Rear Brakes (Almost) On

It has rained a lot in Scotland this year. In fact I think it has been raining more or less permanently since my last post. I know it is no excuse for not working on a garaged Beetle project... but it is the excuse I have decided to use and I will stick to it. However I am immediately going to contradict my chosen excuse when I point out that today, despite the rain, I headed out to the garage to fit the rear brakes.

On the passenger side the brake cylinder was bolted to the backplate as was the handbrake cable. Then on both sides the brake "star" adjusters were fitted. These where a much tighter fit than I expected - however with a bit of jiggling and tapping they seated correctly and still turned without the need for excessive force. The bolts were then coated with copper ease before being screwed all the way into the "star" adjusters. This is what I was left with:

I spent the rest of my two hour stint cleaning up the old spacers and handbrake arm in preparation for fitting to the new brake shoes. The next job will be to fit the new shoes and the new brake drums! The final job on the rear axle will then be to fit the new rubber gaiters and replace the oil.