using the hand break

Sounds like you applied the hand parking brake in Fall and either the cable or the shoes (assume rear drums?) rusted in the braked position!  If parking brake handle is down, try pulling the cable back on either side at the brake drums.  If that doesn't release brake then the shoes are stuck to the drums.  Perhaps striking drums with a 2.4"/hammer will break them loose.  To prevent happening again - you'll have to lube the brake cables and maybe remove rear drums and lube contact point and check return springs.  

If it's not adjusted right, and you give it a good pull, you can pull it PAST the last tooth, and then the pawl will not release no matter how hard you pull it. I had to remove the pivot on the e-brake handle to release mine.

 

Maybe?

Will a 2.65" hammer also work?

Maybe a 2x4 and a hammer (any size you'd like). Hit the drum NOT the backing plate.

Should break free.

Ted

And you do not want to use a 'mighty armstrong' hammer blow on it...gentle taps will usually suffice. I've had this happen on project cars that have sat for a long time w/ rear drums and the parking brake applied. I've used a nylon faced dead blow 2lb. hammer with good results to loosen the e-brake cables from the drum after releasing the brake handle.

As a rule, I almost NEVER use the parking brake on any of my cars, unless in a really steep condition.  Use the "P" gear or put it in 1st.  Certainly do not use it when parked for a long time. Full disclosure: both cars have disk brakes all around; the old truck has drums in the back. I have replaced about three or four P-brake cables on that old F-150.  Very poor cable design there, guaranteed to rust in place after a few years.

On the other hand I have never had a problem with an emergency brake seizing up and I use it all the time.

Day to day use should not be an issue for an emergency/parking brake if the cables were greased during intallation. That's what it was designed for, and when the cables (and shoes) are adjusted properly, it serves it's purpose well. Long term sitting, on the other hand, can cause problems with shoes rusting in place in the drums, whether it be ancient VW or somewhat newer chariot.

 

When I was growing up in Pennsylvania, in the early days of the automobile, one of those lessons passed from father to son was that you didn't leave the handbrake set for very long because it could freeze up, rust up, or otherwise leave you in a real pickle.

 

This never actually happened to anyone I knew, but it was one of those warnings from elders not to be questioned, just like you would never run with scissors or play with a BB gun because you'd shoot your eye out.

 

I haven't heard the old warning in years (about handbrakes). I guess I've been assuming that modern cars now have some sort of complex technology that protects us from the evils of the handbrake and frees us from the bother of ever having to learn the proper way to use one. 

 

Somehow, it's comforting to know that my Speedster still has a handbrake that - if I don't watch out - could leave me in a real pickle.

 

 

Post Hurricane Sandy I hauled dozens of flood - scrap insurance cars out of NJ that had locked E brakes A large aka BF sledge hammer would reduce the rear drums or rotors to recyclable metal and away it would roll..one way or another.

I can't figure out from the original post if the car won't move, parking brake off, or if the lever is stuck in the up position.

 

I use the e-brake on all my cars, always have. But not for long-term storage.

 

Maybe that's why they always work and never freeze up, eh El Frazoo? If they are greased and used, they won't fail you. I replaced many cables when I worked as a mechanic. Most people don't use them, and they stay ON if someone happens to use it once!

My lack of problems with the e-brake is probably due to the fact that I never let a car sit for very long.  In this climate rust starts immediately, and I can certainly see the wisdom in NOT using the e-brake on a car that will be sitting for a while.

As to my Speedster, I do not even have an E-brake, per se.  I hate the look of that ugly lever sitting prominently in the middle of everything in the cabin.  There is an exception to this, just so's you know: Spyders and Hoopties (?).  They have the steam-punk e-brake thingy right there and it is part of the deal, if you will.  It is the way the cars were made in the first place. But Speedsters did not have such a thing, as the so-called umbrella handle was tucked under the dash.  So I have no handle. Rather, I had an in-line brake lock installed.  Cool deal that will allow you to set the rear brakes with the pedal, and lock that hydraulic pressure in place, affecting a parking break.  Works for me.  It is not, as careful readers will note, a redundant system like a real parking brake, which works w/ the aforementioned cable system in parallel w/ (shall we say backing up?)  the hydraulic system. The in-line brake lock uses the primary hydraulic system to do its thing. Well, so be it. 

And careless readers will put a line-lock on the front wheels so they can do burnouts.

It's the NASCAR  thing to do

I always thought of myself as being kind-of careless.........or mindless, depending on whether you talk to me or Kathy......