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I'm slowly making progress, but is it enough to get me to the big dance in Austin on time? April 13th - 15th there is a car show in Austin, TX called the "lonestar roundup". Some call it the "Sturgis" of car shows, but that's up for debate. Not only does my car have to be ready to drive by then, but it also has to be registered, inspected, and ready to make an 150 mile round trip. I don't plan on having it painted by that time. I think the 60 year old patina will definitely get some attention. Anyways, here are some photos of the progress i've made thus far.

-Garrett

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Where did you get the fuel cell and how much did it cost in comparison to redoing the existing Packard fuel tank?

Garrett,

Nothing like a deadline to concentrate the mind and get things done. Hope you make it and have a great trip too. Also have a question about the fuel cell, what is it's capacity?

The fuel cell cost me around $185. It is a Jaz products 16 gallon fuel cell. She comes with a 70-10 ohm fuel sending unit, to work in place of the proper 75 or 80 ohm sender. There is also a 2" sump to help with low level starvation. The reason I went with this tank was because the original was in really bad shape and would likely cost more in the $200's. It needed to have holes and other sheet metal work done on the top, get re-lined, and have a new sending unit installed. All of which will be done at a later date, due to my budget and time constraints.

By the way, has anyone had a "REALLY" hard time getting their rear drums off? I rented a jaw type puller from autozone, and made some brackets to attach to the lugs. The brackets I made are about 1/8" to 3/16" thick. Even with those brackets being that thick, they are getting bent by the force of the puller. With all that force the drum doesn't even budge. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

-Garrett

Pic's of the brake drum puller's we've used. Usually takes a LOT of force to get the drum to move but once it moves easy from there. Make sure you keep the axle nut on the axle when using the puller 1) to protect the thread on the axle, and 2) to protect you in case the drum releases aggressively! Sometimes tensioning up and leaving it overnight works or using heat to the brake drum flange on the axle taper helps.

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Just to state the obvious... make sure the emergency brake is off. As Mal points out, it takes a very hefty tool to pull a rear drum. I got tired of renting a drum puller from the local 'old school' equipment rental place and finally bought a new one off the internet. It looks exactly like the silver one in Mal's second photo. It took 48 hours of extreme tension on my '41 to get one of the rear drums off. I gave it a couple of extra whacks every few hours. It finally let loose with a loud clang in the middle of the night.

I thing there is a fear of over tightening the puller. But obviously mechanics of the day didn't keep the customer's car overnight to wait for the drum to pop. They kept pounding on the dog bone until the drum released. My drums were on the car for at least 25-30 years without being removed and I was able to get each one off after about 10 mins of tightening.

As long as the e-brake isn't engaged, and the shoes have been backed off as not to catch, the drum should release with adequate force applied. It's basically a pressed on fitting at 200-250 ft/lbs of torque. So it will take the opposite to get it loose.

You are getting good advice here. Let me add a note of caution: Be sure to pound on only the "dog bone" part of the puller. Do not strike the end of the puller screw. Doing this may cause damage to bearings and thrust block. You will need a puller as shown and a small sledge hammer. Read about rear brakes, bearings, and seals in the service manual which can be downloaded from this site. Good luck.

(o[]o)

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If the car is driveable, loosen the axle nuts about 1/8 inch and drive around in figure 8's. If not, loosen the nuts and with the tires on get a few friends to vigorously rock the car side to side. A few figure 8's at slow speed has worked for me in the past on tapered axles.

Good luck!

I've removed MANY rear drums from tapered axle shafts as on Packard & Chrysler in particular. I always use a puller as in Mal's 2nd photo, and yes, always leave the nut on a couple of threads. Where they haven't come off within a few minutes under LOTS of tension on the puller, I've reluctantly (recognizing the chance of damage) given the end of the puller shaft a modest whack (or a heavy tap if you prefer) with a 4-lb (more or less) hammer and invariable, off they come. Yes, it's not a great practice and you can do some harm if overdone but in the most stubborn of cases, give it a try when all else fails.

And don't forget, before reassembly, clean the taper surfaces and NEVER use a lubricant or anything like Never-Sieze. Might seem a good idea at first, but the tightness of the taper is what is intended to drive the vehicle, not the key and keyway.