brakes, spokes, and hamsters on treadmills

So, I'm currently working on the brakes of the Subaruboob. This little car has served me well and has just under 300.000k's on the ticker. It's in need of some TLC though, hence the brake work. It is desirable to have brakes in cars unless, of course, they're fixed gear cars. In that case you can brake and even lay down phat skiddies just by "flexing your enormus quads" (insert german accent). My car is of the freewheel variety so I need brakes, and the brakes needed shoes. As I was working on the car yesterday, I managed in my infinite stupidity to brake one of the springs in one of the brake adjusters in the rear. Ensuing was a mad dash around the city in my buddies very agreeable Pantiac Bonneville SSEI (that stands for FAST). After going all over the city and even going to see old man Saunders at Subaru, with no luck, the hamster started to run in the wheel upstairs and thus generating enough electricity to spark one independent thougt: "Spokes!" So I gave the parts guy at Saunders a look that I hoped clearly conveyed contempt and disgust, got in the Bonneville and peeled off to the next bike shop to beg for spokes.
The results are not pretty, but as long as it works, who cares it's inside a brake drum for crying out loud: