Re: Brake Upgrade

Posted by Joe Hall On 2008/1/6 18:59:23

I know nothing about Packard front suspension, other than 1957-58 (same as Stude). The Stude has king pins, and most folks doing the DB conversion leave the rear drums in place. Mine is set up with OEM rear drums, dual master cylinder, and front DBs without a vacuum boost. Some folks install a proportioning valve, but mine does not appear to need one. I have not tried a 4-wheel lock-up in gravel, but believe they would likely all slide about the same time. Nothing has to be modified about the steering whatsoever, but the kit replaces the braking backplate with an adapter that holds the caliper in place; the rotor fits the Stude spindle with bearings available across the counter. I believe Turner has a bearing adapter of some kind for his rotors, which are FoMoCo.

By the way, what is a BTV?

The positives of the DBs are "straight line" stopping at road speeds, much less fade, a wide selection of modern brake pads made with modern materials, and a pedal that stands the car on its nose loong before it gets hard. As mentioned before, reminds me of the wife's Volvo 240.

Joe H