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Looking for some advice on the brakes. I’m not very impressed with Kanter customer service so far.

For the rear wheel cylinders, they said they replaced the rear with the same for the front and you should re-use the thread adapter that is already on the car. I have no such adapters on my car. The rear wheel cylinders were 7/126-24 per Packard’s part list. They also never indicated anywhere that adapters would be needed. They “might’ send those to me. If not, does anyone know where I can get them. I’ve been looking and can’t seem to find them.

For the missing shoe springs, the response was “our kits don’t include those”. No kidding. But, when selling the kit, the claim is that all hardware is included. Again, they may send them if they have them, but likely I will need to reuse what I have.

The parts list shows different Primary and Seconday. Springs. The kit comes with the same spring for both (heavy duty one). They said that’s what I should use. Is that okay or should I have a lighter weight spring for the Secondary?

Mine does have adaptors on the rear wheel cylinders too. They were there when I got the car so assume they are original. Adaptors have no affect on the flow of fluid so I see no negative to having them. You should be able to get them from any good auto parts shop. Just take a fitting that screws into the cylinder and one that the brake line threads into (or the brake line itself) with you to the parts desk and they will be able to get you the two adaptors you need.
I did not need to replace any springs so am not sure about the primary/secondary issue, but I suspect that the heavy spring could be used on both shoes, the lighter one would be a problem if it had to stand in for the heavy one. Their purpose is to keep the shoes back from the drum. During braking the shoes rub against the drum and twist to accentuate the grip so they are there as a return action, not a braking one.
I see no reason not to reuse the small spring on the cam adjuster as well. Again, it is simply an anti-rattle to hold the shoe to the cam when disengaged, not a source of braking action. Springs wear out through repeated elongation, this spring is relatively static, only moving through a small displacement of the shoe's travel.
Be sure to remove the cam, nut and screw at the side as well as the top anchor pin assembly and thoroughly clean them on a wire wheel and chase the threads with a die and then a tap run in through the nuts to have them work as smoothly as possible. Don't forget to clean and polish the bores in the backing plate as well to ease final shoe adjustment upon assembly. I used an anti-seize paste on the threads and bores also for the next generation to be able to do this easily too!
Bob J.

For self-energizing Bendix-type brakes to function properly the primary shoe must have the weaker return spring.

Thanks, Bob.

I figured the shoe springs were no problem to re-use and I figured the heavier spring for the secondary was likely okay as well. It is good to have some confirmation from those with more experience.

I’ll track down the adapters for the rear wheel cylinders as well.

Mostly, I’m just frustrated that Kanter doesn’t tell you about these things and apparently just expects you to know what is and isn’t included in “all hardware included”.

Quote:
Am sorry to hear you are going thru this as well. In my case 10 yrs ago it was only copper washers missing but at least they sent my adapters. The washers caused enough issue so can only imagine how much fun it would have been to source adapters locally. On yours you got washers, but no adapters so does not look like much has actually changed or else quality control was lacking when they packed the box.

I agree that a kit sold as complete should be so complete you could walk up to an empty backing plate and install the kit to have a functional system. If you cannot do that then a list of exactly which parts are in the kit and maybe a drawing identifying them should be posted along with suggestions of what else could be needed to be sourced locally or ordered separately.

Okay…I may have had what I was calling primary and backup backwards.

Anyway, Kanter says I should be good with what they sent which is the same for both primary and secondary.

To be fair, it was a little difficult, but Kanter is taking care of things, and I feel MUCH better about their customer service. They are sending me the adapters and the missing springs. They did say that the springs are not part of the kit. I think they just need to include a statement with the kit that says “some minor parts may need to be re-used as they are not included in the kit”. That would at least let people know to call and find out exactly what they may need to supply on their own if the existing parts aren’t in good condition or don’t exist. They agreed that would be a good approach. Hopefully, that will help the next person.

Glad it is getting resolved.

Still think something sold as complete should be complete though -- or at least a list or drawing included showing all parts. What about the person who winds up with a disassembled car where parts may be scattered and there are no old parts found that can be reused. That is the type customer who would really need a complete kit and he might not know what is missing or be very familiar with a particular year. Have mercy on those who try to rely entirely on some of Packards drawings to figure out an unfamiliar year particularly prewar where according to Motors Manual, three different Bendix brake system configurations was used.

For me, had I known all this, I could have gotten the needed adapters elsewhere ahead of time and my brakes would have been done Saturday. Now, I”m hoping to get them done this coming weekend.

All good, though. While I’m waiting, I’ve been working on other areas of the car and making progress there.

I agree the back-and-forth is frustrating. Also, I think it would be cheaper for them to include all the needed parts versus the time and expense of shipping out additional parts when the customer discovers that they are missing or in need. Then a brake job goes from a few hours to nearly a week or more.

Well, shoot. The missing parts from the brake kit were supposed to show up tomorrow morning. Just got new tracking info from USPS that now they aren't showing up until Monday. That means the brakes will be delayed another week.

In the meantime, I'll switch gears to the wiring and seeing if I can get everything working. I know it's close.

On a good note, the front passenger door never lined up properly when closed in my lifetime. I got to looking at it last week and discovered that it was because the strike plate was broken and missing the outer piece. Thanks to Flackmaster, I have a new strike plate and the door closes and lines up perfectly.