i have a 1973 chevy nova and the emergency brake is stuck on?

[Jeremy]

the car has bean sitting in the barn for about ten years and in the process of moving it i hit the e brake to see if it worked and it worked real good so well that now it is stuck on and when i release the brake and pull the foot lever toward me and let go it ratchets like half way down and stops and now the car doesn't move and i basically have very little knowledge of the mechanical brake system so if you could be as in depth as possible it would be appreciated

 

[joe.rakoczy@sbcglobal.net]

Could be any of 3 possibilities .
1. springs on the brakes are rusted and now stuck .
2. emergency brake lever at wheel stuck
3. stuck hydraulically .
First go to rear wheels and loosen bleeder screw without compressing the pedal . Wait 30 seconds or so and re-tighten screws . Now see if brake is loose . If not , check the emergency brake cable under the car and see if it is in a bind . If not , now for the hard part . That is getting the drums off . If brakes are stuck , they are up against the drum making it a lot harder to do .

 

[Spanky]

You would need to take the right drum off and rotate the star wheel counterclockwise to manually release the brake.