I will add:
pump the brake peddle a couple times then put it in gear, holding pressure will the wheels start turning again? Can you feel the peddle move?
So I got around to looking at this more in depth today and doing the Generals test. Bottom line is I’m thinking I may be ok now.
So I started the car with the rear up and pumped the brakes a few times then put it in gear and held pressure. The pedal didn’t move. It stayed steady. The wheels stopped then started to move super slow about an inch in rotation then stopped. I kept giving it gas then hitting the brakes. It seems to stop now and sometimes moves again real slow but then stops when i press a lot harder. The pedal never gets mushy.
I should add that before i did the generals test I drove her around for a long time (first long test drive since doing the new brakes) and did lots of braking forward and reverse. I came home and adjusted the rear brakes again making them tighter on the drum. As I was driving the pedal always felt fine. When I came home Thats when I did the test and although it did move very very slightly at times, it definetly stopped 100% better than the other day. Now the tires stop 100% and either remain stopped or move very very very slow and only about an inch or so then stops again. The other day it would pick up speed and spin even with the pedal down and not stop.
although it’s 99.9% better now that 1% is still something wrong I guess. However I feel that taking it out today for a long test drive since I changed the brakes and using the brakes a whole lot then readjusting them when I came home made a big difference. When I first did the brakes I just took her around the block to make sure they worked but didn’t do much driving. Maybe the shoes, springs, etc, had to kinda move around in position and break themselves in a bit then get readjusted to fix this? Not sure if that makes sense. The brakes and pedal actually feel fine now. Nothing mushy or when I press it down it doesn’t continue to push down. It remains in place.
I feel now that I didn’t have it adjusted enough from the start. Interesting also is that prior to doing the brake job I would feel her pushing forward when I was stopped at a light or in traffic. I would put it in neutral to relieve the pushing pressure. Now it doesn’t do that. She stays in place with no feeling of pushing forward anymore.
In regards to the generals test though, when I pump the brake and put it in gear the brakes hold now and I don’t feel the pedal going down but I also noticed that this is after doing this test maybe twice. The first time I do it the wheels turn slow and slightly then stop again but then when I pump the brakes and do the test a second time in a row then it holds tight. Kinda like pressure building up in the system after using the brakes a few Times and then they work much better.
Hope I’m explaining this all correctly it can be hard articulating sometimes in texts but I really appreciate everyone’s ideas and suggestions. The wheel cylinder(s) and/or master cylinder may still be less than 100% being that they are 30 years old and should be replaced regardless but for now I think I’m confident that the brakes are working properly and that they are much better than they were before i changed them and also better than the other day when I was asking for this advice. The readjustments and break in period seemed to make a difference.
Feel free to drop some thoughts if I’m giving myself a sense of false security or not.
thanks again to all!