I haven't read the whole post here but for what it's worth, my 57 Fairlane 500 had similar problems. Brakes would heat up and drag, pedal would come rock hard. Talked to the guys on 57fordsforever and come to figure the master cylinder wouldn't retract all the way allowing the fluid to bleed back. As the brakes generated heat the "trapped" fluid would expand to the point where I had to bleed fluid just to keep going.

There is an eccentric adjustment on the brake pedal,  you need to set this up so it has at least 1/16" or so of play. Hope this helps. My stock brakes have no proportioning valve, did someone throw one into your car? That could also be an issue (if it's stuck just tap that pin back in).

" If you always do what you always done, you'll always get what you always got" - Henry Ford

Besides the fronts being grooved they may be worn or have been turned to far oversize. Next time you have the drums off take a brake shoe off and place it inside the drum and compare the arc, you may be getting a very small contact area. I miss they days when they would arc the shoes to the drums so you didn't have to wear them in..

You really should have the drums turned or replace them. The grooves will cause premature wear on the shoes and reduce braking efficiency. 

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Updates!

I have now gone through all the brakes and bled them and adjusted them per the shop manual and found no hydraulic or mechanical problems.  After a nice little test drive, I found once again that I could touch the front drums as long as I wanted to but the rears were too hot to be touched for more than a second or two.  I did find (or rather, rediscover) that the front drums are both pretty deeply scored from where the brake shoe rivets dragged on the drum who knows how long ago.  The grooves are deep enough that the linings have not worn into the grooves yet.  What that means is that the actual lining-to-drum contact area up front is something like 25-30% less than it should be.  My theory is that this reduced lining area reduces the effectiveness of the front brakes and so I have to push the pedal harder which makes the rears carry more of the stopping work than they are designed to.  Does this sound like a plausible theory?  If not, I will try replacing the rear brake hose.  I replaced it just a couple thousand miles ago but I know that doesn't guarantee it isn't defective.

In more exciting news, I thought the car felt a little lighter on the test drive and noticed two tangible indicators of improvement:  RPMS at 70 mph were 2900 and the temp gauge never reached the halfway mark.  Normally, 70 comes in at 3100 RPM and the temp at 70 is a little over halfway.  True, it is a very cold day, but assuming both of these changes prove to be consistent, I will expect my fuel economy to improve.  Dropping 200 rpm at 70 means there is considerably less rolling resistance!  Now I just need to drive it more and see if this wasn't a fluke.




1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

I had a problem with one caliper dragging on my Dodge van. I followed some advice on digging in to it and was told to jack up the vehicle and find the wheel(s) that seems to be dragging. Open the bleeder screw until a little fluid comes out then check to see if the wheel turns easier. Problem turned out to be a bad rubber brake hose. Apparently they can develop loose tabs of rubber inside that act like a flapper valve and don't allow the brake shoes to retract fully. Worked for me. Chuck

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

It will be interesting to see what you find in the end. I think we are running out of guesses..
If all the heat is being generated on the driver side, is the passenger side not working properly causing the problem?
Can you brake hard enough to see that both lock up?

I contacted Charlie of charlietranny.com about the torque converter slippage.  He said that 5-10% slip is considered normal, so the 8-9% I'm seeing at highway speeds is normal and therefore it seems unlikely that my transmission is what's eating up my MPGs.

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

PF, that's a good thought.  I figured if the wheel bearings were bad I would hear it/feel it in some way other than the heat.  Then there's the fact that the drum itself gets very hot, not the brake backing plate, and all that brake dust on the driver side.  Next time I drive I will check the axle tube for heat in the area of the bearings.

Ted, springs are cheap, I'll look into replacements.  I know that when self-energizing brakes apply the "servo action" uses the primary shoe to increase the application force on the rear shoe.  Maybe the springs aren't pulling the primary shoe off with enough gusto after actual braking and I have been unable to observe it since I can only check for shoe release when the car is already stopped.

I feel like I'm grabbing at straws too!  Just have to be more stubborn than the problem...

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

There’s a good chance the springs are simply not pulling the shoes and wheel cylinders back as they should.  As a general rule, brake springs are typically only good for ten years and then should be replaced.  Brake spring kits are readily available for most applications.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Brakes not snapping back is normal, the wheel cylinders are trying to push all the fluid back into the master cylinder. They can't do that at the same speed as the master cylinder piston is released, thats why there is two holes in the master reservoir, the small one compensates for this. BLA BLA BLA, I'm sure you know that...