[OrrieG]

This post brought back a memory from 1969. Friend had a 36 Ford panel with mechanical brakes (kids that is what they had before hydralics). Good for planned stops, worthless is emergency. More than once we mowed down road side shrubs when someone stopped in front of us and we had to bail off the side with the rear wheel locked by the emergency brake.

You might also want to check with your insurance agent. I could see a situation where a claim would be denied because a critical safety feature was not installed or working properly.