RCR40 Handbrake?

[Chet Zerlin]

Thanks everyone for your responses!

Clearly the RCR supplied system, while not exactly robust, can be made to work. So I’ve decided to go ahead and install it. My thought is that I will need something that complies with Florida’s safety requirements when it comes time for the whole title and registration process (which it should) and once past that milestone I can remove it or change it to whatever system I want. Or as some have, simply have a wheel block handy when needed.

Chet

 

[Kyle]

To my knowledge there is no safety requirement/inspection. You just need a form for an officer or notary to fill out that verifies the VIN. Then take in your paperwork and get tag/title.

https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/forms/82040.pdf

I knew a notary so I was able to register and get title/tags before the car was ever complete.

 

[Chet Zerlin]

Kyle, when I checked earlier this year, I got vastly conflicting information depending on which DMV agent I spoke with. A few describe the process as you do. Others told me that I have to supply a large number of documents and bring the car physically to a regional office for a VIN to be placed on the car and an inspection. Two others even told me to forget it that it would never be legal in Florida!
What a mess!
At any rate there is a Florida statute that specifically describes the requirements for a parking brake and considering the vast differences I found within the DMV I’m planning for the worst…
and hoping for exactly the experience you describe.

Chet

 

[Kyle]

Kyle, when I checked earlier this year, I got vastly conflicting information depending on which DMV agent I spoke with. A few describe the process as you do. Others told me that I have to supply a large number of documents and bring the car physically to a regional office for a VIN to be placed on the car and an inspection. Two others even told me to forget it that it would never be legal in Florida!
What a mess!
At any rate there is a Florida statute that specifically describes the requirements for a parking brake and considering the vast differences I found within the DOT I’m planning for the worst…
and hoping for exactly the experience you describe.

Chet

You’re in Naples right? My advice is to skip the official state or county run offices and go to a 3rd party site. I used Florida 1st tags, they charge a concierge fee, maybe $100? But it was worth it, walked in with insurance, proof of purchase, MSO, and that title form I linked above. Picked up tags the next day and title came in the mail a few weeks later. I had nothing but trouble with the official office, every location gave me a different answer.

 

[Chet Zerlin]

"I had nothing but trouble with the official office, every location gave me a different answer." Exactly my experience!

I'm just at the beginning of my build with lots of stuff still to come before I'm ready to title and register it. Hopefully that agency will still be able to to assist when the time comes. In the meantime I'm not worrying about it...just enjoying the experience! Might be two years or even more before I face that part of the "experience".

Thanks Kyle!

Chet

 

[Michael]

Chet,

Pay great heed to Kyle’s advice and avoid the county DMV office, I know this from experience when I went to title my cobra. They never checked anything related to safety or proper function. The only thing they were concerned about were the paperwork for body, chassis, engine and trans. Other than that, they were clueless and seemed determined to give me the runaround. I think Kyle’s third party recommendation makes great sense.

Mike

 

[Chet Zerlin]

Just following up. I've now installed the RCR supplied handbrake system. I've been able to adjust it to the point where it appears to completely lock the rear rotors from moving so long as I've pulled the handle to the very top rung. Anything less and they will move (with some force). There is still some small adjustment left in both sides of the cables. Since I've not yet put the wheels back on and put the car on the floor I'm not able to test if they do fully lock it sufficient to prevent the car from rolling. Once I reach that point I can do a final adjustment.

There is still one area of concern. The caliper has to be adjusted to give the maximum amount of tension on the rotor when the handbrake is engaged. That adjustment is a balancing act between moving the pads sufficiently away from the rotor when not engaged and being able to get the needed amount of movement sufficient to "lock" the rotors from moving when engaged. In my experience that adjustment results in the brake pads still having some contact with the rotor when the handbrake is released. I'm not sure if this amount of contact will result in any drag when driving and I'm nowhere near the point where I could test that.

The "floating" nature of this design means that the caliper itself moves so setting a precise "gap" between the brake pads and the rotor is not really possible since that gap changes slightly each time the caliper is engaged by the cable then released. Considering this lack of precision it is not surprising that when not engaged my left rear caliper has less contact between the pad and the rotor than the right. Once I get further along and get the car on the ground I might experiment with inserting some small spacers into the right rear caliper to adjust the width and put some additional space between the two caliper halves. I think that the spacing on the left rear should be fine as is.

For now I am satisfied with the install. The final verdict will have to wait until the car gets on the ground. I will also test for any clearance issues with the wheels as had been noted by others on this forum.

Chet