Thank you. I'll check that out tomorrow morning for the length of 62 1/2".

I did finally get back to checking the parking brake cables and also where they should go. I can only find one specific place where the equalizer bracket can go and that is inside of the battery box and down near the X-joint of the chassis. I could not locate any other place where the bracket would fit and still work smoothly. I have reassembled one side of the rear brakes and adjusted the cable to take up as much slack as possible, but it is still not short enough. Does anyone know the exact length of these parking brake cables when they are new? If mine have stretched, then I'll purchase new ones, if they are of the correct length. Otherwise, I might have to have someone shorted these somehow. Thanks again for your help and information.

My thanks to both of you for the information. I shall pursue both paths to determine where the problem lies. The placement of the equalizer was part of my initial investigation also, but it appears that there is only one place to attach it and one way it goes. The cables did appear to be in the correct position prior to disassembly, without slack, though, and not stretched, but, again, I am not ruling that out. I have downloaded the repair manual and will indeed study it closely while I investigate further. Again, my thanks to both of you.

When I started to reassemble my 1937 120 touring sedan, I see now where the parking brake cables have about a 2 inch slack in them. I tried readjusting them to the shortest possible length, but they are still too slack. Has anyone any ideas on what might have happened here and also what I might be able to do to correct this. They are too slack for the parking brake to be properly actuated. I could purchase new cables, but I think that I would still have the same problem. Thanks

To all three, thanks for the information. I've asked Optima for the part number for their 6-volt battery and the idea of a cut-out switch is a good one. I really appreciate the responses. Thanks.

I'm preparing to get the engine ready to test and would like information on what brand and type of battery is the best to use. I'm not converting to 12 volt yet, but keeping the 6 volt system for now. I've heard that Optima is a good brand and seems to last forever. What are your opinions of differing brands and types. I also heard that some classic car enthusiasts use 8 volt batteries in their 6 volt systems without any bad effects on their electrical systems. What would you know about that, also? Thanks for any information you might be able to provide.

Thanks so much for the information, Fred. Since I do see about 1/32" of the shaft at the back of the impeller, then I am assuming that when it was rebuilt, the shaft was not installed according to the proper tolerances. What I think I will do is take it to the machine shop here and see if they can get the shaft flush with the impeller as you say it should be. If they can, then I'll see if that solves the problem. I'll let you know what happens after that. Again, thanks for the help.

I am having an issue with the water pump on my 1937 120. When the pump is attached to the block, the back cover is being pushed into the shaft, thus not allowing the pump to turn freely. The pump will turn quite freely when removed from the block. I have three options on how to handle this, but wanted to see if any of you have had this problem before and maybe have a different solution. My options as I see them are 1) replace the gasket between the back plate of the pump and the body of the pump with something thicker to keep the back plate from pressing against the shaft; 2) customize a gasket going between the back plate and the block with an opening at the point where the shaft would be pressed against the back plate so that it would not be pressed by the installation or 3) grind down the shaft at the rear about 1/32" or enough to keep the shaft from pressing into the back plate when the pump is installed. Does anyone have any other bright ideas? Thanks.

Thanks for the reply. I'll keep my chassis black for now. The body color will be the Packard Cream, which is a light yellow. Incidentally, although the car came to me painted black, the original color was Packard Cream. Thanks, again.

Does anyone know if the 1930's Packards had chassis colors to match the body colors, i.e. green, blue, etc., or were all of the chassis painted black? I'm most interested in the 1937 junior series. Thanks to all.