Vixen S1 Handbrake

[Old Git]

Am I the only 1800s/Vixen S1 owner who spends an afternoon every year trying to make the handbrake work sufficiently well to scrape through the MOT? I've had the drums skimmed, fitted new hoses, brake shoes, return springs and cables yet it is still really marginal even with the shoe adjusters done up to the point the shoes are slightly rubbing and all the slack is adjusted out of the cables. With the handbrake pulled on as hard as I can (and I'm not weedy!) I can still turn a wheel albeit with quite a lot of effort. This year I've decided to butcher the handbrake itself. I cut off the extension the brake balancer/cables attach to and and welded it back on so it hangs nearly vertically and hence imparts more movement to the cables - the original angle meant that five clicks on the ratchet hardly moved the cables at all as the extension was nearly horizontal.

Has anybody else resorted to this? Can I expect the car to pass the MOT next week?!!! Any other suggetsions to improve efficiency gratefully received.

Frustrated of Locks Heath