T 5 5 speed VS Mitchell Transmission with overdrive

[Dave in MN]

Originally Posted by a4me

Dave, can you please elaborate what sort of issues you experienced?

In a stock Model A, the centerline of the brake cross shaft is perfectly in alignment with the centerline of the universal joint housing. This allows the rear end to travel up and down without effecting the application of the brakes.
With the open driveshaft T-5 conversion kit I purchased installed, per the instructions, the position of the brake cross shaft changed. It no longer was in alignment with the universal joint housing. When the rear axle was moving up and down, the brakes were alternately engaged or the braking force lessened due to the pivot point difference. It was dangerous as you could not get the brake rod length correct where it could work at the extremes of the rear spring travel.
Update: The connecting point for the front of the radius rods moved down with the conversion. This increased the effect I describe.
Hope you can picture it in your mind.
Good Day!