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I know what you mean. I have some brake spring pliers and they do make a difference.
So the question I have is, Are there any 11" x 2" brakes? These shoes are 2" not 2 1/4"
Years ago, I had a '66 Mustang fastback. It originally came with a Ford 8-inch small axle bearing rear end with 10" x 1-3/4" rear drums. I replaced the 8-inch rear end with a large axle bearing 9-inch rear end from a '57 Ford station wagon that had 11" x 2" wide rear drums on it. I replaced the drums and backing plate assemblies on it with a set of 11" x 2-1/2 rear drums/backing plates that I pulled off of a '65 Ford Galaxie. The backing plates from the Galaxie were also configured for the large axle bearing ends on a Ford 9-inch rear end (old style large bearing 4-bolt flange pattern of 3.150" x 2.375")
I suspect the rear drum assemlies from a Galaxie (or other similar Ford/Mercury) from around '65 to somewhere around 1970 (possibly later) would probably bolt onto the large axle bearing 9-inch housing of the trucks from 1968-1979. '67-earlier trucks might be iffy, due to the slightly narrower axle/housing widths on those trucks.
Is it possible you just have the wrong brake shoes? The backing plates I have for a 68-72 with 2 1/4 brake shoes are marked Bendix 316278-L and 316279-R. They are stamped on the back just opposite the E- brake cable.
Those pictures look like the shoes are on correct, short pad on the front in both pix. I took another look at the pics. I think the manufacturer cheaped out. The front shoe should be a shorter pad, instead they just moved the orientation of the pad on the shoe. One is riveted on high and the other is riveted on low.
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