Excellent idea. I'll start measuring tomorrow. There should be plenty of room once you get into the middle of the X section.

M

You might disconnect the wire from the coil at the kickdown switch just to make sure that a defective kickdown switch isn't causing the problem.

M.

A frame mount mc and 7" dual diaphragm boost unit could be mounted in the general area of the present '48 master cylinder...if it weren't for all the shift linkage and misc stuff for the Electromatic clutch mechanism. I'll take a look at the later Packard Power Brake installation and see if that would work out.

Did I mention that my measurements indicate that with the disc brake conversion kit the wheels are located 3/4" farther outboard than with the stock set up? No big deal and there's plenty of room...but it is different.

M

Here is a better shot of the caliper itself.

M.

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I'm not sure, yet. I was hoping that since Kanter has had this conversion available for a year or two there might be someone out there in e-mail land that has already installed it and could recommend something.

Converting the brake pedal to a pendulum style makes quite a few aftermarket (hot rod) parts available. This would put the master cylinder and booster on the firewall which would be easier to service...but right out there for everyone to see. Keeping the master cylinder and booster in the general area of the original set up would be preferable as it would be less obtrusive to the casual Packard observer, although the installation would be a bit more difficult because of space limitations.

I'll wait for some input from actual installers before I do anything. It will be several months before I'm ready to do the installation.

Also, here is a photo of the brake pads used in this kit. The calipers are not the super-robust 4 piston models...but the installation should be more than adquate.

M.

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The rather sparse instructions stated that the caliper mount bracket should be in the forward position. When the caliper is in the forward position a slight steering to one side or the other results in caliper-to-roll bar interference. (Note that in the photo I have the wrong caliper in place...the bleed port should be on the top. No matter, the interference exists in either position.)

When the bracket is turned around (to the 'rear' position) you can see the aforementioned hole misalignment between the hole in the link bar and the corresponding hole in the caliper bracket.

The overall assembly is nice looking and I'm actually getting attached to it. (Of course, anyone who thinks a '48 Packard sedan is nice looking might not be a reliable witness in this situation.)

I can see that installing 1/2" lug nuts would probably center the wheel adequately, too, so if this is what the supplier intended I might be inclined to go along with it. I want to see it in writing, of course.

Documentation for the kit is lacking, IMHO. I'd like to see authorization to go without the hub-centric feature and also authorization to use the 1/2" lug nuts. Also, an interchange list of what wheel bearings, seals, and brake pads are used in this kit.

So, I'm awaiting word from Kanter. I apologize for the dirty front end parts. Things are being disassembled right now and I wasn't planning on displaying any pictures until the clean reassembly was underway.

M.

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I'm not planning to do any modifications, yet.

Regarding thread size...it is 1/2-20. No lug nuts were provided in the kit. These studs are usual automotive stud pieces pounded into the rotor. Part of the shank portion of the stud is larger than 1/2" and is a slight interference fit with the hole in the rotor. It looks like it is larger than a 9/16" thread tap drill so I can't tap it out to a 9/16-18 thread. (9/16-18 studs are available in the auto parts world.)

I'll take some photos and post them...at this instant I'm expecting company and will not get dirty again until tomorrow morning. I'll get a photo of the brake pad...that's another interesting thing. No documentation in the kit tells exactly what brake pad / caliper was used so when it comes time to replace parts I'll have to ransack the local Napa store to find what I have.

I did a preliminary quicky-fit-up to see how it fits and all is o.k. The front end isn't cleaned up and ready for the conversion so the photos will show some (!) grease and grime. I only became concerned when I noted the obvious thread size difference. Then I saw that the pilot diameter wasn't quite big enough...and I started doing some measuring. (BTW,I still prefer centering the wheel on a pilot diameter if at all possible...if it was good enough for Packard it is good enough for me.)

Even with all the problems the kit looks nice and when all is sorted out I'll have disc brakes on the front of my car. I'll be slightly disappointed if Kanter doesn't have a rotor assembly with a proper lug configuration...but I still have the option of making some mods on the supplied parts to get what I need.

BigKev...I agree that if it is advertised as 'bolt-on' it should be 'bolt-on'. However, I've been researching this conversion for a couple years and this is the closest thing I've found to what I want.

I've been looking back over this entire thread and to put in my two cent's worth...disc brakes are superior to drum brakes. I'll retain all the parts so it can easily be restored to the original configuration. However, having a dual chamber master cylinder as a by-product of the conversion to disc brakes makes me feel safer...to say nothing of the superior performance of the discs.

From a dollars and cents standpoint the conversion really isn't a lot of money. This car needs new drums, shoes, master cylinder, and wheel cylinders. The conversion expense in reality isn't a whole lot more than just doing the brake work on the original setup. (Admittedly there will be a bit of expense for the new power booster and master cylinder...but that's not a lot of money.)

Photos to Follow.

M.

Has anyone made any progress on disc brake conversions (especially for '48's)? Has anyone used the '48 drum-to-disc conversion kit from Kanter?

I ordered a kit from Kanter and there are a couple of problems. The lug studs are on the right bolt circle but are 1/2-20 instead of 9/16-18. (Of course, the drum brakes use a lug bolt, not studs, but that's not a big deal.) The rotor does not have a proper pilot diameter for the Packard 'hub-centric' wheel. I've written an e-mail to Kanter but have so far received no reply. The catalog indicates that the original wheels can be used with this kit.

Also, while the caliper mount bracket picks up the top two brake backing-plate holes o.k., the hole spacing on the little link piece to connect to one of the lower bolts is off by about 3/16". (There is plenty of room on the bracket to drill another hole in the right position.)

I'm checking today to see if the front track is a bit wider with the furnished rotors...looks like the wheels will be an inch or so farther outboard with the new parts.

I sure I'll hear from them sooner or later but it looks like the rotor is the wrong one for this particular kit. It can be modified by removing the 1/2" studs and replacing them with 9/16" studs...and by sleeving the pilot diameter to bring it up to the right diameter...but we'll wait for a reply.

M.

G'Day, Mal,

I usually just read the posts and suck up the info...but in this case I just happen to be doing the same thing on the same year auto.

Do Packard engines run backwards south of the Equator?

Mike

Slight correction...I see that Mid-Atlantic Packards markets these harnesses for Harnesses Unlimited. The cost of the harnesses from Mid-Atlantic is no more than buying direct from H.U. but Mid-Atlantic gets a slight commission for their regional club...nice.

If you need engine parts Feltz Terrill is a good source:

1000 County Road 454
De Leon, Texas 76444
254-893-2610

Feltz is an outstanding individual and is a wealth of Packard engine information.

Do you have a copy of The Packard Source List? James Hill sells them for US$6.00. The list contains several pages of information about where to obtain Packard parts and services.

James Hill
1419 College Drive
Emporia, Kansas 66801
jnrhill@att.net


Mike