1973 Plymouth Valiant Drum Brakes Issues

Which "springs were loose"? All springs inside the drum brake should be tight, otherwise they aren't doing their job. The rears can be tricky in that the parking brake can be adding a bit, making it hard to get a new set of shoes to fit. Still, many have mentioned having trouble getting the drum on. I had to re-use my old adjuster wheel since the new one was just a little longer and wouldn't let me get the drum on the new shoes. Pretty sure my parking brake cable was loose.