1964 Futura brake repair

[abergford]

Hi all, I'm having a difficult time getting the front brake drums off so i can replace the shoes. The rear ones came off with little difficulty but to say the least, I'm pretty out of ideas on getting the front loose. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

[SmithKid]

If the drums are grooved, they may be held on by the brake shoes. Try backing off the adjuster. :)

[abergford]

I backed one of the adjusters way off and still not budging.

[falcon cobra]

Spray some wd-40 or penatrating oil around the hub let it soak and smack the drum with a big hammer and it should come off...jh

[falcon cobra]

Oh Oh I was thinking you were working on the back sorry, the front you need to remove the key and the nut , and the bearings are in there, but you knew that....jh

[SmithKid]

As John said, don't try to remove the drum from the hub, but rather, pull the hub/drum as a unit. Any possibility the master cylinder or wheel cylinder aren't releasing the shoes from the drum? Try rotating the drum as you pull it away from the spindle. If worst comes to worst you could grind the heads (back side of backing plate) off the retainers that hold the shoes in place, then back the adjuster ALL the way off. This should allow some wiggle room and the shoes should release the drum when forced.

[abergford]

Thanks for the quick replies. I finally got them off, but to be honest I didn't know about the hub coming off in one piece. A little birdie tipped me off to that. I'm not a mechanic, just mechanically inclined and this is my first car project ever.

I got the parts coming on order and hopefully everything goes back together easy enough.