Ken, I just went through this with my '83 ASI camper.  I could literally
stand straddling the parking brake lever and pull with both hands and my van
would *still* roll on even the slightest grade.  Here's what I learned.

PO had brake shoes replaced but the mechanic did not do the parking brake
correctly.  There is a lever in each drum that pushes the shoes against the
drum to hold the van.  The steel lever itself was contacting the wheel hub
before the shoes ever touched the drum.  It felt like the parking brake was
applied, but no amount of tightening the lever could cause enough
steel-on-steel friction to hold the van in place.

The fix:

First, loosen the adjuster nut that connects the parking brake rod to the
cables under the center of the van.  I unscrewed that sucker until it was at
the very end of the rod, which was difficult due to all the rust and
undercoating on the threads.  Clean the threads well first.  Next, we
cleaned the star adjuster mechanisms for each rear wheel, and made sure that
they turned easily.  Then adjust the shoes until you can just barely get the
drum back on.  I tightened the shoes until there was a small amount of drag
on each drum.  Put the wheels back on and work the brake lever back and
forth to let the system "settle".  Last, adjust the parking brake to your
liking using the nut and threaded rod.

That's all there is to it.  Before the adjustment, I could not park the van
without blocking the wheels.  Now, I can literally lock up the rear wheels
while driving using the parking brake.  I like the brake adjusted so it
takes 3-4 clicks to hold the van firmly on a slight grade.  I use only 2
clicks parking on level ground.

Hope this helps

Mike Snow

I have new rear drums and brake shoes on my 82 Westy. The adjuster is
screwed
in all the way but the e-brake just won't hold. Duh, is it possible these
cables have stretched over the last 19 years?

Ken Hunter
82 Westy 1.9D
84 Jetta 1.5D