Wait a minute- - - -a 39 will have Huck brakes, not Bendix, so the adjustment procedure I described is incorrect. If there's a toothed adjuster wheel at each end of the wheel cylinder, and a pivot pin at the bottom of each brake shoe, that's definitely a Huck system. Huck brakes were notoriously bad about wearing out only one brake lining, with the other one appearing almost new. Dad had to watch his flat rate mechanics like a hawk to keep them from changing only one shoe on a brake job, and stashing the other one away. After several of those jobs, a less than scrupulous mechanic would have enough parts to do a shade tree job at home with no parts cost. Huck shoes are adjusted individually, and it's not uncommon to get a poor fit on one shoe or another. The only good fix is to radius-grind the shoes to fit the drums. You can always make your own slot in the new drums- - - -all it takes is a drill motor and a rat-tail file. Use the old drum and a felt tip marker as a pattern to position the slot.

Your brake shop guy is correct- - - -I used to take a very light truing cut on all the new drums I installed, also.
Jerry


Last edited by Hotrod Lincoln; 05/19/2017 3:10 PM.
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