I am having a similar problem to this post but it does not seem very active:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/brake-board/388313-brake-drum-wont-go.html
Cut and paste this into your browser as the link does not want to work right.

Hi there, new member and new F body owner. I just bought a lightly modified 83 Firebird that was a stock V6 with T5 that now has an 87 FI 305 long block with roller cam but a carb intake and carb computer and 700R4. It is disc and drum brakes with an open rear. I am in the process of redoing the rear brakes at the moment as everything was shot especially the self adjusters.

I went to Autozone and got wheel cylinders, total spring and self adjuster kit, Valuecraft shoes and Valuecraft drums. I rebuilt the brakes but the drum would not fit back on without a hammer, and was so tight the wheels would not turn by hand. YES the self adjusters were all the way in, YES the shoes are seated properly, YES I have moved the shoes around quite a lot to center them, YES I have backed off the parking brake cable all the way.

When I put the old shot-out shoes and drums back on they fit fine, so its not the springs or my assembly that is the issue. It is either the new pads or the new drums.

It turns out at first they gave me the wrong model wheel cylinders, so i swapped in the correct ones thinking everything would fit now. No such luck. I switched to Duralast pads and everything fit slightly better, but still quite tight, enough that I think they will really drag and overheat.

I just bought Duralast drums tonight and I will try again tomorrow. The only thing I can think of is that the El Cheapo Valucraft drums are out of spec, so I will try these new drums and test fit. If this does not work, I am at a loss at what else to do besides turn the brand new drums, which I should really not have to do.

Again: self adjusters are fully in, pads are seated properly and centered, everything is put together right, and parking brake cable is backed completely off. But the drums go on really tight, and I don't like it at all.

Any helpful comments would be appreciated.

One more question: there is a tiny possibility that the parking brake is still oh so slightly engaged due to a rusty cable, maybe, even though the adjuster nut at the "u" splitter is backed off till sloppy. Does the parking brake have its own dedicated return spring somewhere, so that something pulls it off when the handle is down? Or does it rely on the normal shoes retraction springs? thanks.

 

I put the Duralast drums on and they fit. They were still snug and dragged a tiny bit, but I'm sure it will smooth out soon. So, the problem really was the cheapo drums. That'll teach me to try and save money!

 

I wish i was as lucky as you. I am having the same issue with duralast shoes and drums. Pass side fits. Thought i had a misproduced set of shoes, got another set, and tried all option on the driver side still none fit!
I have everything set correctly as well. Drum will barely make it half way on.

Somebody please advise me how to fix this so I dont have to kill myself! I have assembled and unassembled these 20 times.....

 

Well if it is not your assembly or springs, the problem is in the pad/shoe fitment, same as with me. I've never had aftermarket parts give me this much trouble before. Since you cannot realistically remove any pad material without making toxic dust, you'll want to get the drums turned a little. It sucks, I know, but's there not many other options it seems.

You could try yet more brands of shoes and drums and find some that fit by luck like I did, or you could dig up some junkyard drums that can be turned and still be within proper thickness. I still have my old drums, I never checked if they could be turned, I just assumed they should be replaced. Perhaps I could have saved myself some headache, but my digital caliper doesn't go that wide.

I wonder if you can still get OEM shoes and drums for these cars? Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that low-to-medium budget aftermarket parts in general don't always fit. A friend of mine was having terrible problems with the serpentine idler in his Pontiac, it kept throwing the belt. It was an aftermarket replacement. He returned it twice for new ones of the same brand but he got the same result. Finally he got pissed and bought an OEM one. No problems to this day, the aftermarket one must've been a crappy casting.