After watching the sand paper video above I think I'll check the fit on my shoes. I'm running all drums and even with them adjusted right I've never been happy on the dragstrip shut down lanes. I usually go all the way to the last turn out. And no I have decided against going with disc's in the front. I had a setup and sold it. Around town the car stops well with a good solid pedal its just from high speed that it worries me. Maybe that's normal but I don't remember having that problem with my 57 Fairlane.



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

BTW: I am perpetually confused re: whether to loosen, or tighten a brake depending on the direction of steering pull. Also, front vs. rear (?).     

You need to find the actual cause of the pulling and correct it, not adjust one wheel differently from the others.

As for hard braking, it is meant to go as easy as you can until the shoes are fully seated and grab correctly. Same as a new car in the fifties, drive easily until the engine breaks in.

Shoe arcing went away with front disc and drum self-adjusters. That and asbestos being banned and new equipment having to be fitted with filters to catch the dust from the machine (OSHA),

____________________________

I was once told by an old mechanic that if you adjust the brakes correctly and the car pulls to one side that you need to tighten the other side. Its one is too loose not one is too tight.

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

Well, if the brakes are adjusted correctly and the car pulls, then either the adjustment is not correct or there is a defect somewhere in the system (brake or possibly steering/suspension).

You have four wheel ends and one end is adjusted differently from the other three (four wheel drum).

During a full panic stop lock-up, what do you think could possibly go wrong? These are self-energizing brakes and three lock down before the odd one? That one loose wheel end is also going to cause the other three to work harder, overheat and wear more quickly.

A mechanic/shop that does this will open himself to possible civil (possibly criminal) liability.

Not yelling, just trying to inform.

____________________________

I'm just a cruiser and a purist and for the way I drive drum brakes are ok with me. Not fully trusting my work, I pulled the front drums off after a test drive yesterday and observed that both star adjusters were wound out evenly with about 1/4 inch of thread exposed. I am hoping that leaves me plenty of adjustment after break in. I lightly sanded the linings with 180 grit as there were some shiny spots. Strange side note: The front shoes that I replaced were bought from Tee Bird Products several years ago and they were riveted as opposed the the bonded shoes that I bought from O'reilleys  currently.. With those riveted shoes My drums would not slide back on, even with the adjuster wound all the way in. I ended up grinding the slots on each shoe where the star adjuster slides in place about 1/8 inch more. They functioned ok after that. Looking back, I wonder if the riveted shoes were oversize to make up for drums that were turned. Maybe just China junk . I don't know for sure.  Someone else also replied that new drums are now readily available. I checked in my Concours catalogue and they had listed them as made in USA for $189.00 each. Figure in tax and shipping and paying a shop to press in the hubs would really add up. Good to know that new parts are available though. Thank you all for the help.   George 

I assume everyone realizes that shoes with ‘riveted’ linings don’t last nearly as long as ‘bonded’ ones (?).  We sometimes forget to specify when ordering from a catalog, but no sense in having to re-do brake work more often than necessary.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

I assume everyone realizes that shoes with ‘riveted’ linings don’t last nearly as long as ‘bonded’ ones (?).

Why would you say that? OEM was riveted. Those rivets serve a purpose. Bonded linings adhesive (especially current box store off-shore linings) fail more often.

You have to be very careful of where you source brake service parts. You buy by quality, not price.

If you put a set of shoes on and the drum would not slide over, most likely you bought cheap out of spec shoes. 

____________________________

High quality bonded linings last longer, simply because rivets will eventually score the drums as the linings wear away, while bonded shoes with the same mileage still have plenty of material (and wear) left.
OEM also came with bias ply tires. They didn’t  wear very long either.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

High quality bonded linings last longer, simply because rivets will eventually score the drums as the linings wear away, ...

That is the reason for annual brake inspections (service) and STATE INSPECTIONS ...

You don't allow the lining to wear to the rivets.

So a bonded shoe will not damage a drum surface if the lining wears, fails or falls off? If wear is to the rivets, it needs to be serviced.

WANNA SEE A GOOD CAR WRECK - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oO226PgSkg&themeRefresh=1 

____________________________

Did you replace the grease seals when you replaced the brake shoes ?