handbrake trim...
 

Just spent about 75 quid buying the piece of fake wood for the top of the handbrake lever - managed to get the remains of the old one out (gaffer tape been used in a previous 'repair')

Fitted the new one and its not a great fit - the top of it rubs on the drivers' side of the plastic surround as you let the handbrake off. Probably the reason the old one broke!

Can you just use brute force to yank the handbrake lever over a bit, or is there any adjustment on the trim or the handbrake?

I might just take the trim off again and wait till GTI Intl so the oracles can have a look!

Shouldnt rub. Maybe the center console is misaligned.

>> Can you just use brute force to yank the handbrake lever over a bit

Good approach. Yes you can do that. This is how I've fixed mine:

1. Remove leather handle (pry off plastic clip from bottom of the handle where it meets with plastic hood). Use flat screwdriver for that wrapped in vinyl plastic tape. Plastic clip is about 1/2 inch long. Apply some force here to get the clip out. Remove handle when clip is out.
2. Remove plastic hood. You might want to buy plastic hood too if you just shelled out 75 pounds for fake wood. Buy black hood, not the grey one if you have light color interior. If the black hood scratches in future you won't notice it because it's black. The hood is cheap.
3. At this point of time you'll have bare metal handbrake lever which you can custom bend with your bare hands.
3. Put plastic hood and leather handle back, but don't push plastic clip back. Check alignment. Do 1, 2 and 3 again if alignment is not correct.

I've shelled out 80 pounds just like you for the fake wood, but the plastic "fork" element that connects the fake wood to the handbrake is so idiotic, that it is clear it'll break again sooner or later. So I've decided to save that fresh-purchased part for the future (besides, "wood" color didn't match 100%) and I've installed the old wood part in place by completely removing remains of broken plastic fork (you can do it with sharp knife or a file) and fixing it with foamed double sided tape that some people in this country use to attach their number plates. Just use a bit thicker tape or just use two layers of this tape, again, to get proper vertical alignment. It works perfectly, I assure you. I've fixed it like this more than a year ago and this solution is bulletproof.

If I go to GTI I'll try to never forget to take industrial quality 3M VHB (Very High Bond) tape with myself. I have a whole roll of it and it'll come handy to fix the God damn thing permanently.

I might return the bit I bought as the colour match on that is pretty pants as well :mad:

Will have a butchers at the handbrake on Sunday when I'm getting the car ready - I have the old bit of trim and it's already minus the stupid mounting +++

My plastic hood does look a bit trashed from years of up/down - cheers for the tip +++

I appreciate that this is a very old post but thought to put the following here as this thread comes up when you are searching for "handbrake trim" for a D2.
It may help anyone else who has broken trim on their handbrake and was looking for an alternative solution to the double-sided tape method.
So I hope it helps someone in the future.

My wooden trim was broken when I got the car so I don't know what was on the end of the small broken nub:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1483220624

My thought was to fasten this tiny nub back on to the small bolt-like thing that you can see going across the inside of the top of the handbrake (when the wooden trim is removed). My solution was to cable-tie it using a very thin Wilko 200mm long cable-tie.
But first I needed to fasten the cable-tie to the wooden trim so I used my Dremel and with a small drill bit, I VERY CAREFULLY dabbed and drilled either side of the nub to create a tunnel. I didn't want to drill into the wooden layer on top of this piece of black plastic so it was done a bit at a time. I could feel when I had pushed through the black plastic and was about to hit the wooden plastic attached to it so it wasn't all guesswork.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1483220624

I then slid my cable-tie through the small tunnel (more of a slit) and if it was too stiff I drilled a bit more out until I could slide the cable-tie back and forth without too much resistance.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1483220624
(Please note that since I took the photograph, I slid the cable-tie in from the other side as it would be easier to pull tight when on the handbrake).

The whole piece was then placed on the handbrake and the cable-tie pushed down into the hole, under the bolt-like thing and with a pair of tweezers, pulled back up and tied in place.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1483220624

I did want to trim the end off the cable-tie, push it down the hole and from the underside, pull it tight. This would have meant that nearly all of the cable tie was neatly inside the main part of the handbrake. But after too much faffing I gave in, pulled the cable-tie tight from the top-side and carefully trimmed the visible end with a Stanley blade so that it hid itself under the "wood" quite nicely. (If I had used a longer cable-tie, or removed the "bolt" first and then re-inserted it through the cable-tie loop when the cable tie end was already down the hole, then that would have also worked a bit better).

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1483220624

The end result was very satisfying. It's tight and snug against the main part of the handbrake but has a small amount of lateral play for when the handbrake is raised and lowered.
It may not be as good as the original solution but once done, you'd be hard-pushed to see that a repair had taken place.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1483220624

Anyway, if someone in the future has a similar issue to this and can't find a better solution on the forum or elsewhere, then I hope this gives them an alternative to try.

Dean

I think I have that exact piece IN THAT COLOUR as a spare, unbroken. ;)

I carried it around in the car for ages as another forum member wanted it, but eventually resolved their problem another way before we met! :ROFL:

That's good to know. When my make-shift repair fails (like all my make-shift repairs do :ROFL:) then I know who to ask +++

Just dug mine out (it happens to be in the top of a box right beside my computer) and it's part 4D0 864 375 F. Colour is Vavona which is what yours appears to be, but check.

I'll stick it back in the car in case I run into you at a meet.

It does have the "standard modification" of a few bits of duct tape added to pad out the "bridge" bit that is missing on yours. It's a very weird (illogical?) design that never fits properly.
Due to the way the trim moves as you pull the handbrake up that locating component can't really be fixed down; too tight and it will just break. Your solution is probably quite effective as it allows just enough free movement.

I did once think of making a suitable push-on fixing/mounting by carving up a block of rubber material.