yes! You get uneven friction surfaces etc from when parked for extended times It feels like the drums are oval shaped [and pulse]. but is actually an uneven co-efficient of friction Sanding the shoes also helps.
Sure you can have the hub/drum assemblies turned. Don’t try taking the drums off the hubs. Tell the tech to take it easy on them as they don’t make them any more. Some like to take a deep cut, which you don’t want.
I'd consider just fitting a vacuum power booster on the drums. If your not doing a lot of towing and mountain driving the power boosted drums will be more than adequate for a cruiser. It will also be a lot cheaper and easier
well it sat for twenty years i’ll try to clean up before i take them to shop and turn them. thought about disc but i have 14” slots. don’t think the disc fit the 14”.
If he might have uneven surfaces now, he damn sure will using a flapper wheel to clean the drum! Nothing more than emery paper by hand should be used on drum brake surfaces. I'd take the drums to a shop that can check them for trueness, and can do a slight drum turning if needed.
PBR VH44 I've never had an issue using a flap wheel in a cordless drill. [or using a flap disc on brake rotors] but this doesn't account for the incompetence of the user. If an idiot wants to spot reduce some rust he will cause problems @Huckster59 give them a good cleanup with a flap wheel in a cordless drill [don't lean on it, and keep it moving] If you need the drums machined, you will need oversized matching shoes. Do the DIY part first, before taking it to a brake machinist. Brakes don't go out of true while parked [it takes heat cycles] The flap disc is a trackside repair I've done that has been very successful once I got my wife to spin the rotor while I took to it with a flap disc in a 4" grinder. Then the caliper is re-installed and back on the track again [up to 170mph] This ^^^ was caused by debris picking up in the rotor.
If you go with disc do no use speedway, i had to modify brackets to get them to work and they make the front 2 inches wider.
disc brakes and dual system master cylinders are some of the few parts permitted regardless of the pre 65 rules