E-brake question for late model donor

[iconicflux]

I have a late model (2020) donor rear suspension because I wanted the Torsen rear differential.

The brake cables that come with the stock are ones with saddle cap ends instead of barrel ends like the cables that FFR has.

Saddle cap style is like this:

191455


It seems like the other ends it dont quite fit into the 10mm holes on the trans tunnel mount because they’re 14mm (just slightly larger actually):

191456

I asked FFR about what I should do here but I thought I’d ask others here how you solved it and whether it would be worth just eating the cost and getting an e-stopp system. (Which.. I’d still need to figure out some kind of equalizer if I went that way, right?)

The thing is, I don’t really want to have to play with getting the e-brake correct a lot. I’ve seen quite a few threads where people were talking about how annoying the stock ebrake is.

So.. what to do?

[Alan_C]

Depends on how much you are willing to spend to get rid of the cables? On a restomod, I replaced the Wilwood internal drum style parking brake with a E brake retrofit kit, about $1K. I had to make my own brackets but with help from a friend and my time I was able to do it. Also, WilWood sells a complete kit for the Mustang IRS that includes rear disk and integral E brake, about $2K. I have only seen someone post once here about the WilWood complete kit for the Mustang IRS.

[DW66]

I used the FFR cables with my 2015 rear drop out. FFR makes a small angle bracket to use on the caliper that allows the use of the FFR cables with the 2015 and later rear calipers. I did the little roller mod for the cables that lots of guys have done and my e-brake works fine.

Dave

[Lidodrip]

I went the eStopp route and I am very happy with that decision. Brake works flawlessly, cockpit looks clean, button is hidden. I do not have it tied to the ignition so I can use it anytime. I also deleted the beeper. I did add a parking brake light to my dash so I know when it is on/off. I bought my kit from Speedway (https://www.ebay.com/itm/385153282610?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1Y9ET0PplT0edKzEZ1KNehA51&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=385153282610&targetid=1644837435563&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9002572&poi=&campaignid=20125739985&mkgroupid=149128855676&rlsatarget=pla-1644837435563&abcId=9312975&merchantid=6568124&gclid=CjwKCAjws9ipBhB1EiwAccEi1FqtDqQC4e2X4cC1zylg ZbSMpoKDY2daXWzzrQuz2X_PDg2CLe79vhoCnd4QAvD_BwE) and it included the brake cables which are very smooth and no return spring is needed at the connection to the caliper. I am using 2020 13" Mustang brakes (which I powder coated red).

I mounted the eStopp on the drivers side rear quarter and it is protected by the elephant ear (just need to make a small notch in the panel for the black cable that comes out of the eStopp). Below is a picture before everything was buttoned up. Note, the angle of the cable coming out of the eStopp unit looks pretty acute in the picture - in real life it is actually a pretty gentle bend there is no binding.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=174889&d=1668386852

James

[edwardb]

Somewhat confused by your questions. First of all, I don't have a particular problem with the kit supplied e-brake handle assembly. Doesn't get a lot of love by some builders. But I've found on several builds it works OK. I add a couple bronze bushings plus some washers and route the cables differently. Explained here: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?18591-EdwardBs-Mk4-8674-20th-Anniversary-Build&p=225428&viewfull=1#post225428. The pulley set up has been done by others with some modifications but it worked fine for me. There's also a lot of discussion about the location, e.g. can't reach when belted in. I'm very average size and haven't found that to be the case. But can't argue with moving the handle to the top of the tunnel. That's where it is stock on my Coupe and I'll admit it's nice there.

But my real question to you is the cables you need are heavily dependent on the rear brakes you use and you don't picture those. The suspension, whether IRS or solid axle, donor or not, etc. isn't as important as what brakes you're using. So start with that, settle on where you want to put the handle, where you want to route the cables, and go from there. You may be able to use stock cables. My Roadster with IRS and Wilwood optional brakes came with Factory Five #14690 2015W cables. They worked fine along with the modification in the link above. Lokar sells several varieties of universal e-brake cable kits which are nice.

If you want to go power actuator -- E-Stopp, Wilwood, etc. -- certainly an option if you want to spend the money. But you still have to sort out the cable situation based on the rear brakes you're using.

[iconicflux]

Ahh I see how that could be confusing. It's an IRS suspension (the whole rear dropout) from a 2020 GT that had either the performance package or some other upgrade that allowed it to have the torsen differential and 13" disc brakes.

These are the brakes:
191470191471

So I think what I'm hearing based on the reading is that I can get the stock cables from an 87-93 mustang gt. I could go with something like the Wilwood Universal Parking Brake cable kit (330-9371) or Lokar's similar kit, or I could get the electronic e-brake option like e-stopp but no matter which way I go I need to work out this cable issue first?

Thank you,
Kevin Lynn





Somewhat confused by your questions. First of all, I don't have a particular problem with the kit supplied e-brake handle assembly. Doesn't get a lot of love by some builders. But I've found on several builds it works OK. I add a couple bronze bushings plus some washers and route the cables differently. Explained here: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?18591-EdwardBs-Mk4-8674-20th-Anniversary-Build&p=225428&viewfull=1#post225428. The pulley set up has been done by others with some modifications but it worked fine for me. There's also a lot of discussion about the location, e.g. can't reach when belted in. I'm very average size and haven't found that to be the case. But can't argue with moving the handle to the top of the tunnel. That's where it is stock on my Coupe and I'll admit it's nice there.

But my real question to you is the cables you need are heavily dependent on the rear brakes you use and you don't picture those. The suspension, whether IRS or solid axle, donor or not, etc. isn't as important as what brakes you're using. So start with that, settle on where you want to put the handle, where you want to route the cables, and go from there. You may be able to use stock cables. My Roadster with IRS and Wilwood optional brakes came with Factory Five #14690 2015W cables. They worked fine along with the modification in the link above. Lokar sells several varieties of universal e-brake cable kits which are nice.

If you want to go power actuator -- E-Stopp, Wilwood, etc. -- certainly an option if you want to spend the money. But you still have to sort out the cable situation based on the rear brakes you're using.

[edwardb]

So I think what I'm hearing based on the reading is that I can get the stock cables from an 87-93 mustang gt. I could go with something like the Wilwood Universal Parking Brake cable kit (330-9371) or Lokar's similar kit, or I could get the electronic e-brake option like e-stopp but no matter which way I go I need to work out this cable issue first?

Thank you,
Kevin Lynn

Assuming Factory Five can't provide the proper cables (they always have for my builds) my advice would be to get one of the universal cable kits (e.g. Wilwood or Lokar) with the proper ends that match the brakes you're using. They are designed to be "cut-to-length" and have the proper hardware for connecting to whatever actuator you use. Either manual handle or E-Stopp. I don't think your setup would work with the Wilwood electric calipers. Although that's an option if you want to dump the donor brakes and go to the full Wilwood IRS setup. Just expensive. :p

[CraigS]

When I did the IRS upgrade to my MkII I had a similar problem. I had the cables that came from the 15 Mustang donor suspension but they had the wrong end at the e-brake handle. My existing cables had the wrong end at the caliper. I cut the handle end off of the 15 cable so I could pull the cable out of the sleeve and get rid of the sleeve. I cut the caliper end off my existing cable so I could pull that out of the sleeve. Now I slid the 15 cable into my existing sleeve so I could attach it to the caliper and the other end came out near the handle. I attached my existing cable to the handle again and now I had a bunch of overlapping double cable. I got three (paranoid) cable clamps and spliced the cables together.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/National-Hardware-N100-259-3230BC-1-8-in-Wire-Cable-Clamp-in-Zinc-Plated/1002255824
They may have been 3/16. Since my cables were run the old way under the 4inch cross tube I had maybe 12inches of space to do the splice. If you have run yours w/ an additional pulley, you will have less space for the splice. I would do the splice but leave a few inches of cable on either side so you can move the clamps one way or the other if needed.