Installed the parking brake last night and am wondering about all the open space around the brake lever. The boot will close off this opening from the passenger seat side, but has anyone made a cover to protect the lever from dust and road debris from below ? It just doesn't seem right to leave this much space open and want to attempt to close it up. I did try a search on this subject, but without results.
Appreciate any photos and examples of your handiwork.
Mine is an old mkII but I thought the same as you. From underneath there was a lot of open hole w/ nothing but a vinyl cover keeping stuff outside. So I bent up a piece of light aluminum to cover it. there wasn't much bending really. I ran it about an inch further back than the existing opening and put a crease in it so I could pull it away from the tunnel aluminum to allow a small opening for the cable to come out from. This way I have an opening that is at most a 1/2 in wide and 1 inch tall and it is facing the rear of the car. Water or debris would need to be traveling forward to get in there.
I've had two Roadster builds that I left open as designed. That along with thousands more built the same way. Both cars have been on the road for thousands of miles with no issues. Just to give an idea, a mod some use (which I have too) is scoops in the transmission tunnel for airflow into the footboxes. It's counter-intuitive (and I don't want to go off topic) but in actual use the only thing coming through those scoops is air. Even when it's wet, driving in the rain, etc. Ask me how I know. There is apparently enough air pressure in the tunnel that everything else is kept out. So there's a reason it's OK as is. If you do decide to fabricate a cover, keep the distance it extends into the tunnel as small as possible. It's pretty tight in there, especially if you use a TKO.
Paul, GWL, - I forgot about the tunnel air scoops. Makes sense but OCD that I am, I can't leave it alone and will try making a cover. I have a T-5 trans, so there should be some room in the tunnel, but will keep the cover as tight as possible.
Question, - does the parking brake boot need to be bent out at the floor for installation? The cutout for the brake handle extends about 1/2" outwards from the tunnel on my PS floor.
Question, - does the parking brake boot need to be bent out at the floor for installation? The cutout for the brake handle extends about 1/2" outwards from the tunnel on my PS floor.
Nothing really special required to install the e-brake boot. It's flexible enough to fit as is. I did put a little filler piece in that cutout in the floor. It's not required for the newer FF designed e-brake handle. The carpet also has a notch in it there unfortunately. I just glued in a little square. That area is basically covered with the seat anyway.
I bent a piece of .04 aluminum and riveted it to the inside of the frame enclosing the backside of the parking brake area. It does make it more difficult to get to the mounting bolts for the parking brake but is doable. It clears my TKO transmission.
Thanks all, I've got the cardboard out, and pressure or no pressure, I'm going to try and tighten up this area. Need to see a smaller window.
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