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I dropped off my old brake shoes with American Brake and Clutch last Monday afternoon and they had them done by Wed. for a very reasonable price. I had already installed the backing plates on the steering knuckles a few weeks ago and blasted and painted all the brake hardware as well. The front brakes went back together fairly easily. While I was at it I installed the new bearing races in the drums with a hammer and a piece of brass round stock.

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The weather was perfect on Friday so I pushed the body off the frame and got busy installing the two center brake shafts that i had painted months ago. These were a bit tricky but I had the forethought to photograph all these parts before I took them apart so I had a good reference.

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There were a couple of casualties this weekend. The rear brake cam actuators were both broken and the front brake frame mounted pivot arm was welded on. I don't trust this arm anymore, the welds are pretty ugly. Any chance any of you have these parts in storage somewhere?

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The rear shocks were full of some really nasty old oil so they have been soaking in turpentine for a while. That got most of the gunk out, the rest was removed with brake cleaner. These have been cleaned up and repainted now and are ready to install back on the car after the rear axle goes in.

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I think my plans for the car have changed this weekend. I had intended on moving the body and engine back 7" on the frame so I could mimic the look of the 734 speedster sedan however this is starting to look like a lot of work. I went through the frame and circled all the holes and brackets that would need to move on the frame in order to make this happen and the frame started to look like Swiss cheese. The new plan is to leave the body in its proper position on the frame and give it a 2" haircut to match the 734. This will keep the ball rolling on the build and still result in a beautiful car. I don't have 733 rear windows but I do have 726 rear windows which are a few inches shorter. I did a Photoshop chop of the car to see what it would look like:

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I stole the above pics so I should at least mention that the car pictured above is for sale on eBay right now for a reasonable price. I bought my Packard from the same folks.

Lovely work, only wish I was that far along, and with your skill. A fair amount of my work will have to be outsourced, or I will never get done. Assemblies, no problem.

Any chance I could hijack some of your pictures? A good deal of mine were on an old computer, that is no longer with us. Hindsight, and all

I'll try to get to the museum parts department and see if I can find anything that looks like that.

West, that would be much appreciated. Not to get greedy but keep an eye out for any interior items with the orange bakelite knobs too please. These are the other parts I'm looking for:

It's true, I stole this photo too.

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A couple of years ago there were a few of those orange knobs and handles, but they've been sold a couple of years ago during the Packard Museum's Winter Weekend, when they have an open house in February.
I have a steering wheel round knob, and a "pull" knob for the choke. I also have a dash light with the knob in tact. All in perfect condition.

It's good to see someone who knows that they're supposed to be orange. I SEE TOO MANY 1930 PACKARDS RESTORED WITH IVORY-COLORED KNOBS AND PULLS!!!