[Terry M. Hunt]

I’m working through the restoration of my convertible frame. Everything has been cleaned, powder coated or painted, and reassembly with new parts is under way. Finishing up the front brakes today and encountered an issue I have not seen while doing several brake jobs over the past 40+ years. Slid the passenger side drum onto the hub and proceeded to adjust the shoes for a slight drag when spinning the drum by hand. The drum was quite tight and was not easy to spin. I pulled the drum back off so I could turn the star wheel and contract the shoes a little bit. I was only able to turn the wheel about a turn and a half before it was fully contracted. Put the drum back on and gave it a spin. Still has considerable drag and seems to encounter a high spot on shoes as it rotates, producing a stick point that I have to push it past. I’ve read various articles about arcing brake shoes. The Wagner shoes I’m using p/n z246r state on the box “precision ground radius ensures optimum fit with drums”, but I wasn’t born yesterday so I’m not usually real impressed with advertising claims. I can probably spin the drum enough times to create a witness mark on the shoe or shoes that are producing the sticking point, but not sure what to do then. I’ve never had this problem before and always had enough adjustment to wind up with just a slight drag when spinning the drum. What ideas do you guys have for me in this issue?