Rehauling e-body HD drum brakes

[kawahonda]

Yea, The tires I would take more with a grain of salt. I didn't spin the tires when measuring. There could be slight differences in the tread/tolerances there. That's also with the GF holding the measuring tape. haha!

You're understanding is spot on as far as the backing plates. I should revise however, is that I measured from the rear drum flange to the other side rear drum flange, and not the backing plates themselves. Not enough room to measure accurately from backing plates.

You're pretty much where I'm at, is that .008" variation is what I'm seeing drum flange to drum flange, which is matching what the physical damage is saying. I'm not sure what is allowable, but it appears I am picking up the very slight bend. Not sure if I need to act on it or not though...

Acting on it is a big job. Ignoring it and throwing it all back together with another new wheel cylinder and adjuster hardware all to see it get super hot again after a short put-around is not necessarily a fix, either. 

Curious on what you guys would do. I don't recall the old-ass rear driver shoes/brakes getting hot....maybe they just had ample time to wear in.

[Bullitt-]

       Seems to me you could put a straight edge across the axle face & measure the distance to the edges of the backing plate to see what the relationship is there... 

[kawahonda]

Thought I would update, probably one last time.

So I've been driving the car for the past couple days after replacing rear adjusters and driver's rear cylinder. Bled it a few times (all the way around, twice).

I noticed the brakes feel softer than the way it was before I replaced the wheel cylinder. Not soft as in not bled correctly, just a little more dynamic. Hard to explain, but it definitely feels right. I left my new rear adjusters on the loose side, so that could have something to do with it. They possibly could need some more time to adjust.

Anyways, brakes at this point I would consider done. The driver's rear does still get hotter, but this time isn't too hot to hold onto the hubcap of the magnum 500. After a 5-6 mile ride, I can easily hold onto it. Before, it was too hot to hold on to.

So definitely moving in the right direction! It's probably all about giving the shoes ample time to brake in.

I also changed my rear bearing play from .015-.016 to .012-.013.

[kawahonda]

About one month ago I was backing up out of the drive way, and I had to "put the pedal to the metal" to stop the car. Not an emergency stop that really required a lot of "foot", but one where the brakes simply felt very off. This was on a Friday, which would have been a cool "drive into the office day."

My first thought is the fluid bled out. Walked in the garage and saw zero wet spots. Pulled it in.

My father came up and I had planned for us to bleed the brakes (again) since it was a pressure-related issue. My father used a technique that I didn't know is right or wrong, but he "pumped" the brakes before I opened the valve. We went through all 4-corners again. Hardly had to refill any fluid in the M/C after all four corners. I noticed that the rear brakes did not bleed so easily...not much came out, even with a pretty heavy foot. The front brakes bled as expected. I was wondering if the proportioning valve was going bad, but we decided to give it a test drive after.

Wow! The car stops amazingly good.

I let him drive a 15 mile ride to look at houses around Idaho. It was his first, and furthest taking a Dodge vehicle away from home. He had a smile the whole time. No issues. We even drove it home when it was dark, which was way cool. A Ford man driving a Dodge and having a blast. It was such a cool experience for me.

Love this car.