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From what I've seen of the prior work on this car, I would not be surprised if the individual in question tried to hammer the old drums off instead of using a drum puller. When I pulled off the wheel covers, I found that the wheels were fastened to the drums by only 3 or 4 lug bolts.

Still, this being a learning experience for me, I am certainly getting my share of surprises.

The emergency brake cables are also disconnected and I haven't even thought of how much work will be involved in re-connecting them. Perhaps this would be a good time to replace the whole cable if I can find a decent or NOS one.

PA PAT:

A couple of people have mentioned my 55 Pat. that is up for sale. It is complete with several options. It will only be missing the A/C when I sell it. It will have a complete rear end in it as well as kick panals and rear package tray, as well as everything else in the way of spare parts. I don't know if you have a place to store it or the extra money to purchase it but if the thought is interesting enough PM me for my phone # and we can talk and maybe come up with an arrangement.

ALK

Just a quick update on the '55 Pat. Still working on pulling what remains of the two rear wheel hubs left when a prior owner split the drums from the hubs. Thanks for all the advice on how long it might take for the drum/hub to break free once it has been on the axle for a while. I'm also grateful to the advice as to leaving the axle nut on so the loosened drum/hub doesn't go flying across the garage. The two photos are nothing special, just showing the drum/hub puller firmly attached and letting the stress on the remaining hub do the work. I must have patience - after all, who knows how long these hubs have been on those axles.

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Since those hubs are history anyway, some heat would probably help them loosen.

Be careful with applying heat - so as not to damage axle.

Might wanna try giving the joint a liberal dose of a good penetrating oil, first, and letting it soak overnight.

I've already given the hub an extended shot of PB Blaster and am letting it sit for a few days. Perhaps later today I'll give the T-handle a few more whacks with the hammer. I'm still trying to imagine the amount of force required to shear those rivets to separate the drum from the hub. If the hub doesn't come loose by Saturday, I'll be applying some judicious heat treatment. Thanks again for all of the help and suggestions. This is new territory for me, as you can quite imagine.

Here's what I did to get more leverage. It worked! I gave up on hammering the short armed 3-prong puller. The long square bar, being against the ground, locks the puller in place so that the breaker bar/impact socket can apply a LOT of torque. The floor jack supports the threaded shaft so that the breaker bar does not bend the puller off the hub.

Craig

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Cool set up and I can see where that would be beneficial. It sure beats my son's suggestion of using explosives.

Quote:

I can understand the frustration leading to thinking of explosives!

Of course, 1956 Packards use the Dana rear end (Ford style), wherein the axle is retained with a plate that unbolts. At last Packard figured it out, but too late.

Craig