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Alright, we're at the airport on our way to the car! Should have some updates and pics tonight.

I can't wait; a real time reality show on Packardinfo. Keep us posted

Rats, should have asked how many miles on the odometer!

Let the mini series begin. Safe journey.
Wes

Alright we made it to the farm. No ugly surprises on the car, except that we found out it has power brakes which was unexpected. The brakes seeemed to be frozen.

It was the back brakes that were stuck I think. We drug it out of the barn with a Mule and got it rolling. Managed to push it into the shop. We cleaned up the engine bay, pulled the spark plugs, and dumped a couple squirts of oil in the cylinders. Also put some extra oil in it, overfull trying to get oil in as much stuff as possible.

The plan for tomorrow is to drain the oil, drop the pan, and start trouble shooting the starting system.

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Actually it's rather uncommon to find a '53 Packard without power brakes. And I think your chances are about 100% that the power brake unit will be unserviceable after all this time. You should very seriously consider installing a rebuilt unit and new or rebuilt wheel cylinders, new hoses, perhaps the steel lines before you start on the road. You can get a rebuilt power brake unit on an exchange basis from either of the 2 major Packard vendors.

What O_D said and then some.

As some have found out the hard way the power brakes can be and have been very unforgiving when suddenly put back into service after a long slumber. They do not have a conventional piston master cylinder as manual or modern brakes use and rely on certain parts being in pristine condition. In spite of cleaning and new fluid etc there are rubber parts that must be changed and corrosion that can affect others all of which if neglected can lead to suddenly having no brakes. It has become increasingly clear that dirt, poor or no maintenance and the sudden placing of the unit back into service in a long sitting car is the common denominator of those that fail.

Rightly or wrongly the Bendix Treadlevac has developed a reputation of stop at one corner, coast thru the next. I hope you don't contribute any bad experiences.

While you have the plugs out I would suggest doing a compression check on the beast.

It appears that this project looks somewhat similar to owing a house and having a wife. No matter how hard you work at it, the "Honey Do" list never gets any shorter.

P.S. Have fun and Keep Safe

I am a little nervous about the brakes. I thought they were going to be manual, so I bought a manual master cylinder rebuild kit.

Also I've never worked on power brakes before. Anyone have a lead on power brake system rebuild kits that can be shipped to Oregon quickly?

I have used multiple dozens of Kanter's kits. Very satisfied. If you really want to do this get the deluxe kit with the new piston. That is very important. Somewhere on this site is a tutorial I did on rebuilding the Treadlevac units. I'm sure someone can post the link. Now that IS beyond my technical capabilities.

If you are uncertain about rebuilding it, get an exchange unit. The stakes are too high.