re:parking brake

["Bill Sinclair" <bills@domain.elided>]

Pat, I just repaired the parking brake in my '67 Duetto yesterday so this
one's actually still pretty fresh in my mind.  I'm assuming (perhaps
incorrectly) that the mechanism in your '79 is fairly similar.  In my case,
part of the problem was that things were kind of gummed up and the pawl was
not springing back to catch the ratchet tooth.  I disconnected the brake cable
(under the car) and then removed the bolt that the handbrake lever pivots on.
The lever could then be removed and taken to the workbench.  There were two
screws that held the plastic grip on.  Removing the grip allowed the button
actuator and three ball bearings to slide out of the handle.  The remainder of
the assembly had to come out the other end so the pivot bushing had to be
driven out (fortunately it slid right out with a little tap on an 8mm socket).
Be careful because once the pivot bushing clears the hollow of the lever, a
cap and spring may pop out and attempt to escape across your garage floor!
The remaining assembly could then be removed (after chasing down the
aforementioned spring).  After cleaning, regreasing and reassembling
everything, the pawl would move up and down with the button like it was
supposed to and would catch on all the ratchet teeth except the one it needed
to!  I tried filing that particular tooth but it still didn't catch every time
(probably because the edge of the pawl was worn - as Jeffrey indicated in his
response).  I then took the advice that Skip Patnode had given me the week
before and adjusted the E-brake shoes.  There is a hole in the rear rotor that
allows access to a star wheel for adjusting the brake shoe clearance.  That
did the trick! (thanks Skip!)  With the brake clearance properly adjusted, I
didn't have to pull the lever quite so far and the pawl could rest on a
different ratchet tooth that held much better.  I hope this helps - good
luck!

Bill Sinclair
67 Duetto

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