Jared.A

I'm deep in the middle of a major brake overhaul on my 1985 Corvette Z51 with the 4+3. I'm having trouble with replacing my parking brake shoes. I bought new shoes at O'Riley's and have them in place on the car. Getting the clips and studs in place that hold the shoes on is a pain! Now when I go to put the rotor on, it won't fit over the new shoes. I made sure that the adjustor is screwed all the way in, so it's not spreading the new pads at all. I also tripled checked the alignment of the shoes in their spots at the bottom, and that the two springs are seated on the shoes. I'm not sure what I did wrong. I took a bunch of pictures and compared what I was doing to the non assembled side as I went along.

Randy M

If you took pictures, can we see your problem?

Also, have you compared the new shoes with the old. Are they exactly the same?

hcbph

I have not done a Vette parking brake but I have done drum brakes on all 4 corners on cars that were 100% drum brakes. At times the brakes were either not the correct thickness or had a small variation in curve that caused similar issues.
In those cases it was necessary to take them to a brake shop to have the replacements properly arc'd to fit the drums. What you might have to do to confirm it will require some disassembly. try placing the pads into the drum portion and space them as they would if assembled and see if they fit properly or not. My guess is they won't as delivered.

gerardvg

Don't forget to loosen the handbrake cable under the car, that affects how far the bottom of the brake shoes go out.
Is the commonly missed item, release the hand brake adjustment.
Then adjust the top adjuster to lock the rotor and release a little, then adjust handbrake cable under car.

Jared.A

Thanks guys. It ended up being a variation in the new shoes from the originals that was the problem. They are listed as the correct part for my 85 but are way larger in diameter then the originals.