[DeTomaso] New seats - handbrake has to go

JDeRyke at aol.com JDeRyke at aol.com
Sun Apr 24 15:07:13 EDT 2011


How much trouble will you go thru to make the car street-legal, just to 
accomodate new seats? Possibly the simplest way is adapting a Porsche 914 or 
Pontiac Fiero e-brake lever that fastens to the front part of the left rocker 
panel near the kick panel, and does not stand up when pulled; the handle 
'clicked', then folded flat to the floor so the driver could exit and enter 
without climbing over the lever. You'll need the lever mechanism, the cable and 
some fabrication skills to add it to the Pantera. Or look at Ford pickup 
trucks: their e-brake actuator was a foot pedal attached under the dashboard. 
All the pedals I saw were too long to fit a Pantera without cutting, 
reshaping and bending. You'd also have to build a support framework under the dash- 
there's really nothing under there that could take the force a footbrake 
pedal would apply. 
Federal law says 'a separate braking system from the main brake system, 
capable of stopping the car from 'some' speed in 'some' distance (numbers 
varied by year) is required for all passenger vehicles with 4 wheels' in order to 
be licensed. All mfgrs use a cable actuated one but thats not specifically 
spelled out- its just the cheapest. Good luck- J DeRyke



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