Re: Successful Packard Hunt

Posted by HH56 On 2012/10/12 20:23:47

Arcing is grinding the shoes linings slightly to perfectly match the actual inner diameter of the drum so the entire shoe makes contact from the start. Without it, eventually the contour or any high spots on the shoes linings will wear down so the entire surface makes even contact but takes awhile.

It used to be a routine part of the job and every good brake shop, garage & larger parts store had the machines. The service has apparently fallen out of favor -- most likely due to regulations on dust. The theory now is the shoes come biased or pre-arced and you change the drum to match the shoe if the diameter doesn't match. Obviously the people behind the theory have no Packards or cars hard to find drums for.

On your new manual, how is the picture quality -- really good like those in the 55-56 manual posted on site or more like those in the 51-4 on site which came from a repro book. Those are pretty bad as compared to the originals.