To pking75:
Was just browsing when I saw your thread. When adjusting Huck style shoes, adjust each shoe up until the star wheel is hard to turn. Your drums then should be unable to be turned. Now back that shoe off until you have very light resistance when turning the drum. Repeat for the other shoe. This will help drive the shoe down to the bottom of the drum so more shoe area will be contacting the drum from the start.
Do this for each shoe. When both shoes for each drum are adjusted in this manner, you can now adjust each shoe up tighter one notch at a time until you feel a slightly heavier drag, but not too much. This should help if your drums are not in too bad a shape.
Regarding Bendix style: The key here is not just that you have both shoes anchored at the top and one adjustment at the bottom for both shoes, but rather the shoes are different lengths and made from different materials. The primary (front) shoe has shorter material, the secondary (rear) shoe has longer material either bonded or riveted to the metal back. The primary shoe is softer (and therefore stickier) than the secondary shoe and tends to grab the drum better as it rotates forward. This makes the primary shoe want to rotate with the drum forcing the secondary shoe into the drum which helps assist application of the shoe into the drum surface. This is why the Bendix style brakes give you a better braking feel than the Huck. It's also why you seem to have to press harder on the pedal when backing up because the secondary shoe now becomes the primary shoe momentarily. The secondary shoe material is harder and does not grab the drum as well. The Huck system should have the same feel either forward or backward as the shoes are the same hardness and operate independently from each other (no rotational transfer of energy). Hope this helps more than confuses.
Dave
