Re: KPack's 1954 Panama

Posted by DavidPackard On 2021/4/14 13:21:58

Kevin;

Since the dual master cylinder design was introduced well after Packard had ceased production there would not be a warning light in your car. It looks like the folks that installed the dual master cylinder ‘grabbed’ the distribution block as a matter of plumbing convenience. One of the tenets in my profession would be that latent failures must be detectable by the person operating the equipment, especially if redundancy is used to improve the reliability of the product. The dual master cylinder was introduced to add redundancy, and hence reliability in the braking system, but if the average driver could not detect that half of the braking system had failed the accident/death rate would not be reduced to the extent possible. Enter a bright red light on the dash to help the average driver. Now we use lights and fault codes . . . not so much back then, just lights. Speaking of lights, where is the brake light switch mounted?

If you asked 10 Packard owners whether converting back to a BTV was a good idea, I’m sure you would have 20 or 30 opinions on the subject. Normally when a dual master cylinder is installed there are issues in mounting and pedal linkage geometry. Your MC looks like it is mounted considerably ‘higher’ than the OEM location. May I assume the pedal geometry has changed, and if so one of the variables in your decision is whether that change was accomplished in a professional manner? If the pedal linkage looks ‘bullet proof’, and the car has adequate braking performance after you get it back on the road, then I’ll be glad to add my 2 or 3 opinions on the subject.

dp