Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Hello all, I have been working for the past few months on getting my newly acquired 1955 Patrician road worthy and safe. I was hoping to be able to drive it on the highway, but the brakes do not work 100 percent of the time so I will probably rebuild the booster and master. I have rebuilt the carb and got the engine running, but am having oil pressure issues and tapping from the driver side. The tapping was off and on more after the engine warmed up at idle. Pressure in middle of gauge and after warming up goes to "L" on gauge. I tried the adding 1/2 to 1 quart more of oil and that seems to help with the tapping, but the oil still goes to almost L once warm. I am planning on removing the engine and replacing the seals as it leaks oil a lot from the front to rear seals. I just ordered the Melling M22FHV pump and was wondering what else I needed to do to make the swap? Thanks for all of your advice and help. I am impressed with the features and the build quality of this car, first Packard.

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First thing to do on a car that’s been parked for a while is to go through all the brakes, replacing the rubber hoses and rebuilding the cylinders. Do the master and booster last. For normal maintenance after that, pressure flush the brake system once a year.

Thanks Don. I did a complete brake shoe and wheel cylinder replacement. I bled the lines and replaced the ones that were leaking. I have good brakes about 80 percent of the time. The other times the pedal will go to the floor with no braking, even after a few pumps of the pedal. I did just get the rebuild kit for the booster and the cylinder. That rebuild will probably be done in a month. I figure if I have to take the engine out then I will replace all the lines in the front and it will be easier to take the power brake unit out with all the extra room.

You should always replace all the hoses, not just those that are leaking and the same with the cylinders, especially if you don’t know their history. Brakes are too important to skimp although the shoes themselves, as long as some lining is left, are almost secondary to a good hydraulic system! It does sound like you also need to rebuild the master and booster.

G'day Packman 1955,
to PackardInfo.

I invite you to include your '55 Patrician in the Packard Vehicle Registry.

Thanks, I just listed her in the registry. Looking forward to being able to take her out on the road hopefully next spring.

for including your '55 Patrician Touring Sedan in the Packard Vehicle Registry.

Does anyone know what would cause a new coolant temp sensor not to work? I replaced the old sender with a new one from Kanter and the gauge still will not work. When I ground the sender wire to the engine the gauge moves towards hot. The other gauges work except the gas level. Thanks for your help.

The way those gages are calibrated, even pretty darn hot only reads about 1/4 on the gage. Make sure she is good and warmed up.

The gauge and instrument voltage regulator would seem to be OK since the other gauges work and the temp gauge needle moves toward hot by grounding the wire.

You might verify the adapter plate the sender screws into has a good ground connection to the rest of the block. Sometimes paint or a layer of RTV sealant or rust and corrosion buildup around the two mounting bolts can result in a poor ground connection.
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If you have an ohmmeter and a reasonably accurate thermometer then with those and a pan of heating water you could run a few tests on the sender to make sure it is good and the correct one. Here is a chart another poster made some years ago showing the relative temps vs resistance range. For your 55 gauge, the top half of the chart with the temp to needle positions is not really applicable but can be used to get a general indication of where the needle would sit. Your gauge is marked differently than the 51-4 gauges the chart was based on.

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