Thanks Amosguy,

The pad seems very tight and solid and the only sad thing is the felt has petrified somewhat over the 55 plus years of service. I suspect that the felt is glued to the circular plate that supports it, and that plate is black and seems to be made of vulcanized fibre (like the old trap cases). My guess is that by removing the "C" clip, it will allow me to remove the entire circular pad assembly and that may allow getting to the Speedometer cable for inspection.