[Jimsiss]

I had a problem with mine recently which had me overhaul the whole handbrake system only to have the same fault.

I replaced the rear discs and pads a few months back and the shoes looked good so I left them. Handbrake wasn’t great but held, but that got worse very quickly to the point it wouldn’t work at all. Replaced the cables and shoes on both sides and the long one held the passenger side no problem but the short one still wouldn’t hold. Adjusted it until it held the car so it could go for it’s MOT and it failed.

I let the garage sort it as it also needed hoses all around as they were perished. They came back to me saying it wasn’t anything I’d done but the shoes weren’t touching the inside of the disc on the driver’s side (which is what I had assumed and already come to a conclusion about). They made an adjustable seat for the shoes to make them engage the disc so it would pass.

The real problem was the new discs I’d fitted, I had a sneaking suspicion about them but ran out of time before the MOT to check them. Driver’s side bore is way oversized, to the point where the shoes couldn’t engage it properly. Got better quality discs on order for the rear as the Comline ones are useless.

Also got an advisory on one of the front suspension bushes, as I suspected the Polybushes from Retro Turbo are shot after only a few years and probably less than 10,000 miles (probably way less but I’m not sure as the car has had a bit more use in the last year).