Lord save us from amateur mechanics

There was a time when any fool could repair their own plumbing and rewire their house, the government in their wisdom have legislated so that only professionals are allowed to do the more safety conscious jobs, but any fool can buy a jack and a set of spanners and fix car brakes.
I have just checked the brakes on the 1200 before I put the new wheels and tyres on, and found out why the handbrake didn't feel so good, on both sides the brake shoes were fitted incorrectly and on the nearside none of the horseshoe clips were fitted so the wheel cylinder was floating free and the handbrake mechanism to. I see that the front brakes look new, the next job is check that out and see what horrors if any lie there.

I wouldn't want to stop people like me (unqualified) with 38 years experience doing stuff, but if you buy an old car for goodness sake don't trust anything till it's been checked!!