DIY: hand-brake handle change

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Thanks to Anyone2u for the detailed tutorial! Agai, bear in mind this is on a LHD Z

 

 

I decided I wanted to replace my brake handle to match the interior theme of my car. Plus I had purchased both boots (shifter and ebrake) from Redlinegoods and it didn't look so great just sitting on top of the brake handle. I did a search on quite a few boards and couldn't find anyone that had actually replaced theirs so I decided to take it upon myself to figure it out.

 

Momo seems to have the biggest selection of brake handles and since my steering wheel, shifter knob and pedals were all Momo, it was the logical choice for me. I actually bought a couple of different ones before deciding which one to go with. Fortunately I was able to use one of the "extras" to help with this DIY. You also need to buy a Hand Brake Adapter (~$4) and you will need Model A2. This narrows the hole at the end of the brake handle where the button is.

 

Thoughts of just sliding the new brake handle over the leather should be discarded. Unlike the shifter knob (if you were able to get the stock one off without destroying it...), replacing the brake handle is a non-reversible mod as you have to remove the leather covering off of the handbrake, thanks to the Zs handbrake design. In addition you will need to buy a boot to cover the remainder of the car's handbrake. Again, I bought mine at Redline Goods and it fit perfect.

 

The tools are pretty simple: A dremel, a drill, a metal drill bit (I used 5/32" because that's all I could find in my tool box ) and a utility knife. A little allen wrench comes with most handles.

 

The Handle.This is a picture of a brake handle (Momo Pit Stop Red) along with some labels so you can make sense of what I am talking about as I explain the process. Note that the Boot Collar, which is plastic, slips on after you have the boot on. Unfortunately I didn't have a second boot so you'll just have to use your imagination for the time being.

 

 

Step 1-Destroying The Car's Handbreak. I used a utility knife and cut right along the seams. It hurt for a second and then I convinced myself that I could glue it back together if things didn't work out. Yeah, right... I also did a little trimming on the plastic "bottom boot" as well, after I slide the handle on for a test fit. Here's a picture of the "point of no return" stage.

 

 

Step 2 - Destroying The Handle Ok, since you have already destroyed your car's handbrake, destroying a ~$100 aftermarket brake handle is a walk in the park. Unfortunately the picture I took of the cutout on the actual handle didn't focus correctly so I had to use the extra handle to try and explain.

 

You must remove the bottom portion of the handle and it must be ~5/8" wide so that it clears the bottom portion of the car's handbrake that decides to "fans out" at the bottom. You also need to remove this section all the way back to the "Boot Ring", otherwise the handle will not be able to slide down enough to allow the brake button to stick out.

 

In addition you must also cut out a ~5/8" section on the plastic Boot Collar that slides on and holds the boot in place.

 

 

Step 3 - Destroying The Car's Handbrake (Part 2) Hopefully you did step 2 correctly so that the newly destroyed handle now slides down far enough so that the brake button sticks out far enough and is functional. Congratulations. Now, since you just removed one of the securing screws that holds the new handle on to the car's handbrake, and the one on the driver's side cannot be used since it would screw up the button mechanism (see picture below), you must drill a hole in the top of the car's handbrake and screw the securing screws into it. I used a 5/32" metal drill bit and the securing screw screwed right into very securely.

 

As the picture below shows, first thing you want to do is slide the handle onto the car's brake handle as far as it can go. Then mark the the point where you are going to drill the hole with something. You probably don't want to use the new handle's top hole as a guide and drill through it because you could screw up the threads inside the hole. I drilled right through the top of the handbrake to the other side and that didn't cause any problems. Here you go.

 

Step 4 - Attaching The Boot and Fixing The Boot Collar You Ruined Since you should have cut up the plastic Boot Collar, it will no longer hodl teh boot on so you now have to remedy that. I suppose you could use some superglue and glue the collar to the brake handle, but that may not stay. Since I had two extra securing screws left over (the one from the bottom that you removed and the one that should have gone on the drivers side but you cannot use since it would screw up the black brake assembly inside the car's handbrake) I decided to secure the collar to the brake handle by drilling two new holes 180 degrees from each other (using a clock analogy looking at the back of the handle, at ~10 and ~5 o'clock positions). Again, I used my 5/32" drill bit. After I drilled the holes, I put the brake boot on, slide the plastic boot collar back on and slowly tightened the screws down. Once the collar is secure, slide the handle over the handbrake and screw the two securing screws into the handbrake. BTW, the one on the passenger side (using the clock analogy, at 3 o'clock) needs one of the longer securing screws that you get with the handle kit. The other three securing screws are the short ones.

 

 

Step 5 - Final Assembly.After making sure that the handle is securely fastened to the handbrake (it shouldn't move at all) you can pull the boot over the hand brake and tuck it into the space between the handbrake assembly and the rubber piece that surrounds it. Speaking of the "rubber piece", you can see in my pictures that I removed mine, but I really don't think you need to do that. I was trying to figure things out and figured I would need to remove it. I still need to fix it but that's for another day.

 

That's it. Hopefully this works for you.