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The rear brake drums in the beetle are even worse than the front ones, as it turns out. The rear drums are smaller and they have splines in the center that mate to the stub shafts:
It turns out that the rear drums don't have their maximum rated diameter marked on them, at least that I could read. I got the maximum diameter out of this book (which is an absolute necessity for owning a beetle):
The maximum diameter is 9.114 inches, or 9 and 3.6/32. The left rear drum is about 2 32nds over diameter (remember the other end of the ruler is set at the 1 inch mark):
The right rear, one I'd already decided to replace, was even worse; it's been machined almost an eighth of an inch past tolerance:
Just out of curiosity, I measured the new brake drum for the right rear.
The two marks I've put on the ruler are the spec diameter and the maximum diameter. The amount that the drum appears to be bigger than spec may just be my measurement technique; the point is it's consistent with the correct measurements.
So for those of you keeping score at home, the four drums have been machined past spec by 1, 2, 2, and 4 32nds of an inch respectively. Time for a new set.