WOW, I knew from the forum here as well as other reading that the park brakes would be a chore but didnt realize it was quite this bad.  Kinda like building a ship in a bottle since you cant really get to or see what you are doing except for the little hole in the axle flange.  I had to get a bigger "cuss jar", my usual one got full quick.... .  Im taking a break tomorrow and will get the other one done on Thursday.  I think it will go quicker with the tricks I learned on the first one.

Chip I/m sure you will do an excellent job documenting the short cuts for us

I did mine in the spring. One little trick I used was to tie the retention springs with Zip ties and then cut them with small diagonal pliers after the retention pins were in place.

Jack, I did something similar. I used dental floss to tie the springs after I compressed them in a vice then used super glue to stick the sloted retainer plate to the spring so I could put it all on in one operation. Once the retainer pins were in place I used a small utility knife to slice through the floss to release the springs. I started taking pics as soon as the rotors were off with good intentions of documenting the entire job but the camera battery took a dump on me about half way through the first one....so much for pics but I did learn alot, the second one went much smoother.  Yep, I finished the second one after supper, I couldn't let it sit two more days.
Crossfire19822009-12-29 18:53:32

A couple other "tricks" that I used was to cover the pads of the new shoes with masking tape till I was finished with the install to keep oil and dirt from getting on the pads.  On the retainer pins I used a short piece of rubber hose that fit the retainer pin very firmly to slide over the pin and against the dust shield to keep the pin erect so the shoes and springs could be slid over them easier ,guess I could have sprayed them with viagra instead, but the rubber hose worked great. I also ordered the "spring tool",essentially a slotted screwdriver, and it was worth the $8 or so in assisting in attaching the springs.  Trimming the hook ends of the springs slightly will allow them to slide on easier using the spring tool yet still have enough hook to hold in place.  My actuating levers were hopelessly rusted and enough leverage could not be had to force them to pivot as they were supposed to and I had to use a moto tool and cutoff wheel to cut them allowing removal.  This is not difficult in that it requires hard physical labor but it is tedious and time consuming. Crossfire19822009-12-31 08:34:49

Here's a C3VR post from 2005 on Park Brake shoe replacement...

C3VR Park Brake Shoes post