W_Higgins

I'm hoping someone with Packard literature or documentation that I don't have can answer this question -- was there a relief of about four-to-five inches cut into the service brake lining at the rear anchor side (180 degrees from the split side)? I have a customer who had his brakes relined prior to my working on the car. He said until they were relined they never squealed. The shop doing the work ruined the lining with goo in an effort to rid the car of the noise. He brought it to me and I cleaned and relined everything to get back to square one. Some things have worked to reduce the noise, but it's still not gone. I was reading my Lincoln Model L service bulletins last night and Lincoln's with this same design of external contracting service brake were made with this relief and I thought perhaps it's a detail that was lost on the Packard when the work was first performed.

Glad you got it. Was your '17 configured the way I described the '16? Below are some pictures of the brake cam assemblies we rebuilt that you might find helpful. Took a little doing to find what was holding everything together. This car has now been taken out of service for a thorough cosmetic and minor mechanical restoration. We'd be delighted to continue to compare notes as there is such a limited supply of information out there. If you hit a roadblock in removing the clock let me know as we've been through that already.

I meant to add that a wheel puller can probably be used, just whenever I find myself down there working on the car I never know to bring my pullers. Not even sure if I have one that will screw onto a hub that big, and then you'd have to concoct something for the screw to press against since at that point you have nothing but a tube.

Hi Mark. My email address in the PM I sent to you at the time I sent the previous reply.

Sorry for missing this for so long. You've probably figured it out by now. If your car is the same, you need to remove the axle flange nuts and remove the plate and axle as an assembly. From there, you remove the jam nut, jam nut lock washer, and bearing nut. And the part I think you're stuck on.... I have to lay on the ground and kick the inside of the tire with my foot while somebody else holds the slack from the other side. Even cleaned-up and burr-free, I still have to do it this way every time. Hope this helps.

Post war, it would have to be 1960 Lincoln.... but I may be a little biased: The shift selector letters are a reflection from inside the column projected onto the quadrant.

Hi, abh3usn. Any word regarding your experience at the show last weekend?

A quick question about the above mentioned part -- I removed the oil pan and the pick-up screen came off in my hand. Is the cotter pin installed in the cross-drilled hole in the pick-up tube supposed to be the screen retainer, and shouldn't there be a seal where the screen tube meets to the pick-up tube? If so, what was it and what is it's placement? I think I know how it goes, but the service manual was worthless and I want to make certain I have it right before putting the pan back on. Thanks.

PM sent.

Thanks to everyone for the replies and opinions. My thought regarding it as a safety feature goes beyond the arguments of those touting radials (not a fan of that exception, myself). For those who don't know, stock Model T's only have one brake band and it's inside the transmission. It's a small amount of surface area to do the braking for the whole car, aside from the fact that if anything comes disconnected in the driveline, you have no brakes. Looking forward to the follow up comments from the chief judge. Thanks for your time.

I have a question regarding Rocky Mountain brakes on a Model T -- Are they allowed in judging without having to take a point deduction? My understanding is that they are categorized the same way as turn signals as long as they are tastefully installed. Such a discussion can be read here: http://forums.aaca.org/ubbthreads.php/ub...igna#Post426556 So, what say you?

I'm just now finding this, but yes, a bad coil can be very deceptive (and very common). When they get hot they don't generate enough electrical pressure to jump the gap when under compression. Where they fool most people is when the cars dies they'll pull the coil wire, crank it, and see a spark and rule out the coil. The problem is that it takes more voltage to jump the same gap under compression than it does in the open atmosphere. When it cools off, resistance will drop, and it will start working again. Sometimes they fail gradually, sometimes quickly, but it sounds like you found your problem.

Try Abbott Instrument Restoration. They have never failed to please: 10860 SW 74th Avenue, Portland, OR 97223 (1.503) 246.1287

Well, our relining was superseded by another problem. Do you have the shoes where the lining is drawn into recesses to hold it tight (much like how some leather-lined cone clutches are done?). We couldn't find any lining flexible enough to do that without cracking. My old time brake man said that years ago woven lining used a soft resin that was designed to harden after the first several times the brakes get hot. Even though they still produce replacement woven-type linings today, they now use a hard resin from the start. He tried to find a way to soften them long enough for installation, but was unsuccessful. Since our original lining wasn't too bad, as it was more of a drum wear issue, we opted to shim the original linings (which is an accepted practice -- there really is such a thing as brake lining shim. I don't know if this helps you or not, but figured I'd pass along the information. And if '17's still have the roller-type brake cams, check the rollers for flat spots and rebuild them if necessary. The roller pins also get tremendous wear on them, and you loose a lot of shoe travel from all the combined wear in the assembly.

Hi, I'm having the shoes for the above captioned car relined and I'd like to know if anyone has a lining thickness spec in print. Mine have been relined and possibly not with the right thickness material. I have all sorts of specs for gas cars of this era, but none of it covers electrics. Any information is appreciated.

If you come up to Lancaster County, Penna. there are Amish upholsterers that do buggy seats. Though I've never used them, I've seen some of their work and am pretty certain they still use horsehair.

The type of media used is not what causes warpage and damage. Excessive pressure and excessive heat build-up (i.e. moving too slow) is what does damage. Brooks is expert in handling large flat panels. I was a little surprised that they use steel shot (probably because it has a long recycle life and I think they do lots of aluminum extrusions) but it did a good job. Probably not quite as clean as abrasive media would do, but better than 98% of other places are capable of with abrasive (sand, glass, Al2O3, etc). They are very thorough and I have no problem recommending them. I've done whole bodies myself, but never will again so long as they are around. They charged $1,320 for this job, which I thought was a bargain. Their hourly rate sounds high, but they are capable of doing it so much faster and more efficiently. Here are pictures from immediately before delivery and after pickup (sorry, the pickup ones are inside as I didn't want to risk having it out before it was primed): (P.S.: that price included doing the fenders and door shells but, apparently, I neglected to photograph them.)

On the Town Car's I've either worked on, or studied, they all have tops. On later ones such as this they typically have two side arms that swing into a compartment in the header above the back of the drivers head, and a fabric - leather - vinyl top that rolls out and snaps to the windshield header.

They all used such similar coachwork that it makes it difficult to tell, but I think it may be about a 1912 Rauch and Lang. By that time their fenders started to curve down, but they were still high-bodied without splash aprons, like the one in this ad for sale on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/1912-Marmon-and-Rauc...7QQcmdZViewItem

Actually, Bill Pollock passed away several years ago. He sold the business to Ralph DeStefano in the '90's and it is Ralph who passed away last fall. The last time I had any direct contact with the firm was last August when I stopped there on my way back from Macungie right before the building was offered for sale. I was told there were people interested in the equipment and not the building, but I don't know if it ever sold of if it's still operating. Ralph was a really nice guy and a wealth of knowledge. The text from his obituary is pasted below: <span style="font-style: italic">Ralph DeStefano Ralph A. DeStefano of Birdsboro, formerly of Pottstown, died Nov. 2, 2007, at his residence. He was 48. Born in Philadelphia, he was the son of Francis and Marie DeStefano of Douglassville and his mother, Florence (Whitlock) Donaghy of Newfoundland. Mr. DeStefano was a 1978 graduate of Pottsgrove High School. He was the owner of Pollock Auto Restoration in Pottstown for the past 14 years, and prior to that he worked there for many years. He was a master craftsman and restored pre-1916 Brass Era cars, many of which went on to win national titles. Mr. Destefano was a member of the Pottstown Region Antique Automobile Club of America. He served on the Board of Directors for the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles. He hosted a segment "Teck Talk" on the long running cable TV show, "Wheels Along the Road," produced by the Boyertown Museum. Mr. DeStefano was also a member of ABANA, Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America, demonstrating his blacksmithing artistry at historic sites like Mouns Jones, Hopewell Village and the Daniel Boone Homestead. Mr. DeStefano was very proud to be a member of the First Pennsylvania Regiment of the Continental Line and was elected to full membership in 1996 and served on several committees from 1997 to the present. He also served as Range officer, Quartermaster and Secretary-Adjutent. He was known as one of the best shooters in the regiment, and enjoyed competing and winning. His proudest achievement with the First Pa. regiment was bringing his son, Ralph Jr., into the regiment in 2000. The two of them attended encampments together in Quebec Canada and Yorktown, Va. He trained his son to become the best shooter in the unit. He truly enjoyed helping others succeed. A man of honor, honesty, trust and integrity, he will be sadly missed by his wife, family and friends. In addition to his parents, he is survived by his wife, Lizabeth "Becky" (Batzel) DeStefano; a son, Ralph A. DeS tefano Jr., of Millersville; a daughter, Dana A. DeStefano, of Millersville; a brother, Anthony DeStefano of Pottstown; and three step-sisters: Dianna Casey, of Douglassville, Lori Wallace, of West Chester, and Kathy DiPerna, of Belair, Md. A funeral service was held Nov. 6 at Catagnus Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Pottstown. Interment was private. </span>

I've replied to you by PM, just to let you know in the event you don't get PM notification.

Mechanicsburg is a bit far from here. If it is the same car, it was brokered, but I think my friend sold his directly. Just curious if it was the same one. The ownership history sounded similar. His car had a top, which you don't see too often. Thanks for the reply.

Hi, just out of curiosity, did the Sears you're playing with come from an owner in Toughkenamon, Pennsylvania - southern Chester County?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ChrisSummers</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think Marshall's son still owns the car? </div></div> Tom doesn't have any children.

I second the recommendation for Brooks. I just got a '51 Ford Station Wagon body back from them last week and was very pleased.