[1983Ttop5.0]

OK, I'm nearly done with converting my 1983 T-top GL to 1987+ interior. One of the last items to check off before I can throw down the carpet and seats is the installation of the 87 E-brake/parking brake. There are two differences from what I can discern that have to be taken care of to do this properly. #1 The two "buckets" that hold the E-brake assembly are not in the same location. The 83 is centered and the 87 offset a little over an inch. Initally I was just going to cut out the entire "hump of the trans tunnel there includign the seat belt mount, and weld the 87 in. That seems more work than necessary though. So do I just drill out the spot welds (PITA!!!) and just rivet or re-spot weld the 87 in with a little trimming to the opening to fit the 87 components? Anyone with experience on this?

#2 I've read that the adjustment for th eparkign brake is different between the 87 and 83. If I understand correctly, the 83 is tensioned underneath with a mechanism tied into the cable. In the 87, the adjustment is actually IN the handle itself. I'd like to NOT disable the tensioning mechanism in the brake handle. I'd liek the 87 piece to work as intended. What do I need to swap out to make this work correctly, or what do I need to change? If it makes any difference (shouldnt) the 83 already has an 8.8 in it and related brakes. (15 years ago). I cant remember changign any of the cables though.

Thanks

 

[1983Ttop5.0]

wow, you guys are so helpful. I see more comment on the frickin political thread than the tech forums. Maybe I need to swtich to stangnet.

 

[hsean]

wow, you guys are so helpful. I see more comment on the frickin political thread than the tech forums. Maybe I need to swtich to stangnet.

myself i would either cut and weld the exact opening which is very easy if you have access to a welder really is no big deal.just measure and duplicate to your 83 you don't have to be a great welder you can always grind down and remember it will be covered in carpet and your center console anyway.

 

[1983Ttop5.0]

Still waiting for some advice on mating the 87 brake handle to the 83 cables.

 

[1983Ttop5.0]

ttt

 

[tonys90vert]

I have no direct experience with your question but here are a few links to some e-brake threads I've bookmarked. There are some good pics of the 87-92 set ups in them which may be helpful to you. If you post up some pics of your set up you may get a better response. Good luck.

http://forums.corral.net/forums/gen...ky-did-search-getting-mad-just-spell-out.html


http://forums.corral.net/forums/gen...95-emergency-brake-handle-mystery-solved.html

 

[1983Ttop5.0]

ttt

 

[seijirou]

I've done this twice. The first time I just moved the components over and opened up holes as necessary. It was kind of a PITA but I didn't have the entire interior removed. What I did not like about that was getting everything lined up perfectly to sit in the 87 console straight and centered.

The 2nd time I just cut out a nice large section of the trans tunnel and swapped that in. That was considerably easier and more sturdy, and I would do it that way again if I were to do it. Granted, I had access to a plasma cutter. YMMV.

The jobs I did were on an 85 and an 86, I've never done it to an 83 so I don't know if there are any gotchas for that year. If you swap the whole tunnel, you'll get the cable brackets that are on the underside too. I would just use the 87 cables at that point, if they're different from the 83's. If you're doing rear disc you'll need the longer 94 cables.

 

[1983Ttop5.0]

Yeah....when I stripped the 87, I cut out that entire section of the tunnel with a sawzall. I was "planning" on just fitting it and welding it in, but I'm not that confident in my welding skills yet. So, I drilled out the spot welds in the 87 piece, and plan to fit re-spotweld it into the 83. I was toying with rivetign it in, but I dont think that will be strong enough. Looks like I'm going to have to find a tube of seam sealer soon here.

 

[1983Ttop5.0]

And...I still havnt gotten any response from anyone on the balance bar, and cable issue. Are the 83 and 87 cables the same?

 

[seijirou]

Airplanes are held together with rivets, so they can be strong. I welded mine but if you had enough overlap and riveted every inch or so with seam sealer, it would hold fine.

 

[stackz88]

And...I still havnt gotten any response from anyone on the balance bar, and cable issue. Are the 83 and 87 cables the same?

dude. if the mounting points/cable routing are different enough that you have to swap the console tunnel...highly unlikely the cables themselves are the same.

just saying. I'd get the newer cables if you didnt already have them.

 

[BATTMAN]

I wouldn't even consider rivets if you are replacing the tunnel and the seat belt mounting points are in that, and your welding needs to be pretty good as well so as to maintain the strength needed for the seat belts. I think I would remove the spot welds, open up the holes and weld in the new components. Might be a pita but the integrity of the seat belt mounts is left intact.

 

[1983Ttop5.0]

Yes, was never considering rivetign the tunnel itself in. I was considering either (1) cutting out a section of the 83 tunnel, and welding the 87 piece into its place, or; (2) Drilling out the spot welds that hold the e-brake "bucket" assembly/seat belt mount in plance and either: (a) rivet that in place, or (b) re spot welding the bucket in similar to facory.

And the route it looks liek I'm taking is to re spot welf the bucket in. Its the most time consuming and labor intensive, but I think its the "right" way to do it. Because there several threads coverign this topic but no pics or "how to" I will be photo-documenting this process and will post the pics and info soon. A frickin 120 volt hobart welder is gonna run me about 40.00 a day, plus 20 per 2lb spool of flux core to get it done.