Thought this worth sharing.
On a recent MOT, although I had no official advisories, my inspector mentioned that although the handbrake passed, it was a little less effective on the near side than off side.
Now I have always been aware of the guidance in Gomog about adjusting the handbrake with the cable fully slackened, pump the pedal and then readjust the cable. I must admit that I tended to “poo-poo” that idea as with the handbrake fully released…the cable is surely slack anyway! However, I tried it. With the cable slackened right off at the adjuster above the axle, the first hit on the brake pedal resulted in a satisfying audible clicking from the near side as the ratchet took up. Subsequent re-tightening of the cable showed the adjuster now in a different position for the same brake lever travel. Problem solved, thanks to Gomog.
BLUSH! Thank you Doug. However, like so many items in the GoMoG Manual, I cannot take credit. This fix came up while
I was working with Bill Beck, the Morgan Service Manager who trained Mark Baldwin and then became Chief Designer after
Maurice Owen left.
Bill had been sent over by the MMC to live with us to help me get my new Morgan sorted. It was
Bill who created your/my/our braking system, used from June 1993 to the last trad 2019. He quickly fixed my handbrake on the spot, just as you did yours, noting ruefully that MMC Production simply wouldn't follow
his instructions on the proper handbrake installation. I was discrete as to the source of the fix, as my article was written back
in 2003, a very political time on Pickersleigh. Bill has always been a very astute designer.
There is another handbrake and adjuster fix in the same place just below Bill advice. That one is from the very dear Peter
Mulberry, one of my heroes. Both of these fixes take little time and are important and costless.
I have just opened up a fixit forum as an adjunct to the GoMoG Manual, to keep it expanding and better explain away any
confusion after I am gone
(though I have no immediate plans in that direction at the moment). Lorne
P.S. Handbrake adjustment is very different for trads made before June 1993.
