Bought my first 'Vette a few weeks ago, the second one to my family, and it failed its provincial insurance inspection because the E-brake wouldn't hold. I tried adjusting the cable, and although this made the handle harder to pull, the brakes still wouldn't do anything. I believe something is seized up, but that may not be the case.

I've had the rotor off on the side that I believe is having issues (and because I couldn't get the other side apart) and have had a friend pull the parking brake to see just what's not moving. I did find a few things and corrected them, but the brake still won't lock up in forward. In reverse, it locks no problem. Any ideas here as to why the brake will only lock in one direction?

I also don't know how to get the shoes off. If I can get the shoes off, I believe I'll be better able to see what is not working properly and can continue to fix it or replace it from there.

Minor problem that may be fixed when I fix something else: I also replaced the original rear cable with a new ACDelco one and now the handle pulls up really easily, even with the cable adjusted all the way as tight as it will go.

Any help would be appreciated. If it is hard to understand what I am asking (it might be, I'm in a bit of a rush writing this at the moment), just tell me and I will do my best to clarify.

 

It's a direct connection obviously, so if the handle is easier to pull, you f'd something up. There is also adjustment at the shoes. You might want to try that. It looks like a little dradle, take it out and adjust it to be longer. Get some new shoes first.

 

Congratulations on your first Vette and Welcome to the forum.
Parking brakes on our cars leave a lot to be desired but when adjusted properly they will get you thru most inspections.
Before starting mark a lug and mark the hole on the rotor that is was in.
On the rotor that you were able to pull off make sure that the star adjuster is not frozen in place from rust and that it turns. Confirm that no springs are broken and that everything moves freely when you pull the cable.
On the rotor that will not come off you have to back off the adjustment on the star adjuster so the rotor can slip off over the shoes.
If the shoes have enough 'MEAT' left on them and everything moves freely and no springs or other parts are broken then reinstall the rotors and turn the adjuster until the wheel is tight and no longer can be turned.
To tighten the rotor with the star adjuster insert a screwdriver and pull the handle UP from the floor. Then back off 7 to 9 teeth.
The last step is to tighten the cross cable.
With a little luck when you pull up on the parking brake handle the brakes will hold tight on the 14th click.
Heres a link with pictures that explaines it better than me.
http://www.corvettemagazine.com/tech...e-rebuild.html

 

Thank you, that link appears to have everything I need. I tried searching around before posting here and couldn't find anything, but I really wish I had found that web page.

I'll take a better look at things when the snow here is gone...

 

Doing emergency repair brake work on a C3 with the spindle on has resulted in a lot of new sware words being invented.