Packard Forum Index » General

I have a 1940 110 Convertible that i inherited from my Father-in-Law that he restored. He has passed and its now up to my wife and I to get the old girl back on the road to the shows and events that Gary took her to. I was able to start the car today using the button on the starter motor (the one on the dash wouldn't do it). After we got it running and everything moving in a good direction i noticed that only the hand brake would work and the foot brake when depressed wouldn't return to normal and wouldn't stop the car. The only way to stop the car was with the hand brake. As we are new to the 110 any tips or comments are helpful. I will keep combing the forums for help but i thought i would drop a note. Thanks in advance!

As with any car that’s been sitting a while and especially when you don’t know when they were last serviced, you’ll need to go through all the brake hydraulics, making sure to rebuild all cylinders including the master and replace all three flexible hoses even if they look good on the outside. With age, they can collapse internally and block flow.

The brakes themselves hold no mysteries and most parts may even be available at your local Napa store as long as you bring in the actual part rather than just telling them it’s for a 1940 Packard! Otherwise buy kits from Merritt, Kanter or one of the other dealers.

If the master is dry or the fluid contaminated so the rubber swelled, the piston could be corroded or sticking in the bore causing the brake pedal to not return properly but there is also a large return spring that should be pulling it back. Perhaps that spring is missing or has broken.

AR, after attending to the above, this is the ideal time to switch to DOT 5 silicone brake fluid to preclude future such problems.
The Search box on the upper right of this site's homepage will give more information.

That’s what I always do too and the system seems to really like it. With the super heat and extreme cold in my Central Oregon shop (not so bad now that’s it’s insulated), the fluid is still like new.