Glad to hear you passed the MOT. What you are telling us about the brakes doesn't sound right. Sure, the brakes on an Amazon won't feel like the ones on a modern car, but what you describe is a bit odd, and I'd spend some time checking them further. Do the shoes drag to the point of slowing down the wheel when you spin it? If so, you might want to back off a couple of notches on the adjuster. See what happens if you try to bleed them. Do you get a healthy squirt of brake fluid coming out when you step on the pedal? If not, supect collapse of the innner lining of the rubber brake hoses. They can look fine on the outside but be mush on the inside. Usually the problem manifests itself by the shoes not releasing, but it can also make the pedal feel harder than it should.

I've driven 122s for decades, and with new linings and newly adjusted the pedal can be high, but it should only take normal pressure to stop the car, not leg fatiguing stomps. As for boosters: I haven't seen many that still had them, and their owners invariably claim they don't miss them.

Bob S.