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Hey guys, My wife and I bought a 1947 Packard Deluxe Clipper eight last Friday. It was trucked to our home from AL. That is the good news, I have some bad news also. We drove the car before buying it and it drove Ok with the exception of the brakes seemed to be dragging. After getting it home and checking things out, the brakes are definitely staying on. I read the brake section of the repair manual and they are very similar to my Hudsons set up. Long story short is the brakes stay on, won't release. If I loosen any bleeder nut the pressure goes away and all is well until I step on the brake again. All four wheels are the same way, so my best guess is a master cylinder. The brake system was supposedly gone through last June. Any suggestions from you more experienced Packard guys will be appreciated. Thanks, Richie. Sorry for the long post.

First make sure that the brake pedal has about 1/4" free play. If not, adjust the pushrod.

If that does not do it, then all you need is a long sewing needle and a flashlight. The compensator port in your master cylinder is plugged. If you take the cap off the cylinder and peer inside you will see one fairly large hole, and about 1/2" forward of that a much smaller shallow hole with a wee tiny through hole at its bottom. Poke that through with your sewing needle and your problems are over.

Of course, if that hole is plugged one might wonder about the condition of the system.......

G'day Richie,

Congratulations on your '47 Deluxe Clipper Eight.

I don't often ask twice. But I will in this instance, because my other request was when you were contemplating a '48-'50. Could you please include your '47 in the Packard Owner's Registry?

Ross, I'll do that first thing in the morning. The pedal has about 3/4" of play before it starts putting pressure on the brakes. Thank you Ross. Richie.

Thanks Ozstatman, I will register it asap. Richie

The master cylinder inside may be kind of hard to see while leaning over the fender. Happened to have a photo of the master showing the two ports Ross mentioned so you will know what to look for. The small port has a very tiny hole in the center just barely visible in the photo.

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HH56, that picture helps a lot, thanks. Richie.

Ozstatman, the registry asks for paint code, interior code and so on, where do I find these numbers? Richie.

"the registry asks for paint code, interior code and so on, where do I find these numbers?"

Unless they are on the plate/s on the car, or on some paperwork that came with the car I'm afraid I don't know. Maybe they can be identified by others if you post photos of the paint and upholstery? Of course it's always good to include as much detail as possible and, as these aren't necessarily required for the Registry entry, you can always edit the entry if they become known later.

On a 47 unless you are lucky enough to find a build slip, the codes will not be anywhere on the car. If a slip has survived, the most common places they have been found is taped on top of the glove box or folded and inserted between the gas tank fill and vent pipes a few inches below the gas door. Most have not survived and those that do are extremely fragile. There were some other places lucky souls have found them -- under the back seat and sometimes under a carpet, one was found inside a door and another between the rear seat and fender well. Seems like Packard line workers were sometimes not terribly consistent with placement.