Turner provides the residual pressure valves with his dual MC kit for Studes. If you tell him you run drums front & rear, he will send two 6 psi valves; if you have discs up front, he will send a 6 psi valve for the rear and a 2 psi for front.

He also includes the proportioning valve with his DB setup for Studes, and could/would include them for Packards. Summit racing is also a source for either of those valves.

Thought the residual pressure valves are a must, I have never needed the proportioning valve in just the MC conversion, or the MC & DB conversion combined. I understand the concept, but just have not needed them. An acid test is to drive about 20 mph on pavement and lock the brakes up, then check the skid marks for each wheel. You can do the same thing in gravel, and it is a little easier on the system, but you don't get as good a "readout" on each wheel's lockup pattern.

Joe H

If Jim Turner can do the DB mod it will likely cost around $700-800 per car, since he mentioned the cost would be about the same as the Stude setup.

Joe H

I know nothing about Packard front suspension, other than 1957-58 (same as Stude). The Stude has king pins, and most folks doing the DB conversion leave the rear drums in place. Mine is set up with OEM rear drums, dual master cylinder, and front DBs without a vacuum boost. Some folks install a proportioning valve, but mine does not appear to need one. I have not tried a 4-wheel lock-up in gravel, but believe they would likely all slide about the same time. Nothing has to be modified about the steering whatsoever, but the kit replaces the braking backplate with an adapter that holds the caliper in place; the rotor fits the Stude spindle with bearings available across the counter. I believe Turner has a bearing adapter of some kind for his rotors, which are FoMoCo.

By the way, what is a BTV?

The positives of the DBs are "straight line" stopping at road speeds, much less fade, a wide selection of modern brake pads made with modern materials, and a pedal that stands the car on its nose loong before it gets hard. As mentioned before, reminds me of the wife's Volvo 240.

Joe H

Kev,
Over the years, I have bought several of Jim Turner's dual master cylinder conversions for Studes. They are an excellent safety upgrade for the OEM single reservoir system, and are a preliminary to the DB setup.

Jim's reputation is impeccable in the Stude community. I hope he is able to help the Packard folks out too, and feel sure he will if he can.

Joe H

Forgot to mention, Turner may possibly be convinced to put together Packard kits, if someone were to ask him.

Joe H

I have 12" DBs on the front of one of the 56 Golden Hawks, and they work as nice as the wife's 1993 Volvo. They were supposedly a bolt-on kit, but required grinding and hammering due to imprecisely fabricated components.

I bought them on ebay and got ripped off. The red light should have came on when the vendor insisted on check or M.O and would not accept PayPal. In short, he sent about half of the kit and stiffed me for the rest; it took about 2 months' hassle to even receive that half. The only components not available from AutoZone are the adapters to hold the calipers in place, and fortunately he sent those. Now familiar with the adapters, I believe just about any high school shop kid could make them.

The concept is great, and well worth doing. Fortunately, there is an honest vendor who has been making Studebaker DB kits for years. His fabricated components are laser-cut precisely, and I am told his is a true bolt-on kit. His prices are superior to the competition, considering he sends all components. He can be reached at: turnerbrake.com.

Joe H

The kits in the 56Js are made by a guy in TX (forgot the name), that custom builds them for the Auto-Lite distributor.

Joe H

I have the electronic ignition kits in both 56Js, which uses the Auto-Lite distributor. So far, after about three years and 40,000 miles total on the two cars they have been problem free. I carry a stock point setup in the trunk of each car though. I have also thought about just buying a spare electronic setup to carry, but at $175 a pop I have not took the plunge yet.

Joe H

The stock 56J pump does not have a bronze bushing. It is exactly like the Packard pump, except it has a flat plate instead of the vacuum pump add on. The top bushing is nothing more than a machined hole. It could easily have been made 2.5" long, since that is how much meat there is in the pump body, but for some reason, only the bottom half (1.25")was machined. The top half is machined about .050" bigger, and as far as I can see serves no purpose.

To experiment, I had a 1.25" bushing made, installed it in the top half of an old pump, and line reamed it. I then drilled the oil hole (near the top) straight thru, in order for oil to get to the entire bushing. I may install it someday just to see if it works.
I understand that is basically what Max Merritt does with his version of modification.

Joe H

There is also a pic of my other 56Js engine (the grungiest one), and a pic of the Olds HV and Packard pumps.

Joe H