Jump to content

1948 22nd Series speedometer panel removal


Guest normadsenjr1

Recommended Posts

Guest normadsenjr1

I am a new owner of a 22nd Series Custom Eight Club Sedan. I want to access the ignition switch wiring, and loosening the instrument cluster panel seems like a good way to do so. I've tried, but am concerned that I will force something and cause damage. How is the cluster removed?

Service Manual reprint, which came with the car, does not show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most everything under the dash is accessed from the back. The loom and wiring to individual instruments is generally very short so even if the cluster is removed access is still limited. The old fabric covered wiring is likely to be very dry and brittle so do be careful when disturbing it much. The rubber on individual wires can crack and come off in chunks.

The pot metal side is held to the dash metal by screws and studs thru the dash metal from the back. Because of the way dash metal is sandwiched between the pot metal and cluster & instruments you may need to remove an entire section.. If you just want to remove the speedo or clock, those are individual pieces held to the cluster by screws. The 4 instruments are in a separate housing which is also held to the cluster by screws. The entire cluster is held to pot metal and dash by more screws but still may not provide much room to work even if removed. Here are some photos courtesy of BDeB which was posted at Packardinfo.com showing the cluster and dash section. You may be able to see some of the screws involved.

If you want to remove the ign switch, depending on type it removes one of two ways. If it has a bezel that is fairly thick metal -- maybe 1/4" -- with squarish front and back side, that unscrews from the switch and switch just pulls out from the rear. If the bezel is fairly thin metal with a sloped or rounded contour -- maybe 1/4" near the key opening tapering to a very thin section at the dash, those are spring loaded. The switch has to push into the dash from the rear to relieve the spring and then while the switch is being held in, the bezel is turned a quarter turn to line up a slotted opening.

post-43944-143142653665_thumb.jpg

post-43944-143142653675_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As an afterthought, if you want to access the switches, those also come out the back..The switches are individually mounted on a plate which comes out as a single assy carrying all the switches. The knobs only press against the switches to activate them so they stay in the dash. To remove the assy, you remove the screws holding the ventilation controls and move that assy out of the way. The entire switch assy is held to the dash by two special "screw headed nuts" which hold the assy to studs. One is kind of hidden but accessible. Take those two "nuts" off and the assy will pull out.

Here is another photo supplied by BDeB showing the entire assy. Arrows point to the "nuts", the plate shows how switches mount and the pot metal assy shows the end of the knobs which would press against the switch stems. That entire knob assy stays in the dash when you remove the switches.

post-43944-143142653679_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Although I am not the original poster, thank you. The script and pictures are in my growing folder on 22nd Series Packards. The information will be a great help as I work through my '48 Deluxe Eight. I'm snagging some info from your previous posts as well.

Bernie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...