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

The hand brake isn't working on this car. The cables pull, the shoes seem to grip, but the brake won't hold. Also, I don't hear or feel any ratcheting action when pulling the handle. I found that the toggle to handle spring shown as group 1.1045 on Plate 40 of the Parts List was missing. I've purchased this spring; now the mystery is just where this spring fastens. Plate 40 shows it floating in space below the toggle assembly, so that's no help. The illustration in the Shop Manual (page 1 of the brakes section) compounds the mystery. It seems to show it attached to the toggle where the rod going down to the relay lever is cottered. On this car, the rod's cotter pin and a washer are flush against the toggle body, with no wiggle room to fasten a spring to. The illustration also shows the toggle spring bottom end attached to a much larger coil spring that is just dangling there, unfastened to anything at its' bottom end. I've been unable to find a listing for this spring anywhere in the parts list.

So to me, the mysteries are where the toggle spring is fastened, the approximate size of the unlisted spring and where its' bottom end fastens. Does anyone have solutions to these mysteries? Thanks.

G'day Don,
See you're a longtime PackardInfo member but first post so,

Sorry, can't help with your request but have a request of my own. Could you please include your '54 Convertible in the Packard Owner's Registry?

I have attached a pic of the 56 hand brake which is almost identical to your 54. The emergency brake handle goes thru the dash and the end of the rod with an "L" shape on the end goes thru the large hole and the floating spring goes thru the hole in that rod. You can click on the picture for a larger view and then you can read the notes.
Howard, please check me on this - Thank you.

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Well, another mystery solved! Thank you, Randy for providing the photo with such clear and concise captions. The dash handle rod end on this car has a cotter pin through it right now, which would seem to be correct. However, the parts list doesn't list a cotter pin for use with the handle so this pin doesn't belong there. I can see the toggle to handle spring ends are oriented to fit through the rod and engage the bottom of the toggle. The longer spring in the shop manual illustration has to be the toggle latch spring, which is already in place on my car. Once I get a chance to remove the cotter pin and install the toggle to handle spring, I'll post another message here.

Thank you, Ozstatman for your welcoming message from halfway around the world! I have followed through on your invitation and submitted this car's info to the registry.

Made sure you use a heavy duty cotter pin for securing the rod, and not the light weight ones they sell in most parts stores now. When you are engaging and disengaging the e-brake, all of the pressure from the handle rotation is on the that pin, and I have had two different ones shear at that point in short order causing the rod to slip out of the mechanism. Which leaves you in one of two places; either you can't engage the e-brake, or the e-brake is stuck in the on position.

The cotter pins on the car when I got it were hard steel and you have to use pliers to bend them, the new ones I find in the stores are very malleable and can be bent by hand.

I'm confused why pins are being used on the handle twist rod in 54. They would seem to have never had any or are we talking the two securing the vertical pull rod down to lower bellcrank ends. The spring setup as shown in the bulletin is all I've ever seen.

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Thank you for your inputs, Big Kev and Howard. The cotter pin that is in the handle rod end is there in error. My theory is that the prior owner's painter (who did an otherwise beautiful job) broke, lost, or just forgot the handle to toggle spring when he took the handle/rod assembly off of the car to paint the handle; the cotter pin wrongly was put on in place of the spring. This pin is malleable as Big Kev mentions but the longer leg is kinked so it isn't going to be easy to remove, it'll probably have to be broken off.

Howard, the technical bulletin you attached gives me a perfect view; thanks for posting it. I have the 54th series bulletins that had nothing about this in them, but I didn't think of looking at earlier bulletins. As you mention, the toggle to relay lever (bellcrank) rod is correctly fastened with cotter pins at its' top and bottom. This rod appears to have been undisturbed since it was assembled at the East Grand Blvd. factory.

I will post an update when I finish attaching the spring.

Quote:Don,

Can't find your '54 Convertible in the Registry, something must have gone amiss in doing it. PM me or email me at ozstatman@gmail.com if assistance is required.

Quote:
That's why we have the Packard Service Index; try it, you'll like it.

Interesting, mine doesn't have that lower spring. Which doesn't mean it wasn't there at some point, and could have been simply replaced with a cotter pin. Guess I need to find one of those.