Here is a bit of a puzzle I'd like to throw out to the group.

I have a 1980 GT Limited Edition that I drive only through the dry summer months here on the west coast. In 2022 when I had the GT on the road, I decided to replace the rear brake pads and rotors. I was not able to complete the job due to one seized hand brake cable not allowing the new rotor to be installed. So, the old rotor went back on and the car delivered to the local independent Volvo specialty shop to replace the cable. Once the work was underway, the shop called to say the other cable and the shoes needed replacing, so got that done at the same time. This began the saga that ended up costing a lot of money, took about a month, and resulted in a hand brake that now did not work. That brake had previously always held the car securely. I even bought another set of cables and shoes from ipd for the shop to try and the shop claimed made no difference to the situation.

Last week I stopped by another shop where our daughter has taken her 740 with good success and talked the matter over with them. They are reluctant to take on the for two reasons. The first is another shop has worked with the brakes taking them from working to non-working, so there may be missing (lost) small parts that are no longer available to purchase. The second is that factory parts are no longer available and they don't always trust aftermarket items.

In my 33 years of 1980 Volvo ownership, I don't recall working on the handbrake other than replacing shoes once (oil contamination) and swapping in a rear axle on the subject car. So, the handbrake seems to be something that just works almost forever with little worry. As a result, I couldn't draw or describe the system, but must not be very complicated with respect to possible missing small parts. But, I do need a solution as the summer is here and I want to be able to drive the car, park it, and be confident that it won't roll away on its own.

I would appear that the new cables have inner core that is too long relative to the outer casing. And, it seems that there is only one manufacturer of the cables on the entire planet.

So, for all you people who have worked on your handbrake cables, shoes or whatever, have you ever had an issue with the slack not coming out, excessively springy handle, or the brake just not holding? Have you successfully replaced the cable and or shoes without incident? Are there any small, mysterious parts in there that could easily be lost resulting in a brake that almost works, but not really?