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Looking for a source of a master cylinder kit for my 1951 Henney-Packard, I was surprise to see that they are different than those on the passenger cars and were the same from 1935 through 1954 for all the Henneys. Now that I think of it, I never had a 1951-1954 Packard other than Henney with non-power brakes so that's probably why I thought they were all the same.

That is, EXCEPT that one from 21st Series Custom Super Eight (2126) is the same with part number 242503. The only one I see listed anywhere is from Argentina and there is nothing that I could find in the X-Ref section. I need one made of modern material that can handle synthetic brake fluid so does anyone know of a cross reference for it? Are there any cross references for the wheel cylinders and hoses?

Incidentally, the parts book appears to have two different entries for the 1951-1954 models and I don't recall noticing it when I proofed that group.

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Packard seems to make finding specs hit or miss for commercial chassis but there are some service counselors with what I presume are the commercial specs. Specs for a 2413 chassis is in Vol24 #12 of Dec 1950. If your master is the 1 1/8 bore as spec'd for the 2413-5413 156" chassis it appears a Napa UP 772 might work. Napa specs say it is compatible with DOT silicone or glycol based fluids.

Wheel cylinders for the 2413 thru 5413 156" chassis are spec'd at 1 1/8 front and 1 1/4 rears. Napa has the wheel cylinder kits in those sizes but there are several selections and price ranges in each so you would need to pick your choice. They are also compatible with both fluids.

I don't know much about Henney details and what chassis they use but there is another LWB chassis at 149" and that has different specs. Maybe that was used on the juniors??

You can go to www.napaonline.com and type in master cylinder kits or wheel cylinder kits in the search box and select the proper item and then on the left menu drill down to the bore size when the pages come up to see the details on the various kits.

Thank you, Howard! On the master, I'll have to keep looking as I will be using synthetic for sure but it's good to know that parts are available. The 156" wheelbase chassis was a thing of its own and shares virtually nothing with any other chassis. Even the rear spring mounts are moved outboard of the frame rather than inboard, making the rear much wider and, of course, the springs themselves are massive. My 1952 Henney-Packard Nu-3-Way weighed 6200 lbs! This 1951, being an ambulance, is a bit lighter but not my much.

Because my shop is so very rural and has no power yet (other than a long extension cord), I like to locate, order and have delivered anything I'll need when I'm up there as it's a full day spent if I have to go to Napa in person but the next time I will have to go as I'm taking an Imperial 413 engine to their machine shop for rebuilding.

I hope that '51 has something besides a 288 to motivate it along at 3 tons.....

The 1951-1953 156" wheelbase Henney-Packards had the 5-main 327. I'm not sure if the 9-main was available as an option but the 5-main was probably a better choice with a slightly lighter weight and less drag that the extra mains gave. For 1954 they got the 212hp 359.

If you are still needing info on a Custom 8 bore am thinking the master bore was 1" on everything but the 156" chassis. That is the case in the 51-4 models where specs are given. Didn't find specs for earlier cars but my 2106 Custom Clipper is also 1".

It would appear that the master kit is Dorman TM3502, which is 1" dia but I likely won't know for sure until I get the cylinder apart. Still need to source the wheel kits or cylinders which I believe are Henney only, at least as far as Packard is concerned.

The 1951 Wagner brake catalog shows number FC3631 as the master cylinder repair kit for commercial chassis models. Diameter is 1-1/8"
Wheel cylinder diameters are 7/8" front and 1-1/4" rear.

Thank you and most helpful! Interesting too as the Dorman TM3502, which is 1", cross-references to the 1935 to 1954 Henneys. Of course, mine is a military ambulance and might have the larger one but I'm not sure yet although I see that my notes also cross-reference the NAPA UP 772 which is 1-1/4".

It suddenly occurred me to look in the Service Counselor which has the 24th series commercial chassis specifications (December 1950, Vol 24, No 12) that shows the 2413 with 1-1/8" dia front and 1-1/4" dia rear brake cylinders while the master is 1-1/8" dia.

Now I just need to find modern part numbers for all the kits and hoses and get them ordered to be at my shop when I'm next there!