Lowering the Handbrake (Scopema) & Fitting a Swivel Seat | Ford Transit Camper Conversion

In today's episode we attempt to lower the handbrake using the Scopema kit, allowing us the extra room needed to fit the driver's swivel seat. 5 Broken drill bits and a smashed thumb later we have a result.
If you are new to the channel and don't know who are, we are James & Kelly, 2 travel enthusiasts from the UK who have been travelling around Europe since 2022. Now we have purchased our 2018 MK8 Jumbo Ford Transit to convert into our dream campervan, which we intend on driving all of the way around the world.
Subscribe to the channel to follow our progress and our future adventures, and don't forget to like the video if you found it interesting or helpful.
In this video we used the following kits:
Scopema handbrake lowering kit - tinyurl.com/yx...
FASP Seat Swivel - tinyurl.com/3d...
Seat bolt torque settings - Seat runner/Swivel to box - 25Nm/18lb-ft
- Seat belt lower retainer into seat - 40Nm/30lb-ft
- Seat pedestal/box bolts to floor - 47Nm/45lb-ft
- Passenger seats to floor - 47Nm/45lb-ft
#seatswivel, #fordtransit #handbrake #campervanconversion
5:18 Removing the battery
6:14 Lowering the handbrake
14:32 Fitting the FASP swivel
15:41 Refitting the seat

[@user-ih6ro4hc4q]

Hi Mate. That's exactly how all my jobs go. Nothings easy is it. Thanks for the video about to tackle this myself in the next week.

[@Two_in_transit]

Everything on a van just seems to want to fight back lol 🤣

[@licence13]

Hopefully this will help folks in the future - you can remove the handbrake completely, remove the lower cover by popping the 2 small covers off, remove the 2 torx bits. You can then pry the handbrake cable using pliers. I then removed the pressed bolts using a hammer and drift easily on my bench.

[@JillyVlogsTv]

do you know if there is a way to remove the handbrake cover without removing the seats?

[@scotttannehill3533]

How did you put the hand break cover / trim back on?

[@Two_in_transit]

Still working that out as we have only just finished the floor between the seats. I'll put some pics of our progress on our Instagram page 😊

[@fortnitefreakz]

Been putting this off for a while, but you’ve made it look easy. What size socket for the nuts on the bracket that you took off?
Thanks.

[@Two_in_transit]

I do believe it was a 13mm socket for those, the most difficult part of the job will be removing the studs from the bracket. Best of luck 👍

[@fortnitefreakz]

@@Two_in_transitmagic. Thanks.

[@liam-james]

Did you even get the handbrake trim back on without the metal bracket ?

[@Two_in_transit]

Because we made the floor higher between the seats, we were able to remove the top half of the trim and attach that to the floor on its own using some metal brackets glued to the inside, screwed into the floor 😊

[@Two_in_transit]

instagram.com/p/C5tPf10Iq0O/?igsh=MWczNmh1Y241bWNzaQ==

[@liam-james]

Thank you your a life saver

[@vipallica]

Thanks for this helpful video. When I got the adapter I shortly did not understand how to mount it since the manual was not very helpful.
Anyways got one question: does the handbrake needs to be aligned / tightened afterwards? If it comes lower I guess the cable is not as tight when brake is pulled as it is before?

[@Two_in_transit]

Thank you 😊. We haven't needed to adjust ours, and regularly park on a hill without any roll. It will also depend on how tight the cable was to begin with. Best to test it once you're finished and adjust if needed. 👍✌

[@vipallica]

@@Two_in_transit alright thanks. My cable is pretty tight. Will test it afterwards

[@vipallica]

​@@Two_in_transitJust out of curiosity: ist your transit a FWD or a RWD?
So in the meantime I lowered the handbrake on mine. It's and L4H3 so a RWD. Unfortunately now the cable (or it's metal housing that's used to lead the cable through the body and away from the driveshaft) sits too low and touched the driveshaft to the rear. So far I did not come up with a good solution for this issue.

[@Two_in_transit]

@@vipallica same van as yours RWD L4H3.

[@vipallica]

@@Two_in_transit so did you have any issues with the cable hitting the driveshaft? In my case I can't drive this way. Did you do anything to the cable that's not shown in the video?

[@liam-james]

Hello mate did you find the leak in the cab area? Cheers

[@Two_in_transit]

Eventually we did. It was coming in from under the door seal, where the inner and outer skins meet, about half way up the front end of the door. If you are getting water in your step area its a likely culprit. 😊✌

[@liam-james]

Thank you