Floor boards have rust issues. One spot is under and behind the e-brake handle. This bugger won't come off. Removal without destuction seems impossible.
Has anyone had success taking off rusty handles? Is there a lock washer that I'm missing? ( yes, I unbolted the cam ).
I would also take off the handle to clean and repaint. It squeeks and is pretty tough to move up and down. I'm guessing is has the same type of plastic bushings that the pedal clusters have. Is this part replaceable or do I need to buy a new $200 handle, if they exist?

Thanks for the help. I know this is a common problem for a lot of 914s.

Tony

I managed it after a lot of cussin'

I put a crow bar between the long and the back of the handle so that the leverage was hitting the handle right at the axle. Then worked the handle up and down and it slowly worked its way off.

The tip of the axle has rusted which makes it bigger - that's what is stopping it from coming off. There is a nylon bushing between the handle and the axle that wears down as you are doing the cranking thing.

If its moving, spray some WD40 in there, move it up and down while using something to wedge it out. It seems like there's a trick it staying on, but it should come off if it moves at all.

I wedge a pickle fork behind them and then pry with it while rotating the e-brake handle as much as possible. Eventually they all come off (provided you remove the bottom bolt).

Mine stuck so well the PO ripped the pin welds loose. It rotated fine once the welds let go... Wobbled a little though.

I had to drill out the bracket welds, remove the E-brake handle, pin and bracket as an assembly. Then I soaked the bejeeezus outta the pin/handle, and used an aluminum rod to pound the pin out.

Yup, soak and rotate, soak and rotate, soak and rotate. Do that for a week and see if things are better. If not, add heat, but don't catch the interior on fire......

Ken

Thanks all. It sounds like it will take perseverance.
I did think about drilling out the spot welds on both the pivot mount and the cable guide. That would definitely do the job.

How much better did your handle work after you sanded down the pivot? Better?

Tony

If you are going to repaint it, the plastic handle can be a bear to remove. I got mine off pretty easy by hanging the lever with handle grip down; squirt PB Blaster where the plastic handle meets the metal. Think I did this over 2 days. Plastic handle slid off with some twisting.

I probably would just tape off the plastic part. But kudos to you for taking your restoration to that level.


One thing I would like to do though is to figure out how to take off the seat angle adjuster so that I could powder coat the seat rails. I wonder what the handles are made of. They seem to corrode much like the fan housing or a tranny. Does anyone know what they looked like originally? Polished or matte? I guess I'd better ask that in the CW section.

I have a very good handbbrake set-up complete, handle to caliper....with decent boots. 100 bucks+ ship. ...from a 74 914.

Thanks JP. I'll keep that in mind if I mangle what's in there.

Where do the boots go?

Tony

The angle adjuster handles are plastic and unscrew, the entire angle adjusting mechanism comes apart in several pieces. Mine were plated.

The seat adjuster handle is the most sensitive as it made of potmetal.

At both ends of the cables.