Hi,
I wanted to jump in and give an emphatic +1 regarding Ross's comments on manual T/L. The PO installed a momentary manual control switch in my '55 Patrician, plus there were 2 sets of T/L solenoids: 1 set mounted on the firewall as well as 1 in the original location attached to bracket to compensator gear box. Wiring was everywhere and it took me too long to realize the limit switch was bypassed. The Driver side transverse bar now has a bend in it, and you can see the large deformation of the limit switch/solenoid & gear box brackets. I just disassembled the gearbox today and taking stock of what I need to get it back together. Even though the worm gear shaft turned easily, Ross's pic of removing the soft plug made me curious so I did the same: very crusty in there so I ordered a new 629-J bearing.

Are the compensator lever seals and the worm shaft seal something common? I see that Max has them but hard to tell if they are something that can be easily sourced locally. I think I need to get a new transverse bar and a new lever assembly?

To give proper credit: Howard warned me about this in 2016 when I first got this car and posted to this site. I took his comments seriously, but didn't give them proper priority:
From Howard on 5/1/2016:

"I know I keep mentioning the TL limit switches but can't stress enough how important they are. If the suspension is functional, make verifying they are in the circuit one of your priorities. When you say PO installed a manual switch that makes me shudder. Hopefully it was done in the factory sanctioned way. Too many have just added a switch to make the system move and bypassed the limit switches when connecting it. Next thing you know the compensator has serious damage because it didn't stop before trying to wrap a transverse bar around the housing."

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Thank you Happy for posting this and especially Howard with the quick answer. I've had this same spring hanging on a peg on my shop wall wondering where it goes. I thought it was part of the hand brake assembly, but I had erroneously put a cotter pin through that hole so didnt see a place for the spring.
All rectified now and a huge relief to finally put that spring where it belongs.

this is why I troll the forum most mornings, lots of opportunities to learn.

-Bob

Gerry to the rescue! Thanks Gerry for such a quick and proactive response. I'll take it! (and followup separately with payment info).

Thanks again,
Bob

Hi,
I have a small crack in the front brake line junction (Grp 1.606, part 465886), probably caused by overtightening. This is where the brake fluid from Treadlevac splits to front left and right lines and includes a socket for the Torsion/Brake switch (which i converted to 2-prong with PNW kit).

I do not see one for sale anywhere that would be even close to a drop in fit.
Thinking of seeing if Mike D has one or converting to 2 3-way junctions in line and use p-clamps to hold lines in place.

Has anyone replaced one of these lately and know where to get one or have other ideas?

thx
Bob

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You guys are awesome. After reading the comments about tapping it and the shaft going through the hub, I went out and looked closer. There was enough crud at the top that I didnt notice the shaft was protruding through a little. I cleaned it up, sprayed a little PB Blaster, then with a fairly gentle tap with a hammer of the slightly protruding shaft it popped right off!

Thanks again. I added a couple photos to aid the next person that thinks they have a problem when they really need to clean up the part first to see what they got....

Looking at the inside, i'll just try to make a low profile splice to the 'good' part of the inside wire instead of messing with where the wires attach to coils.

-Bob

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Hi,
I need to rewire the motor as the current wiring has lost its insulation. The motor works. Any suggestions for how to remove the cage? I've put PB-blaster in the hole where the set screw goes as well as at the other end, pulled and(gently) pried. But it wont budge. I'm concerned about bending the cage or the shaft but the thing wont move.

Any idea as to how hard I can yank on it or other suggestions to remove (to expose wiring) without damage? thanks

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The DOT3 and DOT 4 you see in all the stores are labeled synthetic. That is okay as all brake fluid is synthetic. It is the DOT5 you want to stay away from for a stock car, as bkasmer stated, as that is a silicone based product. That will cause problems with rubber seals not designed to handle DOT5 fluid.
I use DOT3 in my Patrician, buying the small, yellow Prestone plastic bottles available most places. The bottles say Synthetic like every other brake fluid out there, whether the are marked that way or not.

DOT4 can be used and mixed in too, it just has a higher boiling point. (Oddly there is now a DOT 5.1, which is more like 3 and 4 as glycol based, which would be okay too at an even higher boiling point)

Got a little more into it today. A lot of the undercoating was loose, and under it was rust. Even the parts that didnt seem like they were separating, there was some rust underneath. So, going to just grind out it all and prime/paint well. Also have this patch/stiffener on the driver side. A little afraid to take it off but I'll see how much rust is around it etc.

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Thanks all, very useful comments as usual. I am not ready to replace the whole fender. I'd have an even bigger painting problem and I'm not ready to have the whole car painted. Plus I want to get this front end back on and drive her again..

Overall, the metal on this car is very good. This patch area is def the worst of anything on the body. A lot of surface rust here and there on the frame but I've been sanding it back, applying Ospho, priming, then covering with Hirsch Chassis black paint as I work front to back.

As nudged by ewrecks, This seems like a good opportunity for me to practice with body filler techniques to see what it looks like. I'm no worse off in the near term and I can always do that fender replacement when I get ready to repaint the car.

I'll forgo trying to replace any missing undercoating and just use good primer and the Hirsch top coat.

It is hard to find epoxy primer locally, so I am ordering some online to give the wire brushed bare metal a good base for the rest.

thanks for your advice.
-Bob

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All, thank you for the responses.
Marston, I am going to save that comprehensive response for when I tackle repainting, if I decide to try myself. Not ready for that yet.

But I do want to clean up some visible rust and rust damage before reinstalling the front clip. Here is a closer up view of the worst of it. It looks like an old bondo repair that got worse, plus a few new rust holes. I don't have body work experience or a welder. So my plan for this area is to sand the rust out to bare metal, remove as much of the old bondo as I can, put a mesh on the back side and fill with some brand (TBD?) of body filler. Sand, etc, cover with epoxy primer (I have a can of Eastwood 2K epoxy primer on the way), then top coat just that area that is below the chrome trim piece. (above in the photo since front clip is upside down.). I have a can of SprayMax I ordered in Packard Sapphire Blue. It's pretty close to the color of the car, and I painted the firewall with it. Looks nice.

In cleaning up the inside of the wheel wells, there was a little surface rust here and there, but overall in good shape. The undercoating that Packard used is intact in most places but i was looking to add where I sanded it off to attack rust. But after reading these responses, maybe best is to paint (will be black) with epoxy primer and paint and call that good enough.

Also interesting is the series of holes that PO drilled along edge of the air duct welded to passenger side. Not sure if they were trying to drill through all the tack welds to remove the duct or some other motivation.

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