This morning the weather was just beautiful in Austin, TX and I wanted to take my Speedster out for a cruise. When I went to back out of the garage, it wouldn't budge. The parking brake was stuck, yet the brake handle was not up. It seemed as if the brake was stuck internally since there wasn't anything wrong with the cable, brake lever, etc... After reading a bit online about vw style drum brakes like what I have on my Beck Speedster, lots of folks talked about how it was NOT a good idea to wash your car or get your car wet, then engage the parking brake while your car sits for a few days. Apparently the drum brake innards can and do rust then stick.
I tried some simple things to get it loose like moving the brake handle up and down repeatedly, rocking the car, etc.., but nothing seemed to work. Then I came across this great article: http://www.ifitjams.com/parking.htm
I ended up jacking up my car, tested which wheel wouldn't spin, pulled that wheel off then proceeded to hit the front and back of the drum brake with a rubber mallet. The key was to hit the sides of the drum brake housing with the mallet. I heard a spring pop and the wheel was free!
If you end up having to take apart your drum brake, you'll need a 36mm axel socket and at least a 3/4" breaker bar. Or there's even a nifty torquemeister tool: http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDe...uctCode=ACC-C10-7036 At any rate, read and watch this guy's tutorials for some great illustrations of what you'll be up against: http://www.ifitjams.com/parking.htm
Just thought I'd give back to the community 
