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tonight's update. got the rear diff installed. went to tighten the passenger's side front trailing arm pin bolt and BAM busted right off. need a new on obviously and if not i can always run a bolt throw the center of it and put a heavy duty washer on each end and that would hold, but i don't really want to do that cause i am pretty sure someone has to have one somewhere.

driver's side pin bolt seems to be fine at 100 ftlbs. so this one must have been weak or something i guess. 50 plus years will do that i suppose

can't tighten down the driver's side U-bolt....i had to cut it off on one side to get the thing off when i was disassembling it and i thought i might get lucky and have enough sticking out....uuhhhhh no....so i need a new one and the auto store only has round ones, not flat topped. i also need a new locking nut if anyone has one of those laying around for the U-bolt. i would like to keep it original style personally.

you can see all the overspray dust on the car...sux.....but i don't have a way to keep it off. it wipes right off though, thankfully. i will just wash it off before the body goes back on. makes it a weird hue though. oh well.

anyone have one of those factory tools for winding the torsion bars.....or know where to get one since there seems to be so many out there.....since there were so many dealers you think they would show up on ebay from time to time.....in the last year i haven't seen any. looks like i may be doing it the hard way. should be exciting.

later,

Hank

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I called friend Chris who had warned me before I removed torque arms that the rubber bushings were off center and to note where the thickest portion was. To the best of my memory, and his opinion, the thickest part of the bushing goes on top. I apologize for being a little late with this info.

Interesting that Packard never mentioned anything about that bushing that I could find re proper orientation. If the NOS I have are good ones (and properly labeled), it is such a small amount off center. I missed it until eagle eye Hank pointed it out with his question. Guess the logic is that bars will always be exerting force downward squeezing the bushing between pin and arm.

As to finding tools, they would almost have to be located somewhere close. The cost of crating and shipping would be substantial for any distance since it is about 4 ft long, 24 inches wide and fairly hefty. Don't remember if it can be disassembled and made any smaller either.

As to finding tools, they would almost have to be located somewhere close. The cost of crating and shipping would be substantial for any distance since it is about 4 ft long, 24 inches wide and fairly hefty. Don't remember if it can be disassembled and made any smaller either.

I wasn't referring to the factory, pneumatic-powered winding tool which is large as you describe, wasn't there a smaller manual one for dealer use, J-6046 maybe? Did one side at a time rather than both at once? I'm nearly certain it is pictured in the shop manual.

Neither was I. This is the manual one which I have used. It is substantial at around 100#, and IIRC, it's riveted & can't be disassembled to make it any shorter. It also works in conjunction with the small piece for front arm holding which was reproduced recently. I also knew of one and it's owner falls into the same category as the owner of the tool you mentioned. Think the best bet is either find one close or go to plan 2. The method cited in the book with the floor anchors is very viable or even a substantial timber the frame could be chained to and wide enough for a floor jack placed on to raise the front arms & then chain them into position while the suspension is assembled sounds like the options now.

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don't worry about it guys, i can figure it out myself. i don't need the help from one of the "guys" that owns one of these tools......however selfish they may be.

i know that if i heard of a Packard guy in need i would do whatever it took to help him/her out, but that is just me.

if you guys come across one of these tools i will buy it and keep it for Packardinfo.com member use. there will be rules and things, but i would share it. obviously they don't show up often on ebay.....

it looks like to me in that picture that it is attached to the rear of the car.....i already have the rear in place. does the tool work for the front too. and where can i get that reproduction tool to hold the front arms up.....i saw that tool in the manual too, but i never heard of a reproduction being made.

as to the bushing...i installed thick part up....and also....i need those parts....anyone??

can anyone draw me up what that thing looks like....size wise and how it is put together in a schematic....i can probably get my father in law (genius with metal work) to make us one that is functional although crude. seriously lets do this!

The tool does work on the rear and the front has to be held up by the repro tool. I know that the fellow made a few last year or year before but believe they were all spoken for before he made them. Don't know if he'd be willing to do it again but suppose those that were responsible for last effort could ask and see if he'd do it again. Would have to be demand enough though but I'd buy one too since I passed on the last one.

Its two pieces, the top one is a piece that goes over the arm and into the pocket on frame and the bottom one is pinned to the top one making a kind of saddle arrangement.. Fairly substantial metal.

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Thanks HH56 for the info on the winding tool, it's a dull day that you don't learn something new. I'd seen the picture but never saw the tool or knew of anyone who had used it. Here's hoping I never need to use one.

Cli55er, don't be too hard on people who have tools and are reluctant to loan them. If I made a list of all the tools I've loaned over the last 40 years and never got back, it would fill pages and pages!!! As to the front end load arm tool, you can do it with chain and tackle, but with the tool having been reproduced on multiple occasions in addition to the original factory ones around, I'd guess that 25% of folks who own and routinely use their V8 Packards have one. Should be real easy to find one near you.If not, you can borrow mine.

be looking for an update...i am going to work on making my own.....i have the motivation to do it now. BRING IT ON!!!

Hank -

I can understand your frustration in trying to locate one of the loading/unloading tool sets. However, please understand that - unlike today - dealers back then weren't required to purchase such tools. Also, some of the dealers who sold T/L-equipped cars had only gotten into the game it recently, but got out of it quickly (perhaps after they saw the '57s).

As such, special service tools for these cars are not only highly-specialized, but quite rare. In fact, an enthusaist made a repro of the front load arm holding tool some 20 years ago, with additional limited production runs several times since - one of which was "orchestrated" by one of our highly regarded members, a couple of years ago. Though I already had an example from the original run, I went ahead and picked up another to help the cause and give me the ability to have both sides of the front-end apart at once.

Therefore, please try to understand that some people are highly protective of such assets. It's certainly nice to share, but, in a free society, no one is obliged to do so. (And, no, I do not have one of these tool sets.)

If you do your homework with the shop manual illustrations and corresponding text documenting the proper use of the tool, you'll get a better idea of what it takes. Any good machinist will find clues for what is needed to make such a set-up, but let me give you a brief overview of its function - off the top of my head.

On each side of the car, a front and rear load arm is connected by a single main torsion bar. There is no installing a main bar and winding it up for just one load arm at a time. The bar is first inserted in the front arm (which must be applied to the suspension through its link), then the rear arm is installed. The rear arm is then wound into position, using the special tool, and the rear link (a sort of hoop), is slipped over the end of the arm, and the tool is backed off.

The special loading/unloading tool set uses what is called a push-pull jack (or ratchet), which travels along a stout piece of Acme-threaded rod that screws into a larger hook of metal. The end of the hook has a pin that fits a corresponding hole in the frame, opposite the side that you are trying to load/unload. The ratcheting push-pull jack works against a fixture that conforms to the shape of the rear load arm and is securely clamped to it.

IIRC, there is another fixture that serves as a fulcrum for the rear load arm. There is also a tool needed for driving the torsion bar in/out of the front load arm (without damaging either).

The front load arm tool was meant to hold that load arm to permit service of the front suspension without having to unload the main bars. I suppose that tool could be used to hold the front load arm when loading a torsion bar, but I've never seen it done that way.

Please move forward carefully; don't rush into this.