Long story short, the parking brake didn't work when I got my '74 crew. Now in FL it wasn't a big deal, but I replaced the front cable, shoes and cylinders, I did not replace the drums, still didn't hold the truck. Everything works as it should and moves freely. So now I'm in the mountains and a parking brake is sorely needed as there isn't a level piece of ground to be found and some spots are pretty steep. So I replaced the drums, still won't hold the truck. Figured the shoes were cheap crap so I replaced them with Napa premium shoes, $80 worth. Now it is only slightly better if I really push the pedal through the firewall. Are the linings really that crappy any more? I haven't done much with drum brakes in the last decade or two. Do the shoes need to seated like some disc pads do?
I thought about converting to rear discs like I did my '92 but didn't want to spend that money on it right now. I might put a 1/4 turn ball valve in the front brake line like I did to the rears of the '92. That works well on that truck. Forgot, it's a full floating Dana 60 axle with 12 x 2-1/2 brakes.