E-brake stuck!! HELP!!

[ty901]

i KNEW i should have blocked the wheels and left the E-brake off... but NOOOOO !!
anyway, i got the '66 fired up the other day, but ain't going anywhere any time soon
pretty sure the E-brake shoes are stuck to the hub. is there a trick to solving this puzzle or is this one of those "charater building" exercises ? any help appreciated.
thank!
jerry
p.s. i tried searching this forum, but couldn't find anything. then again my search arguement code could be faulty

[FinallyGotOne]

Have you taken off the wheels to see if you cannot just loosen them (brakes) manually?

[real550A]

Try a few times around the drum area with a soft (brass?) hammer. Sometimes, just the vibration will loosen them from the drum slightly.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

I'm assuming the problem is not that the handle won't come off but that the brake handle retracts and the shoes still won't loosen from the drum?

[ty901]

Originally posted by Iwantone
Have you taken off the wheels to see if you cannot just loosen them (brakes) manually?

i have not. i was happy to get the engine fired up after a long nap and it was getting late. i *conceptually* understand the E-brake system, but not the detail. i thought that a partial disassembly might be required. i'll have some time over the weekend. to investigate further.
thanks!
jerry

[ty901]

Originally posted by real550A
Try a few times around the drum area with a soft (brass?) hammer. Sometimes, just the vibration will loosen them from the drum slightly.

actually i should have included in the original post that this is the only thing i know to try. ie; remove wheel exposing drum and 'have at it'
failing that, i'm at a loss.
thanks!
jerry

[ty901]

Originally posted by Formerly Steve Wilkinson
I'm assuming the problem is not that the handle won't come off but that the brake handle retracts and the shoes still won't loosen from the drum?

Steve;
sorry for not being clear. yes, the situation is exactly as you describe. you must be the voice of experience ?
thanks!
jerry

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

There's a little "star wheel" adjustor inside the drum of each emergency brake. There's a hole through the drum through which you access it. It's at the nine o'clock position on the right wheel and three o'clock on the left side, and you can see it if you look carefull with a flashlight. You stick a standard screwdriver through the hole until it engages a space between the teeth of the star wheel--visualize a very coarse, small, horizontal gear lying on its side, not a vertical gear/wheel--and push the screwddriver handle forward to loosen the wheel. Engage the next space and do it again, and again and again. The correct direction of push is forward to loosen on _both_ sides of the car.

That procedure backs the shoes away from the drum. If rapping on the drum doesn't then loosen 'em, I'd drive the car a couple of feet, force the matter...

[ty901]

guys;
it appears that i have bigger problems then i originally thought. the wheels spin freely once the car is off the ground. looks like i'm in the market for a good used trans.
thanks again for all the help.
best
jerry