Technical 1949 F1 DrumBrake Adjuster

I put new shoes on my '49 F1 and I couldn't remember which way the adjuster went on. Does it matter if it got flipped as pictured below? There is no self adjuster on these brakes.

 

As long as it lines up with the adjuster opening in the backing plate or drum and the spring is installed right... No.

 

With the small squared of teeth, that looks like an adjuster for self-adjusting brakes. H-1500 is the adjuster you should have for 11" regular brakes.

 

These are shots of the drivers (left) front backing plate that I took off a 52 F-1 donor chassis. The primary = Front shoe almost always wears faster than the secondary.
I don't believe that there are left and right starwheel adusters for non self adusting brakes. You crank it one way on the left side and the other way on the right side and stop and figure out which way to turn it each time.

This is if you did NOT add self adjusters.

 

As you can see the “star” on the non-self adjusters has fewer notches and easier on the adjusting tool to use.

 

That is just a pic I grabbed off the web for reference.

 

Yes Sir, mine look just like yours pictured. No self adjuster added.

 

As you can see in photo above, adjuster star must line up with the window in backing plate.
If installed incorrectly, you won't be able to adjust shoes.

 

Just as important as having it point in the right direction is having it screw in and out easily in your fingers before you put the brakes togther. The one in the photo is rusted up tighter than a tick. It's in the file cabinet with the rest of the stuff to go with it and isn't coming apart until I go to get it ready to put on a spindle.

One thing that helps a lot with that setup is to put the shoes, adjuster and spring together before you put them on the backing plate. Hook the spring in the shoes, stick one end of the aduster to one shoe, rock the other shoe around so you have the aduster in the right spot and hold them up to the backing plate and put the hold down springs on. Or put one shoe on, hook up the spring, put the aduster in place and rock the other shoe around so you have the adjuster in place on it and then put the hold down spring on. That saves, fighting, cussing and flying springs and parts.

One last thing that should be the first with the new shoes, Put masking tape on the lining surface so you don't get grease or contamination on the lining. That saves a lot of "how the hell do I get this grease/oil off my shoes. ?"