In the never ending quest to make the crap brakes on my car (discs in front, drums in back) work, I wanted to confirm with you guys some information I discovered last weekend.

Most stock disc/drum brake setups had what is called a "residual" valve holding 10 lbs of pressure, either located in a separate place in the rear circuit, or as part of the stock proportioning valve. The residual valves provided just enough pressure to couteract the drum springs and push the shoes out against the drums when the brakes were not activated. This gave a firm pedal feel, as without the valve, the shoes would retract slightly due to the springs and the pedal would be soft as a result.

When I first built the car, it had decent pedal feel. I then took the stock proportioning valve out of my car, and replaced it with an adjustable. I believe the stock proportioning valve had a residual valve in it.

After replacement, I've never been able to get a truly firm pedal. It appears to me the answer to this is a residual valve?

Do the guys with drums in the rear run these valves? I'm plumbing one in over the weekend on the theory that brake circuitry is free and may be revised, and was part of the stock system anyway.