I hope I'm posting this in the right section!
I told you in my intro last week I'd be asking for help--so
here goes.....
I'm trying to get the 1982 to pass inspection, and discovered
the parking brake is not working at all. A call to Corvettes
of Houston (where I buy a lot of parts for the '90, and now for
the '82) put me into shock. They said it's difficult to say
what is wrong, and to find out there is a LOT to take apart to
even get to the brake! (and I still don't have the service
manual to look at--it's on order....)
Has anyone tackled their parking brake? Any suggestions on
where to start?
Thanks!
Linda & Mike
1982 Blue Coupe
1990 Quasar Blue Metallic Coupe

|UPDATED|5/21/2003 3:33:14 PM|/UPDATED|

Not to be too anal, but a correction of term is needed (I've been admonished about it before so I'm just passing it on!). There is no such animal as an 'emergency brake' in a C3 Vette. It is by definition (and design) a 'parking brake' (or so I've been told anyway).

One Vette parts/service place I've frequented for miscellaneous stuff told me that when they do rear brake repair work they state up front that the parking brake parts WILL BE REMOVED. If you have a problem with that they won't touch the car, or at least the rear brakes anyway. Minnesota doesn't have a vehicle inspection program so I imagine that's why this place feels they can take the stand they have.

As part of my calipher rebuild project last year I included an overhaul of the parking brakes to get them functioning again. With a manual transmission it becomes a real pain to kill and restart the engine everytime you need to get out of the car for any reason (like opening or closing the garage door).

I bought a parking brake rebuild kit from one of the parts catalogs and a set of inexpensive brake shoes from the local NAPA store to do the project. To save a few dollars I spent some 'quality time' with some heavy duty cleaning solvents and got the side-to-side cable cleaned up and working free again (lots of brake cleaner and lots of oil).

If you're at all familiar with drum brakes it is really a pretty easy project. For me the taking-things-apart portion of the job went fairly easy. But the putting-it-back together portion was a bit more time consuming, mostly because I didn't have the right brake tools to make things easier when working in tight quarters. I thought either of the manuals (Chilton's or Haynes) detailed the steps pretty well.

Good luck!

I corrected the title for you
I probably first said emergency because it IS an emergency that
I fix this problem fast! I wanted some feedback from other
Corvette owners.
Thanks again--
Linda & Mike
1982 Blue Coupe
1990 Quasar Blue Metallic Coupe

I just thought I'd post an update--we had to drill out the rivets
to get to the parking brakes--they were covered in dirt and rust
and completely frozen. I imagine whoever had this 'vette last
didn't need a working parking brake to pass inspection in their
state (but unfortunately I need it to work, ASAP!)
I purchased new brake shoes and a parts kit, so we can get it
working again. Interesting that the box says "1965-82 Corvette
Rear Emergency Brake Shoe Set"--and the parts bag says
"E/Brake Hardware Kit"--so I guess the parts manufacturers use
either name (parking or emergency brake.)
Linda
1982 Blue Coupe
1990 Quasar Blue Metallic Coupe

Now that you have the e-brake installed, did it work well?

I have found it common for both old and rebuilt parking brakes in the C3's not to hold very well. Not sure if it is a poor design or the rebuilds are missing something. Please let us know.

|UPDATED|7/2/2003 9:34:42 AM|/UPDATED|

We did get the brake to work, so we could pass the Texas
state inspection! Even with all new parts, and a lot of
time and effort, the brake still doesn't hold very well
in the forward gear--but after tightening the cable until
it wouldn't tighten any more, it held....
This poor '82 has had a lot of it's repairs done by
BAD mechanics--we don't know this by the history, which
is a mystery--we just know by everything we keep finding
as we work on it!
Linda
1982 Blue Coupe
1990 Quasar Blue Metallic Coupe

I forgot about the drilling out of the rivets. Only had to do that on one side when reworking my rear brakes.

Be careful that you don't tighten up the adjustment cable too much. Any contact between the brake shoes and the 'drum' when the parking brake is released will cause some extra heat build up that could cause problems for the rotors. If you don't need the brake on a day-to-day basis I'd recommend leaving the adjustment a little loose so the brake grabs some and only tighten it up when inspection day rolls around.
____________________________________

Jim O.
Save the Wave...!!!

I can't believe I stumbled upon this thread, I am in the exact same boat with my '80 here is San Antonio. The brake is working, just not very well. I am thinking of wrenching on the cable to get me through the inspection and then loosening it when it is all over. It is always something with these cars.

CVT4ME

|UPDATED|7/18/2003 8:17:53 AM|/UPDATED|

I did complete overhaul on my whole car and emergybrake was part of the project. I replaced everything with new parts and spent some time adjusting it. Now it works like a swiss clock.

Main reason for most C3s having lot of issues with the Ebrakes is that they are hardly used and this causes them to rot in place...