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It's all gravel roads around here too for at least a mile but this car is not going anywhere other than around the yard and three properties once it's running again. I got here on the 2nd and no snow but the next day it started coming down so we got what appeared to be about 6" although it's starting to melt once again. At last check, light snow is expected on Wednesday afternoon just in time for me to leave on Friday. At one point last week, it got down to 2 degrees so not exactly warm and toasty but nit bad in the shop with a space heater and good insulation.

Down at ground for a moment, I climbed in to see what the brakes felt like and, while they don’t go down to the floor, they are not firm either. I didn’t expect them to be but they’re okay for now to move it around and onto the concrete the next time I’m here.

Back home now more or less. Closer to it than when at my shop anyway. One thing I forgot to say about testing the brake pedal last week was that I also tested the parking brake and had a surprise that it does not feel attached to anything! I guess I will have to get under the dash to check it out although maybe removing the dash would be easier. That way I get the siren’s wires run or at least see if maybe they are under there somewhere already.

If it uses the same setup as regular 51 and later models the hand brake is just a straight rod from the handle to the part that actually works the brake. Rod goes thru the firewall to where it joins the ratchet and locking mechanism at the extreme edge of the firewall in the engine compt right near the fender edge. The end of the rod is held to that mechanism by a small spring which could have broken or became disconnected letting the rod slip out of the mechanism so it is unable to move and pull the rod going down to a bellcrank assy which is the piece that actually pulls the brake cable.

As Howard said, the entire mechanism is on the engine side of the firewall.

If you pull the handle and feel tension but it won't lock, then it ratchet spring. No tension, then something is disconnected.

And it is also conceivable there is an issue at the bar under the transmission where the cable coming from the front does the work. The hook like sheave affair where the two cables going to the rear wheels join the bar could be disconnected or way out of adjustment.

It’s not really a mystery and as many 1951-1954 Packards that I’ve owned I do understand the mechanism. It was merely a surprise as underneath everything is intact.