Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Radio:

Be careful that u do not run out of pedal travel before u run out of cylinder stroke. That's the problem i had using the oem 56 pedal. I extended the oem pedal away from the firewall alot like your set up. The problen is that the pedal hit the floor before the master cylinder bottomed out.

The oem Packard brake pedal is just not long enuf. NOT a problem to cut and extend it but i really did not want to cut any real nice oem parts. I didn't have a cull oem pedal to play with. So i just used the F pedal and bracket. IT also alowwed me to use the F stop lite sw. ALOT better than the oem Packard pressure sw which is about as worthless as tits on a bull

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IMO, there is not enough anti-dive geometry in the front suspension. Therefore, no amount of proportioning valve adjustment is going to fix excessive nose dive in these cars regardless of front brake type.</p>
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Craig
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Yes Craig. To a great extent u're rite. Packard set the lower front control arms perpindicular to the frame insted of sweeping forward. The rear traction bars on the rear axle are WAY TOO LONG. The price we pay for a smooth comfy ride.

Radio.

What diameter piston is the master cylinder u're using????? If it's bigger than 1" u mite be able to get away with the oem pedal.

Radio:
I had problems with the oem Packard pedal. To get enuf leverage the power unit stem had to connect to the pedal very near the pivot shaft of the pedal. But that caused a terrific amount of ARC sweep on the power unit stem.

The oem Pedal is just too short unless u're using a master cylinder with a larger than 1" bore.

PackardV8
My power booster is mounted over 3.5 inches from the pedal pivot. It is not mounted directly on the firewall.I am using standoffs and a 1 inch bore master cylinder(thanks for the tip). The arc sweep is 2.5 degrees at the start, straight at the mid point and minus 2 degrees at the bottom of the stroke. The pedal is inch from the floor when bottomed out. It is the original pedal, but slightly higher. I had the car out today for a 50 mile drive. There was no pulling left or right, no squealing brakes, and no brake fade. We have owned a 1956 Packard since the late 1960's. This is the first time I enjoyed driving the car. It was fun. I should have done this years ago.
Thanks to all the members of Packardinfo that gave advice and sharing the knowledge of their experiences.

Jerry

Jerry,

Your disc brake conversion and power booster conversion show meticulous and professional quality work. Although it may not be "original", as you stated, now your Packard is a joy to drive.

Well done!

Craig