed

This is a diagram of some of the cable mess under the car. Probably 20+ feet of cable running around under there.

Here is the Lokar hand brake.

There is a problem tho: These are only made for the coupe and I am working on a convertible. The difference is the convertable has an extra seat brace that crossed the tunnel where this would go. It adds about 3/4" to the hight. This brake is made to bolt under the tunnel and only the handle sticks up on top. See the red highlighted part: that is the tunnel and there is "no" way to make this work on the convertible....so they say!

Here is the center support. Not only does it add the 3/4" I mentioned, it isn't straight across to give the handle a nice place to mount.

This would be too far forward and too close to the shifter. It needs to be back!

One reason I never get rid of the old stuff: I like to use the metal from the original as much as possible. Here, I cut out a piece to fill in the brace.

You can see how high it is here

Forming the metal to fill the gap. The carpet covers all of this and the carpet does NOT drop down into this gap. If you sit in a 65-68 coverable, you can push down on the carpet right in the middle. Not in this car tho!

The rust and primer as bothering me! And I am tacking it in here

Another shot from side. Its off but thats what hammers are for.

Finished welding and cut the slot for the shifter

Here is the support sitting back in the car.

Mock up of the handle on the support 

Underside. On a serious plus: this handle hangs down like an inch and a half on the coupe (hardtop) but my mods will only have about 1/2" hanging under the car! Nice and tight!

Mocked up with the boot.

Underside of car. This does open up a new issue: I cut the floor to access the handle bolts and service it. This leaves a gap around the floor and is exposed to outside water and dirt. Not something I haven't planned for...

Only the part I need is hanging down!

Still plenty of room for full movement.

To fill the gap and make this weather tight: I fabed up some metal to "wall it in". This also will add back the strength from where I cut the support and floor. 

Here are my walls. Welded all on the top side.

Primed.

Here it is from under the car. This side will be welded also and then seam sealed. Strong and weather-proof. 

A shot from the back looking forward. From here you can see the shifter hole.
The cables will mount in the back two holes and go straight back to the brakes on each side.  More to come...