Steve's Triumph Spitfire 1600
The ongoing saaaaaaga
Hand Brake Relocation:
During the initial fitment process we thought we might get away without having to move the Hand Brake. However, after getting the Shifter into just about the perfect spot abeam the Steering Wheel it was close enough to the shifter that we weren't comfortable leaving it half-assed. Even though at first this seemed a drag, the Hand Brake correction led to a solution for Drivetrain Geometry, Engine Placement, and consequently Exhaust Routing. A little more on those Added Benefits later.
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Of course one of the biggest concerns people have when trying to disrupt their cockpit as little as possible is the interior modifications this will require. That is a valid concern. In my case, I was excited to redo the Tunnel Cover to provide better fitment overall, plus gain some real estate above the factory version for other things, possibly a better Fuse Box. So we gladly ploughed ahead.
Initial Location
Initially I looked at that hand brake set-up and became quite depressed. Cutting up all those pieces and reforming them further aft seemed like a very complex task. Then it dawned on me, that, rather than just cutting it to pieces, we could cut out the portion of the hump in the tub that held the hand brake and move the entire undisturbed assembly aft! Simple solution to those that have done this kind of thing before but quite a revelation for me! :) We didn’t need much room, a few extra inches should suffice. And that still left enough room for the cable to stay clear of the guide.
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That area of the hump also has a re-enforcing plate behind it to firm up the Hand Brake Assembly, but it was obvious from below and it would included in the cut and paste process.
Tunnel Alterations
After double checking that there would still be room for the cable connections, we cut out the pieces.
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To reinstall the handle assembly, we welded in a dart of metal on each side effectively lifting the front of that hump by an inch or so. This left the entire hand brake assembly intact rather than trying to re-fabricate that mechanism ourselves. We ended up with enough room for the Prop Shaft (in its current location) and meant no mucking about with the Parking Brake Handle; sweet!... or not?...
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It worked great except we failed to consider one thing....Drive Shaft removal in the future.
To keep some continuity here, I'll discuss that at the very end of this page.
Mocked it up with the Seat in place.
And got the first welds done off the car.
Another benefit of cutting that hump was that it provided us decent access to the area of the frame where we needed to install the Aft Transmission Mount. During this first stage of the build (proof of concept and just getting it to work) we would rather not pull the tub off the frame, so gaining access to that area for welding was a real benny. I had already cut out a bit of the forward part of the tunnel to better fit the new Change Control Case Bracket, but this would provide even more access (only for now of course).
Got it all welded up and secured into position.
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Now just the cable to go.
Cable Length
When we committed to moving that handle another thing that quickly came to mind was cable length; I immediately had a temporary solution in mind and now it was time to see if it would work.
We just put a small loop in the cable between the Guide Tube and the Pivot Arm just above the Prop Shaft and secured it with a cable clamp. We set the adjuster to just loose of the centre point and pulled the cable as tight as we could with our hands while installing the Clamp. A quick adjustment had us with a functioning Hand Brake.
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During initial activation the loop would slightly contact the hump, but it slid over nicely and had no chance of binding, so for now that will certainly be adequate. Once I get to tidying things up I'll have a custom cable made by my local Sailboat Chandlery.
Added Benefits
As mentioned at the top of this page, the Hand Brake Relocation led to a solution for Drivetrain Geometry, Engine Placement, and consequently Exhaust Routing.
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As discussed in the Propellor Shaft Section, alignment of the the Transmission Yolk and the Differential Yolk is very important. Increasing the space at this point in the Tunnel allowed us more freedom to raise and tilt the Engine/Tranny combination and get it just right and at the same time provided some required clearance between the Engine and Frame where the Exhaust needed to pass.
Propellor Shaft Removal
Time to elaborate and display a minor oversight of ours.
Once it was all welded together and we pulled the yolk back from the Tranny but before it was clear, it struck the hump. Because we were pretty careful to have the Propshaft cut to allow the Yolk as close to a Factory Fit as possible, it meant that it had to come back a fair bit to be removed from the Tranny . We were fortunate that rotating the shaft 45 degrees allowed the yolk to slide out the rest of the way; with one of the U-Joint ends oriented straight up it had less clearance. If that didn't work it would have meant re-cutting and re-welding that hump....or having to slightly lift the front of the engine, tilting it back enough to provide a clear path for that yolk anytime the shaft needed to be removed.... not the engineering I wanted to be responsible for.
Very pleased that rotating worked. :)
This situation is only an issue during shaft removal and installation as the yolk needs to travel straight back about 5 inches or so to clear the Tranny; while in the operational position there is plenty of clearance between it and the body.