General Discussion Area > Corvette Related Chat
Nooooooo!
anychevy:
--- Quote from: gtc on July 30, 2013, 10:26:36 PM ---If the C2's parking brake is as useless as the C3 version, then I'd say the odds are very good that's what happened.
--- End quote ---
Yep, pretty much, I always leave it in gear on any incline.
StephenSLR:
--- Quote from: gtc on July 30, 2013, 10:26:36 PM ---If the C2's parking brake is as useless as the C3 version
--- End quote ---
What's bad about them?
I have one of those foot activated park brakes in the Torana and the ratchet system is worn so it tends to unsnap. I scored one dent in the nose cone when it came undone at a mechanics workshop, a friend tried stopping it using his foot on the front, luckily the tyre turned and it came to rest with the tyre right on the corner of the brick entrance but it knocked over a large oxy tank.
It happened rather quickly, not sure if the dent was from my friends foot or the tank. I think the tank could've been hit by the bumper bar rubber.
It could've been a lot worse.
s
anychevy:
--- Quote from: StephenSLR on July 31, 2013, 11:27:09 AM ---What's bad about them?
--- End quote ---
They use a tiny little brake drum inside the rear rotor, they're almost useless on any hill.
gtc:
--- Quote from: anychevy on July 31, 2013, 05:41:43 PM ---They use a tiny little brake drum inside the rear rotor, they're almost useless on any hill.
--- End quote ---
Apart from the size of the drums and shoes versus the mass of the vehicle, I think the main problem with the design is that there's insufficient mechanical advantage in the shoe lever system so the shoes can't be held hard enough against the drums, no matter how tight the cable is drawn from the driver's end.
It beat me how such a poor design could be carried forward from model to model until I noticed on reading various forums that many Americans simply don't use the parking brake. In fact, you'll read about Corvettes where the shoe mechanism has rusted tight in the brake-off position from lack of use.
I guess if they're mostly automatic transmissions driven on fairly flat roads, then the Park lock on the transmission does the job for them.
On the other hand, if you drive a heavy Vette with a manual transmission, the p#iss poor handbrake is not much fun when you're stopped at lights on a steep uphill climb.
I always leave a manual transmission car in gear when parked. And if I'm parking the Vette on a hill I'll face the wheels into the kerb for added safety.
Camo:
There is a new after market device you can now buy that resolves the problem of the park brake on early model Corvettes :bag:
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