Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Unfortunately, outside of some shops that cater specifically to the old car hobby, brake grinding has been a thing of the past for decades. I only bring the technique up when someone reports a problem after installing new linings.

Even though drum brakes continued to be used on rear axles for some time, and have recently returned in production of some pickups, most shops just let the new linings seat themselves. Of course, this is less critical on modern vehicles, since braking action is biased in favor of front disc brakes. Yet, in recent years, automakers recommend a burnishing (by driving) process for newly-installed disc brake pads prior to returning the vehicle to the customer.

While some suppliers once offered brake shoe linings with a crown-ground finish, even those might need some grinding to make them fully square square and concentric to an existing drum - even if not turned.

With all the restrictions imposed by the EPA, it's hard to imagine a highly-visible shop still having one of those old grinders. Yet, if you look hard enough, you might find a good old shop or hobbyist that does.

In the absence of a grinder, drive carefully and give the linings time (and extra stopping distance) to seat-in. Also, prior to installation, check the shoes on a surface plate or equivalent to make sure they're not twisted.

Certainly I agree strongly with both Craig and BH, if the drums have been cut it's really important to have the shoes arc ground if you want good brake performance from the get-go. There is still a shop here that offers that service, though don't even think about going there if you've riveted OEM asbestos lining material.

Another situation where I've seen the uninformed get very poor brake performance is when they've removed the eccentric shoe anchor, perhaps for the purposes of painting the backing plate, and not recognized the importance of adjusting the eccentric when reinstalling. It too can result in only partial contact of the shoes with the drum.

EDIT - I believe some Packard Bendix self-energizing brake systems used a fixed anchor - check your shop manual to see which models and years this applies to.

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This was true if the break job was done by a reputable company. Hard to do when you were doing your own break job in your driveway. The reason for arcking the shoes, as stated, was to provide complete contact from the start. If you could not arc the shoes they would wear in on their own over a relatively short period of time. You had to break them in gently to avoid burning up the new breaks.

A bit off-topic, but for folks doing brakes on their 36 and prior seniors with the Bendix mechanical brakes and trunnion block, please remember that the front left brake (the side with the trunnion block) intentionally has 1/2 inch narrower lining width than all the other wheels.

The brakes on my '54 (same as 55 Clipper) still have the eccentric shoe anchor. Adjusting it is covered in the brake section of the manual under "Major Adjustment". I had to do this on all 4 wheels of my car to get the shoes at the correct gap from the drum.

As others have said the brakes on Packard are not self-adjusting. So keep a feeler gauge and a brake spoon handy so you can periodically check and adjust the brakes for wear.

All of this is covered in the Service manuals.

I don't see anything in the 55-56 manual about using a feeler gauge to adjust brake shoes. My 54 manual is missing the brake section only.

Yeah I find it interesting that the 55-56 manual does not have this section on Major Adjustment. Everything else is pretty similar in the brake section:

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Here's a pic of John's '56 Patrician taken at the Picnic at Hanging Rock run last Sunday. The pic is taken from the Cars of Australia website and here's a link to the pic's of other Packards there. See also, the movie titled Picnic at Hanging Rock.

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Since there's no adjustment for the anchor pin on the 55-56 cars, perhaps that procedure is moot. I've only ever adjusted them by feel, via the star wheel.

Is that true of the '55 Juniors also?