Only wires are those you mentioned. Only thing from advance is a vacuum line across top of engine to carburetor area.

What happens if you remove the dist cap and turn engine so points are closed. With the ign key on, position the coil spark wire near the block and open the points with a stick or something insulated. You should get a nice fat spark from the spark wire out of coil to block each time you open the points. If you do, then all is well there and I'd look to see if the dist is properly oriented and wires are correct. Could be the dist is off by a few degrees.

EDIT Also verify the rotor is correct. One of the other posters mentioned getting an aftermarket rotor that was specified for his car but notch was aligned so rotor was actually several degrees different than the stock one. Don't remember which dist he was working on.

I still have not been able to get my 1951 with a Delco system to start. I do have full power coming out of the coil but no spark to the plugs. I have changed the points, rotor, cap, condenser etc. Does the distributor have any wires other than the coil/spark wire and the wire from the distributor to the positive coil? It looks like there could have been a wire from the vacuum advance at one time but I see nothing in the service manual to indicate so. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Lets do the ez things forst. The filler plug of the master cylinder hhas a square on it for a wrench. On one side of the square there is a VENT HOLE.

At the TOP of the vacuum unit near the fire wall there is a VENT WITH filter in it. THIS vent must not tbe restricted.

And on a related note:http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/846/dishonorable-mention-the-10-most-embarrassing-award-winners-in-automotive-history

The brake fluid was full of gunk and perhaps some got back in the cylinder. We shall see. thanks for all of your input.

With all that being said, why isn't the "original" Clipper from 1941 considered a classic or a milestone vehicle? I know I'm a biased '41 Clipper owner, but could never understand why it was omitted. It's style and (at least the optional) appointments broke from tradition leading Packard in a new direction, certainly setting a milestone . . .

A flush certainly wouldn't hurt but unless you found chunks of sediment on your rebuild, probably wouldn't help either.

The residual valve is designed to keep 5-10psi in cylinders so rubber cups stay flat to pistons and lips against cylinder wall. Only thing I could see failing is if the rubber has been contaminated with petroleum product and is swelling with heat or the retainer has been smashed down and totally blocking the outlet. Would think there would be some indication when applying brakes that something was wrong if that the cause. Easy enough to remove the fitting and pull it out to check condition--unfortunately not something to be done on the fly and means bleeding brakes again.

Brian mentioned the vacuum portion. There are any number of things that could go wrong there. Another easy thing to do when fails is to pull off the vacuum line to brake. With no vacuum, that would eliminate that part and the pedal would be free to move if the vacuum were partially applying. Of course, something could also be jamming the power piston such as fluid which has leaked in, corrosion or mechanical damage. As I recall, there is not much clearance between the power piston and the plate covering the cylinder end under the toe board. Any chance something has gotten into the opening and preventing full travel. At any rate, sure sounds like something needs to be professionally gone thru.

There are a few who will dissagree, but the Bendix TreadleVac performed well on many millions of cars including Packard, Lincoln, Mercury and several GM makes and is a good unit for it's vintage. But I'd be VERY leery of a "local" rebuild, it simply isn't worth the risk with brakes to not go to a TreadleVac professional. Highly recommended is Ed Strain in Florida, you'll find his advertisement in the Packard section of Hemmings.

HH 56 The space is tight and modifications could cause even more trouble. If you are correct about the compensating valve, perhaps pulling the master and flushing the lines could help. Could the residual pressure check valve be sticking as well?

HH 56 Thanks for the pictures, Yes I tried pulling the pedal back (I had a friend who had a string tied to the brake pedal..another story). Come to think of it strangely the symptoms are the same even before we redid the master cylinder, right down to the brake lights.