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It's okay as it told me exactly what I wanted to know! Thank you for that.

Quote:

I only ever used the one I have once so not sure I need another. In any event, I would still consider it if I knew that the tube in it is the original but I have my doubts that it is. It has an odd coiling at the advance side that I don't recall ever seeing before on any of my cars.

Where can I fond some original Trico blades or inserts? I know of the Trico Classic Series but I want originals even if the rubber has hardened as long as it's intact. I have several with no rubber at all so need something better than that as they will not be used (not in my lifetime anyway). I can't recall off-hand the size but I believe these are 11" - can someone confirm? They are the same as the other Packards of the era.

Does anyone had a good original vacuum advance line for Autolite to sell or loan? Yes, I know I can make one but I have no pattern to make it as it was originally. I’ve checked with all the dealers and no one seems to have what I would think is a common part.

I need some help!

The brake return springs are yellow and light blue with the yellow being heavier. Same with the shoe hold-downs except that the yellow, which appears to have a slightly finer wire, is considerably longer. For these 14” brakes, the shoes are the same rather than having the friction material shorter on one.

I understand that the yellow brake return spring should be to the front. Does that apply to rear brakes too? When I took apart the left side it had the yellow to the rear. Would the yellow hold-down spring also be on the front shoe?

Left rear before disassembly with heavier yellow springs on the back shoe.
NOTE: This photo is for reference only as it was all too rusty to use.



All reassembled today (no return springs yet) with the yellow hold-down springs to the front.



Incidentally, the backing plate is from one car, the shoes from another and the drum from yet another! This side was so rusty that I had to source all of the pieces wherever I could find them.

As I was taught back in high school auto shop, to get the effect of the servo action from this type of Bendix brake, when the two return springs are different the weaker spring goes on the primary shoe regardless of front or rear brakes.

Thank you, Dave! Presuming the primary shoe is the front one, that means that it was put together properly originally so I'll follow suit with the hold down springs too and put the yellow ones at the rear, then the yellow return springs there too once the cylinder has been installed. (My high school didn't offer auto classes but I had Packards when I was 16 so it didn't matter!)

The driver side rear brake has been buttoned up (the drum and tire are now back on and it's off the jack)! I noticed when getting the passenger side pieces all cleaned up that the one shoe was yellow and the other blue and so were they on the driver side. Co-incidentally, I happened to also be using a couple old t-shirts for wiping things and one was yellow and the other blue!

Changed the hold-down springs putting the yellow to the rear and the blue to the front and, after putting the cylinder back in, also installed the two return springs.



I had forgotten how much of a mess the passenger side was from a bad seal so didn’t get it done today as I had hoped but made good headway. Inner and outer seals are installed and the bearing cleaned and packed. The backing plate is soaking in the solvent tank after already giving it a go-over with a wire brush after it was in there for an hour or so.





Interesting that one shoe is blue and the other yellow and they have been paired as they were removed but it makes me wonder if each wheel has a pair from two different cars! No matter as this isn’t going anywhere other than on private property.



Between the springs, the shoes and even my rags, I seem to be seeing a lot of yellow and blue!

As I am trying to keep everything as authentic as possible and there were no wiper blades, I found some NOS Trico inserts that fit a set I had on the shelf. I have several Anco blades too but, of course, the Trico inserts won’t fit them and I’ve not looked to see if any are available.

I need a little help!

When I first bought this car it was missing the oil pump so I stuck one in randomly. Much to my surprise, it started and ran well! Recently I had to remove the pump again due to the distributor drive plate having gone missing (never did find it) and am about to reinstall it which I thought I could do properly this time from the Service manual but no such luck as its instructions presuppose that it was installed a certain way the first time. What is the default procedure? I presume I need to set to the #1 to TDC first but then what? I see no specific markings on the pump to go by.