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.