I am about to fit a new front brake cable to my " almost restored " mk2 Ruby and have noticed that the ball ends on the front brake levers both angle towards the front of the car which seems to be at odds with the approach angle of the brake cable. I was wondering if these levers have been fitted on the wrong sides ?
Can anybody advise ?
Thanks
Joe.

Location: West Yorkshire.

The levers should be forward of the centre to gain the power of the fulcrum, also check that the operating shaft adjacent to the lever is in the right position, they should be stamped with the correct position F/ns as an example

Location: Oakley , hants

There has been extensive on this.
The balls face the backplate. With the correct cams and levers, the levers should slope somewhat forward when fully off (the normal off state with Girlings) and slightly forward when operated with correct drum adj.
The direction of cotter influences. Opinions differ on the correct direction, but evident from handbook diags.
If lever too far forward get binding on turns etc.

Location: Auckland, NZ

Derek and Bob are talking about the levers and are correct, Bob also mentions that the balls face the backplate, also correct as the ball should be approximately under the king pin.
Joe maybe asking about the balls relative position to the cable, this should be 90 degrees when the steering is in the straight ahead position to avoid "necking" and subsequent cutting your balls off. I have seen levers with a slight twist to achieve this. Hope this is what he means, cheers Russell

Location: oz

Oohh! Matron !!!

Location: Melbourne. Victoria, Australia.

Thank you to all who have replied to my query , as a semi luddite I am always amazed at the fact that you can dip in to such a rich pool of expertise for advice with just a few taps on a keyboard.
Anyway back to Rubies balls !!!, I have come to the conclusion that the levers themselves are correctly positioned with regards to the leverage angle but the ball ends facing forwards means that there is an acute angle between the cable and these ends.
Swapping the levers over will mean that the cable will be near to 90 degrees to the ends therefore I think a side for side swap is on the cards this coming weekend.
Thanks again to all .

Location: West Yorkshire.

Don't do it!

If they are pointing forward that's where they should be. The idea is that the lever/cable angle does not go beyond 90° when fully applied or mechanical efficiency will be lost. An slight acute angle when at rest is fine.

I think this is not the angle in the vertical but horizontal.
It sounds as though the levers have been twisted to make the cable meet the ball ends at 90deg while still being forward vertically.

Thanks Jim, got it now. It's the balls that are facing forward relative to the levers. Senior moment. RTFQ as my old science teacher used to say.

To remove the lever is a bit of a faff because you have to take off the backplates to do it. I'd be tempted to buy a pair of new ones and cotters too in case they've been bent by a previous owner. Trying to straighten them could weaken them and a snapped lever is not what you want in an emergency.

Getting the cotters out without damage or overloading the bush will be the next challenge. May be able to press out with a piece of tube and a G clamp or small vice. If you must hammer the blow must be absorbed with a heavy mass ie axe head. (I presume you may not be the generation accustomed to traditional bicycle maintenance!) Try hitting with a block of hardwood.

Location: Auckland, NZ

I ve just done a full refurb of my Girling brakes front and rear ( still one hub to complete) however I didn't remove the back plate to get my front levers off.. I salute you for trying but personally you ll spend a lot of time and energy trying to do it and potentially end up with a weak spot so cut em off and replace with new arms cotters and fulcrum.. then you ll be in no doubt that all is as good as it gets.. these are the brakes whose one task is to save you and your pride and joy from physical damage. peace of mind is priceless.

Location: Pennines

I have fully rebuilt both front brakes including new cams, bushes , pins etc so I am hoping that removing the levers may not be too much of a problem even if it means removing the backplates. Just a pity I didn't realise that the last person to work on them in the dim and distant past had them the wrong way round.
Another lesson learnt , never assume because it looks old and original that it is correct !!

Location: West Yorkshire.

And Joe, just to be clear, you push the cotters in from the front, with the nuts to the rear. Cheers, Bill

Location: Euroa, Australia

Check out-

http://pub25.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=2099944454&frmid=5&msgid=910387&cmd=show

Cheers, Tony.

Location: Melbourne. Victoria, Australia.

Bill Sheehan writes:

Hi again R. Still nuisancing. Could you please post the following on the Forum under the heading " Ruby Mk.2 front end" item. Appreciate your help.

A couple of Friends have contacted me questioning my above statement that my nuts go to the back (on a Ruby Mk.2!). I apologise if wrong, but if so someone should tell the Austin Motor Company as well?. Please see a section from the factory drawing (done 1937) of a complete front end. Cheers, Bill