Race Brake
 

I am thinking about trying to make this. It is not that complicated, The brake arm seem to be the biggest item, I think I will use a hurst shifter handle. Has any out there tried this before?

Maybe a company who makes hand controls for handicapped drivers could make if for you.
I'm somewhat handicapped myself when it comes to drag racing !

I drove a buddy's 4th gen Z with hand controls. Its a little different setup than that. It has both the throttle and brake functions on the same stick. He is in a wheel chair and he got that car in the 11's!

I like the idea of making one using a Hurst shifter. It would freak a lot of people out at a show!

Frank Sanders 63 Z-11 had the only mechanical one I ever heard of, but it went sideways. Dick Brannan had one off a Studebaker, but never saw a picture of it so don't know if it was mechanical or electric. Stude used both kinds.

I made one a few years ago for my '55 Chev Gasser using a combination of old shifter parts and some good old ingenuity. The trickiest part was getting the angle correct between the handle and the rod/sleeve attached to the brake pedal.

Once I had that worked out the brake worked perfectly... I live in British Columbia, where using the brake at an uphill/downhill traffic light came in handy. The curved Hurst shifter handle (installed vertically & backwards) in conjunction with the shape of the dash was a perfect fit.

I used adjustable shifter rods at each end of the fulcrum which enabled 'fine tuning' of the rod/sleeve. A light spring is required to ensure the handle is kept in the 'ready' position. :-)

Thanks for the tips and pictures.

What's the process for launching a car with this device? Or does it just help to get staged properly? How does it help take the slack out of the driveline?

Does it toggle overcenter, and hold the brake? Or does the driver hold the lever to apply the brake?

The reason I ask: in my stick shift car, once the car is "staged" the foot brake is no longer needed. The car sort of settles into the slicks (wrinklewalls) and does not move.

Set the launch rpm, sidestep the clutch when you see the last yellow, and away you go!

K

I'm not sure an "increase in ET" is much of a selling point...

;)

What about Lefthanders BLAIR?

I am with Keith on this. I see no benefit.

Maybe it allows you to load the clutch a little while staged. Then it's not quite as hard of a hit when you let it go. A Line Lock would do the same thing, but this may have come out before the Line Lock.

----There you go. I was trying to figure out how this held only the front brakes. Every drag car is different as are we drivers, but, for instance, Red Alert didn't like the trans brake, or maybe that was me (dunno). Line lock was only for the burn. Once staged I just left-footed the brake, brought the RPM's up to around 25/2600 and matted it (5000 stall). Just me, but that produced the best 60 ft's and ET's......Bill S

I want one!!! I don’t care what it does I like it!!

Ryan W31

I agree it has no value in drag racing, it could be useful on hills for street driving.

Really at the end of the day it is sort of like tow bar tabs. No one really using them they just look cool.

...

Sweet burn!!!

Ryan W31

I believe race brakes were used before line locks came on the scene. As mentioned in my case, with a 4 speed the brake is particularly useful at traffic lights where I live in the mountains...it works exceptionally well and I used it all the time.

I never used the brake at the track because I had a line lock for that exercise. However, without a line lock it would be useful to 'take out the slack' easily by clutch/race brake coordination...thereby possibly preventing a hard launch (& broken parts) clutch cars are notorious for. As we all know, sidestepping the clutch is brutal on the drivetrain which is something we're all guilty of at one time or another :-)

When properly adjusted it will not overcenter and you must hold the lever (in my case the old Hurst shifter handle) to apply the brake. Easy peasy... Over centering will definately be an issue, especially in traffic for the folks lined up behind you with the traffic lights on green and your brakes are jammed. Not a good situation!

Without exception, whenever I was at a car event people always asked me 'what the heck does that lever up by the dash do'? Once they understood the mechanics of the device they thought it was pretty cool and asked where I got it from. With a couple of modifications, I made mine using the same picture as a guide in your initial post.

Mount it vertically and use your right hand...it will look much better too.

Ok, So Keith uses his tow bar and tabs, now you just need a drag brake for the 1965 GTO.

Back when these came out, some drag strips weren't quite as flat as they are now. Some had dips that made a car roll if you weren't on the brake when staged. Some were flat for the quarter mile, but the staging area just behind or right at the starting line were uphill or downhill. Edgewater in Ohio was a prime example, especially if you were staging a long wheelbase car, like a dragster. Quaker City was another. That's why Brannan rigged up a Studebaker hillholder on his 62 and 63 Fords back in 62 and 63. When you travel to backwoods strips, you never know what to expect. It's best to at least be prepared for situations you have encountered before.

That's a common discussion point between me and my buddies:

Me: "...was that the track that was kinda out in the boonies; you take this narrow two lane through a couple corn fields...etc".

Scott: "Whelp - that could be about anywhere."

K

Thank you for the additional detail -

K

I don't know if this is relevant -- but if you're drag racing in a class where "no electronics" are allowed (such as a line loc) this device may be of an advantage. TAZ

I have extra Shifter handles, I need to make one of these!!

Ryan W31

Here is the progress on my Hurst Drag Brake. The rods are adjustable and still need to be cut to length. After it is all fit I will paint the parts.

Nice work buddy

After years of searching I finally found a NOS one.

Did you buy it from a guy who found 2 NOS race brakes?

Can I borrow it to make drawings so I can replicate it?

I love shifters, but I think these are even more cool than the coolest shifter.

Ryan W31.

Sadly it was the only one, absolutely, see you at mcacn.

Very cool part to acquire Dan. Thanks for sharing the pics.

Now that is a cool item !!! Thanks for sharing!!!! Rob