Front drum springs?

[Mopewbie]

Hi all, I got this car some time ago, replaced the shoes but didn't think much of it until yesterday when I decided to buy a spring kit and replace what I had.

Straight to the point:
This front drum brake should have 2 of the same spring (the one on the right - long), yes?

Ans the rear works with a long and a short one?

1970 Coronet 440 318
Shoes 10 x 2.5"

Thank you.

 

[R/T Boy 67]

I think 10" brakes use a short front spring and a long rear spring. The front spring in your picture is going to the wrong place. You have newer shoes, and the hole the spring is supposed to go to is oblong instead of round, as in the original shoes.

 

[Mopewbie]

I think 10" brakes use a short front spring and a long rear spring. The front spring in your picture is going to the wrong place. You have newer shoes, and the hole the spring is supposed to go to is oblong instead of round, as in the original shoes.

Maybe my mistake when buying the shoes, then?

The way it is now it's definitely impossible to use the top left hole for the short spring.

 

[Mopewbie]

Those are the pics from then I opened it for the first time. And I bought exactly the same shoes, so someone before me must have got the wrong shoes and I just followed.
Rear ones seems to be ok which makes me believe I should have gone with the same ones for the front (round holes on top)?

 

[R/T Boy 67]

If your new short spring doesn't fit that oblong hole, then you could probably use a longer spring like the other one, or weld up the slot and drill a round hole, or find some different shoes.

 

[Mopewbie]

Thank you for your help.
I'll look into that.

So the ORIGINAL setup would be long and short spring?

 

[R/T Boy 67]

Yes, for 10" brakes. 11" brakes used two long springs.