havent started this yet but i know the handbrake does nothing at the moment, just wondering where the cables run, couldnt see them underneath. what is the easiest/correct way of adjusting?

thanks

Same as a beetle, or if you look on the backing plates of your rear wheels you will see 2 rubber plugs (maybe) pull them out and inside are the adjustments for the hand brake. You stick a screw driver in and turn the little adjusters until they start to drag slightly then back them off slightly.

Thats the condensed version...do yourself a favour and get a workshop manual...good luck.

oh and you might need to adjust your cables at the HB lever aswell

Those adjusters as explained above are for the adjustment of the linings to take up wear clearance thus preventing excessive pedal movement. Once these have been adjusted, the HANDBRAKE is adjusted by tightening the nuts on EACH cable where they attach to the handbrake lever.

The procedure given in the manual is to adjust the brake shoes first (via those star wheels mentioned above). To do this, jack one wheel up. Release the handbrake and put it in neutral (don't forget to chock the wheels). Rotate the wheel with your hand. Now slowly rotate the adjusters until you feel the wheel just start to drag. Do this for both of the adjusters. Now depress the brake pedal a couple of times to center the brake shoes. Spin the wheel by hand and check the drag. Repeat for any other drum brakes.

Once the brake shoes are adjusted you can do the handbrake. With one or both rear wheels off the ground, pull off the rubber boot which covers the handbrake. Undo the lock nuts, then loosen the adjusting nuts. Pull the handbrake up two clicks and tighten the adjusting nuts. Go to the rear wheels and try and spin them. You need to tighten the adjusting nuts until the wheels are hard to turn by hand. Now pull the handbrake lever all the way up. You should not be able to turn the wheels by hand at all. Be careful not to knock the car off the axle stands. Depress the brake pedal to center the shoes and try again, just to make sure everything is properly lined up.

ok thanks. is it more likely for a cable to break or slip, as i have (as far as i can tell) no handbrake at the moment.

will try at the front very soon, damn shame it isnt as easy as a kombi (all visible and lots of crawl space underneath)

thanks, seems they just hadnt been adjusted since they were fitted 5 years ago (still at min adjustment) so now working beautifully