I am having trouble with the rear brakes on my 38 Master Deluxe. I have replaced wheel cylinders and brake shoes and when I get everything back together,the thickness of the new shoes is enough that I am having a hard time getting the drum back on. I am going to take the drums in to have them turned, even though they don't really need it. I was hoping the extra clearance from the drum turning might be enough to clear. Anyone ever been through this or have ideas? Thanks in advance.

This is not an unusual situation. Don't turn the drums if this is the only reason you are turning them. Try to find a shop that still has some of the old brake machines and have the shoes "arced". I'm assuming you have insured the shoes are seated correctly and the pistons fully retracted. Wish you luck.

Hi, know the feeling.. remember to release the
parking brake cable.. roy

I had the exact same problem! When it first happened I thought that there must be a slight ridge on the drum so I beat the drum on with a rubber mallet. It took me for ever to get that drum back off. Then I call around to the guys that were advising me with the restoration and I found out this is a common problem. Evidently the pads they glue to the shoes now are slightly larger than those that they used to rivet on origianlly. Consequently the rear drum gives you a problem. Why only the rear drum, I asked, because it has the emergency brake lever extension. That is the curved bar with the spring at one end running just under the wheel cylinder. What's happening, unlike the front brakes, is that this bar will not let the shoes in as far as the wheel cylinder allows. Solve the problem by putting the extension in a vise and use a file to remove some material from the inside of the groove on the spring end. That is the point where the shoe touches the extension. You don't have to remove that much so take a little off, retry the drum until you get a free running wheel. Leave the drum and the pads alone!

Good luck,
I feel your pain,
Been there, screwed it up myself,
Your not alone, it just seems that way when your by yourself,

Brian

Excuse me folks I got in the wrong pew!

[ December 27, 2001: Message edited by: MrMack ]

Thanks everybody for the great suggestions. It did turn out that the emergency brake extension lever was interfering as Bigbth had suggested. I did file the groove, where this lever seats, a little deeper and it looks like everything will go back together just fine. Thanks again, everyone.