Re: winter rims messed up the ebrake assembly?
When you get into it, you'll see that the shoe plates should make contact with a weird looking double U (U's on opposite sides) clip thing. If the shoe plates aren't touching that, just force them back into place.
CAUTION: Drink ONE beer while doing this to try and stay calm, and prevent going bald. The E-brake assembly on these cars will drive you mad.