XJ handbrake location on transmission tunnel?

[Minuit]

I'm preparing to start working on my 89 again, and one of the things that I'm absolutely going to do to it is install an XJ hand parking brake for safety reasons. I just don't trust the factory one, and I especially don't trust one that's been modified.

 

Anyway, I don't have any good measurements on where the thing actually sits on the transmission tunnel, and I'd really like to do this right. Does anyone happen to have measurements for the location of the hole in the trans tunnel for the handbrake assembly, or better yet, a drawing of the hole's dimensions along with those measurements?

[87MJTIM]

 I took these years ago in a 93 XJ.  Hope they help.  (I have not switched to the hand brake yet.)

 

 

 

[89 MJ]

That’s not very original, Minuit. 

Just giving you a hard time. Safety comes first. 

[Minuit]

42 minutes ago, 89 MJ said:

That’s not very original, Minuit. 

Just giving you a hard time. Safety comes first. 

"Not very original" is the catchphrase of this build, my friend. There is currently 0 original removable panels left. There is no interior currently installed. The original engine is garbage. The original transmission is surprisingly fine, but it's a 2WD internal slave AX-15 so it's on the hit list. Oddly enough, the only original drivetrain component that stands a chance of remaining in the long term is the D35.

 

To sum it up, in the long term my goal is to have a handful of original bolts left in this thing, so this is gonna be a very freeform build by my standards.

 

Tim, those pictures will prove to be very useful. I did know about the captive nuts, but I did not know about the reinforcement plate underneath. Much appreciated.

 

I should also point out that the MJ's floor pan has the raised flat section the handbrake sits on stamped into it, so a handbrake was very likely planned at some point but never used in production.

[MiNi Beast]

hand brake for cutting brakes or parking? 

[87MJTIM]

Jeremy, here is a thread on installing the XJ hand brake.  

 

What put a stop to my conversion is the bracket that holds the cable just under the cab-floor.  If you find a way to fabricate one, I would be interested in getting one...or perhaps @Krustyballer16 could make one 

 

Edit

 

What cable are you going to use from the handle to the splitter?

[Minuit]

6 hours ago, 87MJTIM said:

What cable are you going to use from the handle to the splitter?

I'm at the point in this project where I know I want to do it, but I'm not 100% sure of how I'm going to accomplish it yet, but it seems like I'm going to be making one.

[elycomanche]

15 minutes ago, Minuit said:

I'm at the point in this project where I know I want to do it, but I'm not 100% sure of how I'm going to accomplish it yet, but it seems like I'm going to be making one.

I cut the floor from the 98 xj donor, weld it in place. The cable just trim it to fit and made the wire end at a specialized shop on brake cable repair

[Sir Sam]

For my 00MJ I just cut the small foot shaped hole where it was needed for the 97+ handle and then ran the cable back to MJ parking brake bracket/splitter/adjuster. 

[Sir Sam]

I also modified one so I could do the method where you don’t cut a hole in the floor and instead modify the parking brake bracket and run the cable out the back through one of the bulkhead holes. I didn’t end up using it but it’s also a good option. 

[87MJTIM]

10 hours ago, Sir Sam said:

I also modified one so I could do the method where you don’t cut a hole in the floor and instead modify the parking brake bracket and run the cable out the back through one of the bulkhead holes. I didn’t end up using it but it’s also a good option. 

 

 

[Sir Sam]

2 hours ago, 87MJTIM said:

 

 

This is probably the best that I have already written up about it:

 

https://comancheclub.com/topic/9562-project-crd-mj-is-born/page/11/#comments

 

[87MJTIM]

Thanks.  Great build.

 

The earlier style handles don't have the cable integrated into the mechanism. 

[Sir Sam]

4 minutes ago, 87MJTIM said:

Thanks.  Great build.

 

The earlier style handles don't have the cable integrated into the mechanism. 

Ya what I posted is only really relevant to the later handles. If you don’t mind the aesthetic change with an older interior it seems like a good way to go.