Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

A little confused here - I think power brakes were standard equipment on the 1956 Four-Hundred. My question is with respect to the brake master cylinder. I need to replace mine, but online all I can find are master cylinders for 'manual brakes'. Are there two different master cylinders - one for power brakes and one for manual brakes (but then there shouldn't be any manual braked Four-Hundreds). On the part illustration, it appears that the master cylinder is part of the vacuum booster assembly. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Send it to Ross.

Think he is in the directory

He might pop in.here.

Believe it or not, power brakes while supposedly standard on senior models like the 400 were often not wanted by the buyer and omitted. Actually just about any of the "standard" power items could be omitted and a manual version factory installed if the customer ordered it that way. Supposedly Packard was the only luxury car maker at the time that would do this.

Starting in 52 Packard offered the Bendix TreadleVac system and marketed it as Easamatic Brakes.. The TreadleVac is essentially a vacuum booster built onto a special hydraulic section. It does not have a piston in the conventional sense -- that being a rubber cup sealing a cylinder to push fluid ahead of it like a manual master or a modern power brake system. In the TreadleVac the vacuum (or pedal) pushes a fairly large diameter rod into a space that by virtue of a valve that closes as soon as the rod starts to move becomes a sealed fluid filled chamber. The rod does not make any contact with the walls of the chamber but the large mass pushing into the enclosed space full of fluid displaces and forces some of the fluid out to the wheels.

Yes PB was standard equipment on the 56 Senior and Executive cars.

The reason you can't find them online is because major auto vendors don't sell them. You will have to contact Kanter or Max Merritt.

The brake setup in 55 and 56 was the same between the years. So while no 56 came from the factory with manual brakes, a manual bake setup would work the same in a 56 as a 55 if such a thing were to exist. Also, 56 Clippers could have manual brakes.

56 Options List:
https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/archive/content.php?op=ByYear&catID=19&ContentID=241

G'day rzhj8s,
to PackardInfo.

I invite you to include your '56 Four Hundred in PackardInfo's Packard Vehicle Registry.

Howard is correct that senior Packards and even the Super or Custom Clippers could be ordered with manual brakes if the customer wanted. There were several all-original cars ordered that way on Northern California when I used to be active in the local PAC NorCal chapter.