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Wheel #2 is not Packard. Looks like a Buick rim.

Yes, wheel 1 is correct. Wheel 2 is from a Buick. Shame to send them from such a distance but I have lots of them. A very nice upgrade in modern times if you are going to run radials is 54-56 senior wheels. They will bolt right on and give you a 6" width instead of 5.5" You can still use your same wheelcovers.

Thanks for the answers guys. Turns out I have 3 of the Packard wheels, and 2 of the Buick....my count was opposite. Ross, no worries about sending a wheel....shipping on that would be killer. I'm going to check first David Moe since he is just over the mountains. In the meantime I will just leave the wheels as is, but throw new tires on. When I get all matching wheels then I will demount the tires, sandblast the wheels, and paint them at that point.

Spent some time working on the brakes today and didn't make nearly the amount of progress I wanted. Drum puller isn't here yet, and I tried renting one to no avail. So the rear drums are still there.

I completely disassembled the fronts. Behind the backing plates the components were completely caked in decades of grease and grime. It looked like one solid block. So an hour or so of scraping later, and I'm now back at clean metal.

I took all the components back to my place and cleaned them up. I sandblasted what I could, but my compressor just isn't up to the task to do large items. The backing plates needed a ton of work. Got them all cleaned up and into gloss black. Now they are curing for the next day or so.

I'll be cutting new gaskets tonight for both fronts. Pretty easy.

And I'm working on bending the rear lines. I'm really bad at it so far.

-Kevin

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  Caked in grease.jpg (135.42 KB)


  Thick grease layer.jpg (162.41 KB)


  All cleaned up.jpg (167.70 KB)


  Backing plates before cleaning.jpg (172.70 KB)


  Backing plates painted.jpg (110.73 KB)

5+ years ago, I sold David Moe (cheaply) a set of (4) 54 Super Clipper rims after I discovered they did fit my deluxe. He may still have them. If so, the circle of life is complete. :)

II went through the same thing with wheels on my 1956 Clipper Custom which had several different types. I finally managed t get proper ones from Tucson Packards to add to the couple I had so now have a set although the one I had saved for the spare may need to be replaced too as the tire sealing edges are a bit too rough. That is something to watch for before spending time on painting.

I'll check around for a replacement wheel. In the meantime I'll probably just mount tires on 2 Packard wheels and the 2 Buick wheels. I'll just stick the Buicks on the front since they stick out a bit more. When I get my hands on a another couple Packard wheels then I will correct all that.

Had some time tonight to get the fronts put back together. New wheel cylinders, new hold down springs, and all other components cleaned, sandblasted, and painted.

Pictures show the process. But like an idiot I forgot to put the spacers back on the upper mounting bolts so I need to get that corrected. Didn't have time left to do it tonight, so I just loosened the bolts so I don't bend the backing plate.

-Kevin

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  Painted.jpg (139.01 KB)


  Home made gaskets.jpg (123.40 KB)


  Cylinder and backing plate installed.jpg (171.19 KB)


  Next gasket.jpg (190.32 KB)


  Grease catch plate.jpg (189.88 KB)


  Bolted down with new cotter pins.jpg (207.47 KB)


  Shoes and springs installed.jpg (152.87 KB)


  Ready for the drums.jpg (168.83 KB)

Looking good! I'm getting Deja Vu from those pics!

Thanks! BigKev, I pretty much just copied what you did. Your result looked so nice I figured that I should just do the same.

Hoping to button up the front tonight and get the rear drums off.

-Kevin

It looks really good.

Don't forget to do the major brake adjustment per the manual to get the shoes aligned where they are supposed to sit.