Re: Resurrecting my 56’ Patrician

Posted by HH56 On 2023/7/23 13:11:01

The brake definitely needs a rebuild. If you are comfortable working on the Treadlevac and know what typical problem areas to look for it is not that hard. If not then I would strongly suggest sending it to Ross or Kanter to rebuild or else get an exchange unit from Kanter or Max. With the master in that condition I would bet the wheel cylinders are just as badly in need of rebuilding and hoses should be changed too.

Several have used a universal GM harness from Painless rather than trying to make their own. Most of the colors will match but don't remember how many circuits were in the harness they used. Am sure someone can fill in that information. Believe everything in the main wire harness is covered and they come with a decent fuse block too. The TL loom and maybe the power window loom would be a DIY build.

If you do want to go ahead and make your own, in addition to 16 ga which was used for most of the harness, there is a short bunch of 18s for the dash lights and a couple of 14 gauge runs for headlights. I believe 12 was used on the battery feed from solenoid to various places but it could have been 14. If I were making a harness I would use 12. Packard was not terribly concerned about splices in looms and did it fairly often. In some cases I think their wire size choice was marginal. The power wire from solenoid to various switches and components did use more than one splice. TL would need at least a 14 feed to solenoids and motor but since there is a 30 amp fuse in 56, maybe 12 between starter solenoid and TL solenoids. 16 is OK for control wiring. Power windows IMO, should be all 14 with maybe a 12 in the run from the solenoid to CB on firewall. If you are going to replace those, once you tear into your old you could just match the sizes in the new harness.

Fuses are another issue. 55 was the first year they actually offered a fuse block and the 7 easy to get at fuses was a step up. Previously it was all inline fuses which could be found almost anywhere. There were still a fair number of the inline fuses used in 55 and 56 though.

There were still a few inline Wade connectors used but today those are getting harder to find and expensive. Most can be replaced with modern .250 male and female quick connects. Any of the original bullet connectors can be replaced with modern .156 diameter bullets and sockets. New bare sockets or individual pieces for most bulbs can be bought from Rhode Island Wiring or Y n Z Yesterdays Parts. A few of the original plugs and sockets will probably need to be reused. I have had some luck drilling out the old wire from a terminal and resoldering new wire in the hole.