I swapped my original 1968 130 rear axle out for a different 1968 130 axle. This solved a couple issues (excessive movement in the pinion shaft and weird noise that I posed about earlier - it was not a U-joint). Annoyingly, this dumped the fairly complex self-adjusting drum brakes back on my car (I had swapped on the simpler 1967 drums with the old axle when I found they were binding and killing my fuel economy).

While I no longer have weird noises and clunks, I again have rear wheels that lock up "independently" and force the car to fishtail. This is not a dirty shoes issue, it's a mis-adjustment issue. Added to this, the self-adjusting mechanism does not seem to be doing its job and I can crank the lever a dozen times without changing the "feel" or performance of the brakes. I am not sure they are tightening up at all.

Basically, how do you get these dang things adjusted to match? I clicked the star wheel several times to get close - but they are something of a one-way adjustment w/o pulling the drum. It's also very awkward to do through that little slot.

Right now, I have a little excess travel in my brakes and the pedal comes up slightly when I pull the e-brake when parking. I know that means the shoes are too loose. However, I really worry about these things binding up again and ruining my mileage.

Can these be adjusted properly w/o pulling the drums back off? What's the best approach, does the self-adjusting mechanism work - am I doing it correctly?

Thanks as always