1951 Packard new-to-me, Ultramatic transmission questions

I'm new here on this forum. I have 4 Studebakers and one newly acquired Packard.

I have a 51 Packard that followed me home. I paid scrap value for this poor thing and its not a bad car, the fenders and body is quite solid, all glass is good, etc. I think it would make a really sweet cheap driver.

I'm thinking of doing a minor engine overhaul on the old flathead streight 8, fixing the brakes, shooting it with a coat of tractor enamel and driving it. Only problem is the Ultramatic transmission. The car has 49k miles on it and probally not rolled over feeling door hindges, etc. Do I take the gamble and hope the tranny works when I rebuild the engine? What in the heck do I do about the Ultramatic? Nobody that I know of will rebuild it at a remotely reasonable price (anything over $1,000 is out of my budget) and 51-53 packard parts cars with manual trans are harder to find then hen's teeth in this area of Michigan.....

So does anybody have any suggestions on what to do? Ever try any transmission swaps, adapters, etc to a common transmission? Anybody here ever rebuild a ultramatic first-hand to tell me how bad a job it is? Any other thoughts other then sticking a SBC engine in it? I'd like to keep the streight 8 flathead engine; its unique in its own right.

I've done several other Studebaker projects, and am decent at mechanics in general but Packards are new to me.

Thanks

Kent

Welcome, Kent

You may want to read this recent thread, with similar questions.

You could do a Search for other older threads on the subject also.

Personally I don't recommend a tranny Conversion (only as a last resort) but I'm not a '51 expert, so can't help much, Sorry.

http://forums.aaca.org/showflat.php?Cat=...ge=0#Post421760

I have rebuilt both the ultramatics, and the twin ultramatic, they are mot too hard to do should you find a proplem with it, I also have a standard tranny for the streight 8 that i pulled out of a parts car. and have brought 4 1954's back to life without too much work mechancally, its always been the body work that really takes the time.

What part of Michigan are you in?

I'm aprox. 3 hours North-West of detroit....

Thanks

Kent

you should check out Hillard's auto body in Vestaberg, MI (look it up, it's somewhere south of Cadillac) awesome junk yard with lots of everything old. I'm pretty sure I saw a couple of manual shift 51-54 Packards there. But give your Ultramatic a try. do like Turbo says and change the fluids and try it out.

The earlier 51-53 Packards have a plate on the drivers side floor under the carpet that has to be removed to check or add tranny fluid. Drove me nuts the first time I went looking for it back in the fifties. No comments about my current mental state <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">you should check out Hillard's auto body in Vestaberg, MI (look it up, it's somewhere south of Cadillac) awesome junk yard with lots of everything old. I'm pretty sure I saw a couple of manual shift 51-54 Packards there. But give your Ultramatic a try. do like Turbo says and change the fluids and try it out. </div></div>

I second this. My experience was almost the same as Turbo's except that I've changed the fluid and cleaned filter twice and that the chattering of the direct drive clutch went away after the second fluid change.

You can check the tranni fluid an add without removing the carpet, checking you can just reach up under the car and remove the dipstick, and you can add using a suction gunand adding it that way, it a pain but so is removing the carpet. I would only remove the carpet if i drained the transmission.

If I recall correctly, the cover under the carpet only reveals the vent on the top to the trans and not the dipstick. I believe the level still needs to be checked from under the car (which is not at all difficult).

The situation was improved in the late 1954 Gear-Start UltraMatic with the addition of an underhood dipstick like the 55-56 Twin Ultra.

Hey, you guys Should be Greatful that you even have a Dipstick. The only dipstick on the '29s is your Finger, and of course the 'Dipstick' that's dipping his finger. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />