I found it in a Street Rodder article from May of '85. You install it in the brake lines. Depress the brakes; turn the key, and your brakes are locked!! A thief would have to DRAG the car away. I've searched the net, to the best of my ability, and can't find one anywhere. Any Ideas? It was made by The Deuce Factory in Santa Ana, CA.
Sounds very interesting, I searched, not much out there, all references seem to be from the 80's. I did find a manufacture and address http://books.google.com/books?id=cQ...&resnum=3&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false Anti-theft Brakes Quadra Lock's brake-line valve can stop a theif. Turn the key to the 'on' position and depress the brake pedal: Hydraulic pressure goes out from the master cylinder but cant return, locking all four brakes. Guardian Systems, 1635 W. Wittier Blvd, Montebello, CA 30640
Yeah, I found that one too. Haven't searched the company 'tho. I'll do that in a minute. The only problem I see possible is the brake lights staying on. But an electronically savvy person could always rig an electrical switch that works in conjunction with the brake lock.
Yeah never thoguht of that... if there's not enough left over pressure to make the brake pedal come back up, the lights will stay lit
A pedal spring is easy enough to attach, as long as the pedal rod does not pop out (shouldn't). It seems to be similar to a line lock only in the reverse sense, it takes power to release it instead of activating it. Wouldn't want the power to it killed while driving (popped fuse, melted wire, complete electrical failure, etc), cause it probably would keep the brakes from working, separating the master cylinder from the wheels. Otherwise, neat idea.
I'm betting you can't find it because it didn't work right and somebody had an accident. I know I wouldn't feel comfortable using it. What happens if your car stalls while the brakes are applied? How badly damaged will the rotors and caliper pistons be when you leave the car parked for a couple weeks in the rust belt? When the home made valve setup breaks does brake fluid coming spraying out under pressure?
Well, the way the article reads is that you step on the brakes and turn the key to lock it. So no electricity is involved, just hydraulic pressure. It was to be installed in-line between MC and the brakes.
My great uncle in Tennessee had a couple of new pickup trucks stolen from his house back in the early 80's. He figured they were coasting it down the drive to the road then starting it and driving away. He worked on hydraulics for TVA and made some sort of line lock type arrangement that kept the brakes from engaging unless you flipped his hidden switch. After he found his truck in the ditch across the road the thieves stopped visiting his house. He liked to joke that you could occasionaly get a whiff of when they **** their pants while sitting in a truck with no brakes as it coasted down the steep drive toward the road.
Hmm, not sure where you could mount a valve, or keyed valve, in a brake line and reach it while hitting the brake pedal, with out either re-plumbing the brake lines into the seating area of the car or with an electrically controlled valve.
I can see this being a bit more likely. The idiot/accident factor that is. The rust thing is also a good point. Although, if it's gonna be sitting for a couple of weeks, I've a better place to keep it locked up. 30 feet away in my garage/barn. Which also happens too be the other end of some rather large caliber items.:blast: The item I've been looking at wasn't a homemade item.
Just because some company was selling it doesn't mean it's not home made. Even a high priced Lotus is basically home made. From my experience on 80's brake systems I'm going to guess that it's a check valve that mounts between the master and the proportioning valve. When the key is switched the check valve closes and whatever amount of fluid was in the lines at the time of the valve closing will remain there until the valve opens again. Basically it's a "closed" valve that opens when voltage is applied through the ignition. I can list off a handful of reasons that kit isn't available any more. The pistons will form rust while open and that will in turn tear the seals and cause a loss of pressure at the cylinders. The rubber lines and fittings will be subjected to a constant pressure which can cause premature wear and possibly make them blow. The valve could possible become stuck in a less than fully open position which would cause a significant drop in braking force. This would be likely if the car has a problem with the charging system causing a low voltage scenerio. A defective ignition switch could cause a sudden loss of brakes (if not being applied) or a sudden locking up of the brakes (if they are being applied) at the time of the ignition interuption. A stalled engine would cause the same problems as above. A valve not rated at the right pressure or using internal parts not compatible with brake fluid may cause the valve to blow apart, which would completely disable the brake system. Basically it sounds like a neat idea, but something better left to the Toyota engineers who seem to know the best ways to have a brake failure.
This is the system you want. It's imported from South Africa. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDrzMGdYWZc&feature=player_detailpage
