Re: Successful Packard Hunt

Posted by Ross On 2012/10/13 6:51:06

54s still have the eccentric adjustment at the anchor pin on each of the backing plates to center up the shoes in the drums. Always a good idea to readjust them when fitting new shoes to give the best contact. With them adjusted, and a bit of wearing in, you probably won't have to have the shoes arced.

There is a long and tedious procedure in the shop manual for doing this which over the last 20 years I have boiled down to this:

Loosen the locknut (15/16) and turn the eccentric (7/16)to its neutral position. You will see that the eccentric's shank is cut at a slight angle. The high point should be toward the rear of the car. Tighten the normal adjuster til the drum is dragging heavily. Now move the eccentric back and forth a bit to obtain the least drag. You might have to tighten the adjuster a bit more and repeat the process to find the point of least drag. Tighten the locknut and then adjust the brakes normally. This will give the best possible contact pattern.

Important: when doing the rear brakes, disconnect the e-brake cables at the equalizer before beginning. Only connect and adjust the cables after the individual wheels are adjusted. If the cables are pulled you will not get a correct adjustment.