[Lynn]

Most common cause of pulling hard to one side is the brake shoes installed backwards. The shoe with the longer lining goes in the back. Easy to get mixed up.

Drum brakes are incredibly easy to rebuild, especially the fronts since you don't have to wrestle the park brake lever and strut into place.

Helps if you have two special tools, but can be done with pliers... just a bit more trouble.

Two tools are pictured (yes, I know there are three, but two are for the same thing, just different brands).

The two silver tools are used to remove and replace the return springs. Place over the stud that the springs hook to and twist. Spring will pop off. To reinstall, use the other end. Slip it through the hook on the end of the sping, slide the end of the tool over the stud, pull the handle toward the stud and the spring will pop on.

The shorter of those two is a Corwell, purchased in the fall of 1971. The longer is a MAC, purchased when I misplaced the Cornwell. I prefer the Corwell because it works either left or right handed. It is also closer to 90 degrees bend, so you get better leveridge. Look at the blurry (sorry) close ups and you will see the MAC is beveled on one side only. It only works right handed.

The red handle tool is for removing the hold down springs. Put one hand behind the backing plate to stabalize the retaining pin, press down on the spring retainer with the tool (it has tiny teeth to grip the retainer) and twist 90 degrees. This is a MAC tool, also purchased fall of 1971. I have tried Snap-On and many other brands, but always went back to the Cornell return spring tool and the MAC hold down spring tool. No other hold down spring tool I ever used held the retainer cap like this one does. Probably not as important to a hobbyist, but when you are doing 3 and 4 brake jobs a day, it makes a huge diffenence. I could do a brake job on a disc front drum rear GM car in one hour, and that included turning the drums and rotors and repacking the front wheel bearings. It also helped that the brake lathes were in my stall.

I did somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 brake jobs with these tools and they are not worn out. Used them on my 69 Z just last spring when it was coming together.