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Hi guys, just bought a 67 galaxie fastback and am having probs applying the park brake. Won't apply when I put foot on it!. Could it be cable adjustment? I ain't got a clue. Please bear with me as there are no forums for the galaxies in England. Thanks
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First thing that comes to mind is rusted seized parking brake cables. I would try pulling on the cables to see if they move. I would grab them with Vice Grips and pull to see if they budge. I had seized cables on my 61. To free them I removed from car, hung them vertically by a wire and everyday I sprayed some Seafoam penetrant down the cables. After about two months of tugging and spraying they broke free. Would have been easier to just buy some cables but just wanted to experiment!
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See if you have a front brake cable that runs down from the parking brake pedal. The one on my '59 was seized and the way it was encased, it was junk. Disconnect everything at the equalizer bar (where the 2 rear cables come in and meet). Give the pedal a try, see if it releases. Some of these were a bare piece of cable and rarely get hung up.
Next take the 2 rear cables off the equalizer bar. Do the vise grip thing, give it a pull. You should hear the rear shoes move, or get a helper and have him look with the drums off. These cables seize up where it goes through the rubber sheath close to the backing plates. Like someone else mentioned, you can work it to free it up. I would tend to replace both sides if it was that bad. They come off from the backing plates with a little (or more..) effort.
Parking brakes are something that has to be used frequently.
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