Because my roadster brakes were so bad, I decided to go through them and get rid of all of the slop and adjust them correctly. Part of the job was re-lining the front shoes. When I went to install the drums, they would not go on. Here is the easy way I used to fit the shoes to the drum: 1. Take an old drum and cut away most of the outer portion. 2. Adjust the shoes all of the way in 3. Put a piece of self stick abrasive paper to the remaining drum surface. 4. Install on the spindle and work back and forth until the shoes are down to size and concentric to the drum. I used a piece of scrap metal as a handle bolted to the lug studs for good leverage. This is a crude way to do this but it is very effective and ensures that your shoes will contact the drums 100%. Wear a mask while doing it to protect your lungs and use old crappy bearings so you don't grind brake shoe material into your good ones.
The Jalopy Journal
