Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Greetings:

I have a 1951 Patrician and want to remove, rebuild, and re-install the master cylinder. When I look at the unit on the car, the nuts attached to the bolts that mount the master cylinder onto the frame are located within the box frame. I cannot get my arm inside to hold the nuts. Does anyone have a simple way to get at those nuts? (I understand that this was a dealer complaint in 1951 and that the subsequent year Packards (1952-1954) had the nuts welded inside the frame.)

If it's the same as my 1953 Pat then you take the mounting bracket and cylinder out as one piece from inside the car. Pull down carpet by brake pedal and you will see screws the whole panel comes out. I put in a new type double master and new double booster with a remote fill bottle on fender.I posted pictures of mine also check out all talk about new type masters before you use the old treadle vac.

I'm guessing Packick's car has standard (non-power) brakes. Though there was a retro kit offered later, power brakes were not available on 1951 Packards as factory equipment.

Owen_Dyneto is correct, power brakes were not offered in 1951 so my Patrician does not have them. The frame is solid on top so access to the nuts from the top isn't possible. There are only a couple of holes on the bottom but nowhere near the nuts. I am going to try to devise a tool today to see if I can get at them.

I have always wondered how they put these units on so quickly while the car was moving down the assembly line.

The only pict showing removal is with the car on a lift and the mechanic under so they must be using the holes you mentioned on the bottom. I've never had to work on one with manual but wonder if they might have had a long handled box wrench that held the nut and reached them from a distance.

I imagine those installing them several times a day developed a skill set & a feel for what was needed so would be quite proficient.

Never encountered your situation either, but have encountered similar ones. Perhaps use of a socket, flexible extension and/or a couple of socket universal joints can work? When I've done this in the past, I've learned to tape the socket to the extension or U-joint to prevent loosing it in some inaccessible place.

This is a very strange conversation to me. It's been about 5 years now but when I acquired my 51 300 one of the first things that needed attention were the breaks. Remember the hydraulic parts were all readily available. Seems the,new not rebuilt, master cylinder cost about $50.00. Slapped it right in without any problem. Can't remember any problem with the bolts. Was installed from underneath the car. I'll have to go out and look at it again.

Well today I decided to go for it.

It turns out that the front nut WAS welded to the inside of the frame (thank you Packard); the rear nut was not. The unit came off fairly easy, but it was somewhat of a chore to get the rear nut started to remount it after the rebuild. I ended up using a breaker bar with masking tape inside the socket to hold the nut while I started it with the bolt. The breaker bar was just long enough to reach it and would bend at a 90-degree angle. My adjustable sockets would not bend to a true 90 degrees.

As with any job, I now could probably remove it again within 15 minutes. Thanks to all who replied.

Quote:

Maybe the rear nut was also welded at one time and was broken off. The rear nut may have been a replacement.

Bob, I think that is exactly rhe situation. What I found for the rear nut was a castlated nut and a huge fender washer. So whomever was the mechanic once upon a time just grabbed what was handy to mount the master cylinder.