Handbrake help

The handbrake in the 1981 Rabbit I recently bought only works when the handle is held in a certain way while applying the brake. The reason is that the holes in the bracket on the tunnel are elongated, allowing the pin to move, allowing the tang at the bottom of the ratchet to slip out of the slot that locates it. Apart from drilling out the holes and putting in a bushing, is there an easy fix for this? Looks as if it must be a common problem.

there are two clips (one for each side) that fit in groves cut around the hollow pin that goes through the hand brake's pivot. if either of these clips are missing the hand brake bracket will ride in the pin's grooves and allow the hand brake lever to move sideways (the first impression is that the holes are elongated since the groves in the pin are smaller than the pin's outer diameter and allow the pin to move lateraly in the hole). check to see that both clips are present and locked in the grooves.

if the holes are elongated, and you can find a donor car, then you may be able to salvage a good bracket by using a spot weld cutter (a specialised drill bit) to remove the piece in question. the problem here is you will have to weld the salvaged bracket to your floorpan, and welding sheet metal without a spot welder is not a task for the first timer, but on the other hand finding a sot welder with jaws large enough to reach across an assembled floor pan may be nearly impossible. a bushing (if available) will probably be the easiest route.