73 Super Beetle Brake(s) locked up

[Transy Pioneer]

Howdy all! I'm a neophyte to VW's and have a problem with a car I have inherited.

I have a 73 Super Beetle whose brakes are locked up and I cannot get it out of the garage. It has been garaged for the past 8 months with the emergency brake on and my understanding is that it hasn't been run at all in 8 months.

I have tried to release the emergency brake and push the car out, but it seems that the brake(s) are locked up. Can someone give me steps on releasing the brake(s), so I can get the car moving? I'm not afraid of getting the car up in the air and taking things apart, but I'm a bit clueless with VW's....

Thank you for your consideration.

Transy Pioneer

[boschmann]

It sounds like the park brake cables are frozen. You can try going to the adjuster holes in the backing plate to loosen the rear brakes enough to get a drum off, then you can get in there to replace the cables. There are two holes in each side, one for each shoe.

[Grug]

If you can't adjust the rear brakes down enough through the backing plates you might try giving the drums a good smash with a sledge hammer. It might be enough to break the seal between the brake pads and the drum. I would start gently and work toward using more force as it's needed. In other words, don't beat the snot out of the drums if you don't have to.

How many of the wheels are stuck? All four, just the rear, just one or two?