Drum brakes too tight
 

Working on my 67 GTO front drums (rears done and fine). New shoes, drums, studs etc. Even with the adjusters all the way in, the drum is tight going on and the wheel won't spin. Everything is seated properly. Any ideas? Could the new studs in the hub be slightly off (look ok)?

If you have both secondary shoes on one side the brake will be tight or drum wont go on.
Did you have primary and secondary on each side?

Make sure the wheel cylinders are not rusty/sticking & holding the shoes out slightly. The shoes should touch the top anchor pin with the return springs installed.
HTH,

Shoes touch the anchor pins, primary and secondary shoes are correct.

Adjusters completely retracted?

If everything else is OK, you might want to check the I.D. of the drum. Might be under spec.

Adjusters are completely retracted. I plan on switching sides for the drums/hubs to see if there is any discrepancy. I've done quite a few brake jobs and never ran into this.

You may compare the shoes to your old ones. I don't think they reline old shoes anymore like the good old days. It must be cheaper to have a third world country manufacture a new shoe than to get your core, clean & reline it.

There's a good chance somethings out of spec on the shoe if everything else is good. You're using the same drums as you had on it before correct?

New drums.

Do any of the wheel stud's "knurl" stick out past the hub? That can contact the drum and cause it to cock into the shoes. Everything was new but it would lock up when I installed the wheel. WTF? Turns out the aftermarket wheel studs would keep the drums from seating properly on the hub. I had to enlarge the holes in the drum so the lugs would clear.

I had the same the problem with my '59 when I put new brake material, drums, wheel cyl, hardware...ect. I think most suppliers are applying thicker amounts of material on in order to last or surpass their specified warranty period. I barely got my drums on (especially the rears) and they dragged for a while until "breaking in."

Will be checking the studs tonight. These are aftermarket studs that are slightly different than the originals.

My back brakes went on without an issue.

Swapped out the hubs to make sure it wasn't an issue with the studs-still a no go. Put the old brake drums on and they fit fine. Either the new shoes are too thick or the drums are. Guess I'll have the new drums turned.

Had the drums turned slightly and that did the trick!

I know this is sort of an old thread, but I've noticed the same on my 63 Grand Prix, and especially with my right rear brake. I prefer to adjust and balance side to side and front to rear with a temperature gun. My right rear is running about 25 - 30 degrees hotter than my other drums. I manually adjust the star wheel all the way in and go for a 30 minute drive and the adjuster keeps backing it back out until it's too tight. And then it becomes rear lock sensitive like an 80s GM car. I'm just about ready to remove the auto adjusters, but thought I would ask first to see if there's anything I'm missing.

Edit: New relined rear drums btw.

Do you have the correct adjuster? Is it installed correctly? It should only adjust in REVERSE. Should not adjust going FORWARD.