1970 B body drum brakes

[threewood]

For the fronts....
Pry the dust cover off the hub
Remove cotter pin
Take off keeper, nut and washer
Drum assembly should slide right off

If the drums are original they may need turned, which I would recommend over new chinese drums. Check all wheel cylinders for leaks. When you crack a bleeder open, fluid should trickle out. Also, the 2 rubber lines up front and the one in the rear can fail closed (not allow fluid through ) so it is wise to replace them at this time.

If you have non adjusters, you need to manually adjust the shoes until they are barely rubbing the drums and back off a couple turns.
If they are auto adjusters, the adjusting barrel may be seized up. If the starwheel turns they should be ok.

 

[66Satellite47]

The front drums come off with hub. Once off the spindle you could heat the drum to remove it from the hub. Not needed. You only need to remove the drum from the hub if the drum is junk. If you are just doing the brake job, you take the hub/drum to the brake shop to have the smallest cut needed.

 

[Ranger16]

When I got my car the drivers side drum came off easily. The passengers side was another story. NOTHING would work, including heat. It was stuck at the center hole. You could see it flex. The only way I got it off was to pull the drum & hub and have it pressed out with a hydraulic press at a truck repair shop down the road. I then used a die grinder to gently relieve that center hole in the drum until it no longer was binding.

 

[FranksCoronet]

Thank you to everyone who responded! It was great help I managed to get the front brakes apart without breaking anything and check for leaks and all that. I appreciate it!

 

[dual fours]

Do you guys not have swaged drums at the lug studs?
How about left hand studs on the left side drum/hub assembly? Maybe the left hands were replaced with right hand studs and not swaged to the drum. Could this be why the left hand drum came off without the hub easy?
I see it would be much easier to do front brake maintenance if not having those swaged studs, the drum would just come off like the rears.
Notice the yellow arrows are were the swage marks are that hold the drum tight to the hub.

 

[threewood]

It really depends. Mine are both swaged but the driver side is RH thread. I have removed the swages on older drums and fit the hub with no swage studs without issue.