Re: The Duchess Project: 1940 Super 8 Convertible Sedan

Posted by Joe Santana On 2013/1/9 16:09:46

I'll try to find some more numbers. In the meantime I emailed the fellow (very knowledgeable Packard guy) who was the source of the solution.
He may be able to say what model uses a 50 544 drum with a 1-5/8 to 1-3/8 hub.

I say "solution" because all I remember is that I had a broken axle and somehow it was repaired. How much of the rear-end was changed, I don't know.

If the correct 1803 rear end was as popular as it sounds, it may not be as difficult to find as finding a commercial drum/hub assembly (or whatever the heck I had on the car).

An alternative might be to remove and re-rivet my hub to the new drum.

I haven't found a machinist to ream out that hole on a taper and cut the key slot deeper. Everyone says it's tricky.

Caution has been expressed in welding the original hub faceplate back on to the drum because of the different metals, rates of expansion, etc. I wonder if the T clips or pins they used to hold the two together are available anywhere.