In the picture they show the slots in the backing plates to adjust the brakes. It almost sounds like the system Kevin is describing an old Lockheed brake. It's been many years sense I worked on one, but as I recall the anchor was adjustable on them.

 

Sorry for the confusion. The illustration George posted depicts my rear brakes. The shop manual and a couple other books describe a minor adjustment via the star adjuster and a major adjustment via the anchor bolt. I'm supposed to slide a .010 feeler between the secondary pad and drum, slide it up until it gets stuck and then turn the star adjuster until the primary shoe contacts the drum. Then I'm supposed to back off the adjuster until I can fit the feeler between the secondary shoe 1 1/2" from the top and bottom or something like that. If I can't, I'm supposed to loosen the anchor bolt (which is in a vertical slot) and hit it whichever way gives me the proper gap. My rear drums have been replaced at some point in time and they aren't slotted for the feeler gauge.

I was reading my other maintenance books last night and found a major adjustment description that doesn't involve the feeler gauge. It says to loosen the anchor bolt until it moves but there is no play. I'm supposed to hit it both directions to free it up. Then I'm supposed to go around the outside of the backing plate with a soft hammer giving it a whack every now and then to presumably jar the shoes so they seat in the middle of the drum. I'm going to give that a try tonight. Basically, I think I'll get it close enough without having to cut slots in my drums. It seems to me that getting the pads centered is mainly so they sit as close to the drum as possible when the brakes are disengaged. Once they are applied, the shoes are free to move a little so they should give maximum braking even if the anchor bolt is off a little.

Clear as mud?

Kevin
1953 Ford F-100
Go Illini

 

I tried the adjusting method that doesn't involve a feeler gauge but it didn't work. Once I loosened the anchor bolt enough so it would slide freely, it would be pulled at an agle by the return springs making a good adjustment impossible. So I pulled a rear drum off my parts truck, wire brushed the rust off and used it to adjust the brakes with the feeler gauge. When I went to adjust the right rear I found I put the star adjuster on backwards. After tearing the brakes apart and switching it I was able to get the shoes pretty close since the parts truck drum was nearly the same size as my good drums.

When I checked the left rear, I couldn't get the shoes close. The gap on the bottom was really off. After looking things over I realized I put the special oval washer on 90 degrees off where it should have been. This meant I couldn't move the anchor bolt far enough to center the shoes. I'm glad I checked it the way I did. If I had just cranked the adjuster down, it would have been way off and I imagine poor braking performance and abnormal wear would have resulted. It wouldn't have been as big an issue if I hadn't put the brakes back together incorrectly.

I should be ready to roll (and stop) now!

Kevin
1953 Ford F-100
Go Illini