John N. Packard

Thanks Wayne for the update! jnp

I have a Black & Decker valve seat grind tool and a set of stones. I need the stone holder (9/16X16 thread stone and 0.375 pilot top) and a 0.312 Gruv Top self centering pilot. I have located a Goodson Tool Company in Minnesota that lists these tools. Anyone familiar with Goodson or any other sources for the Black & Decker valve seat grinder? jnp

Most of my showers were cold also. It was spotty as occasionally I got hot water. The hotel was very dry and smoking is allowed in the high bay area of the lobby. I didn't rest well Thursday night worrying about the logistics for the Library Seminar. As it was everything turned out okay. Stress, poor environment, weakened immune system; it all adds up to trouble. Now we learn that Judy Edwards is seriously ill. We hope for her quick recovery. Does anyone know if the individual room air handlers draw in outside make-up air? It seemed regardless of how I adjusted mine, it operated on its own. I even shut it off at one point and it continued to run! There's more than meets the eye here. jnp

Wayne, I suffered a relapse in my winter bout with bronchitis after the Philly experience. Came home last Sunday and virtually slept for two days. Bob Amos, our Chesapeake President, came down with a severe cold following Philly and was not even able to write a column for the newsletter. I believe the air in the hotel was bad and we are suffering the consequences. It happened at the old Bellevue-Stratford in Philly as you may remember. It would be interesting to know how many people in attendance became ill this past week. jnp

PackardV8, I don't remember a green '56 Packard at the Nashville meet; but Roger Bridges of Windsor, IL had a black '56 Clipper there. The one I liked was parked outside the mansion along with the Marathon vehicles. Lyle Cathon's '28 Packard. jnp

...and my photo of the Marathon runabout. jnp

Jay, You're too quick! Here's my photo of the Marathon tourer. jnp

Jim, I agree with your comments as to form and content for the web page. I believe some of them go counter to what many people are doing however. The web provides a great opportunity to report on activities in near real time as opposed to the printed page that is published once a month. I find Front Page easy to use particularly to produce web pages that comply with your form and content guidelines. I think I paid about $75 for it purchased on the web. Some Regions do use other host computers than the AACA's and Peter will link them to the club website. John P.

Steve, There is some consolation in becoming an orphan. You can now participate in the Orphan Car Tour! This year will be the 15th tour and it will be held in the area of Thurmont, MD on Sunday, June 6th. If your schedule permits, come join us. My challenge is to get my '54 Packard back on the road by that date. Information on the tour is posted on www.angelfire.com/or3/orphan_cartour/. Concerning the Awards Banquet, I liked the way the description of each award was projected on the screen so Dave didn't have to read it. That helped speed things up. jnp

Earl, Traveling weather for Tuesday through North Carolina does not look good. Be careful. My wife, sister-in-law, and three grandchildren have decided to leave Myrtle Beach today in order to avoid the bad weather tomorrow. jnp

What format would you use to exchange? I guess the Adobe PDF files would be the most effective. Adobe Reader is free. What does the Adobe software that is required to produce the files cost? I think practicality is the main deterrent to electronic exchange. I too have dial up and am not inclined to wait 30 minutes for any file to download. jnp

The point being missed here is that Packard never was a performance car in the "hot rod" sense. The long stroke, in-line eight engine produced plenty of torque; but for smooth acceleration and high speed. The Packard cars are big, heavy and not conducive to 'jack rabbit' starts. They were designed for elegant and comfortable motoring by well-to-do owners. In the 30s and 40s it was the V-8 Fords that appealed to those who wanted fast starts and rapid manueverability. In the early 50s Hudson joined that class along with the Oldsmobile Rocket 88s. The cast iron six that propelled Chevrolet from the thirties into the fifties was no match for the Ford V-8s. It wasn't until the mid-fifties when Chevy got their own V-8 that they joined the fray. No self respecting hot rodder would want a Packard, for heavens sake! In 1954 I drove my father's brand new Packard Super Clipper to Florida for a fraternity convention. The event closed with a dinner-dance and I got a date from one of the girl's schools in the local Miami area. She was driving a brand new '54 Ford with the Y-block V-8. That car ran circles around my father's Packard. So being historically minded, when someone today takes an old Packard and makes a custom rod out of it; to me it just doesn't make sense! Now maybe the V-8 Packards of '55 and '56 can compete in that market. I have never owned one. I do remember seeing a brand new Golden Hawk with the Packard V-8 totalled in a dealer's yard after a serious accident. It had the power; but it didn't have the manueverability or stability. I'm sorry, but to me a street rodded Packard is no longer a Packard. It's a disgrace to the memory of a fine luxury automobile. jnp

More's the pity that another original Packard is lost to the street rod crowd. jnp

Thanks Peter and thanks Mike. I will be coming from the Library Seminar where I will be talking about centralized chassis lubrication systems, i.e. Bijur. See you all there as soon as the seminar is over and I can grab a box lunch. jnp

Hey, who needs eBay when you've got Barrett-Jackson on SPEED channel from the comfort of your easy chair? A rising tide lifts all boats and yachts! jnp

Why not take the back corner of one of the conference rooms, since we will be between sessions? jnp

Debby, I always try to get the name and location of the vehicle owner and publish that along with the picture. jnp

Karl, I did a search on 'Colonial Beacon' and came up with references to several road maps that show their signage. This company apparently was a merger of two New England firms that was acquired by Standard Oil of New Jersey in the 1930s. They became Esso stations after the merger but carried Colonial on the familiar Esso oval. I remember a Colonial Esso dealer in upstate New York in the forties. I had always assumed that Colonial was a geographic reference; but apparently it identified the station as a former Colonial Beacon outlet. jnp

I have dealt with Kanter for brake and suspension parts as well as many other Packard parts and have always been satisfied with the quality of their goods. jnp

Deby, Welcome! I'm sure that you will do a fine job with the Rambler. That '68 Chrysler 300 sounds great! I have the recent reincarnation of the '300', a '99 300-M, and just love it. It's a great tour car. Since I have 7 Packards; I don't think I'll try to acquire an original 300. No garage space left and even though I'm retired, not enough time left to restore them all! What are your questions? There are some really good folks active on here who will be happy to help you. jnp

Travis, I'm not an expert either, like Hal I have done my own painting. My results really improved when I got the TIP HVLP unit. It virtually eliminates overspray and lets me paint small items on a table in my garage without covering everything else in the garage with dust. I shoot lacquer for my antique vehicles but have also done basecoat/clearcoat on modern cars. I recommend a good quality respirator. I concur with Hal that temperature has a profound effect on the results. Too hot and humid is just as troublesome as too cold. In my experience the quality brand paints and thinners are more "forgiving" than the cheap stuff. I have some tools that I got from Eastwood that are effective in correcting runs. Good lighting is important. Sometimes in poor lighting conditions you can't really see how much material you are putting on the item being painted and that can lead to runs. Preparation of the surface to be painted is very important. A surface that looks great with a coating of diffuse primer can look horrible when you shoot the color coat that brings out all the defects that that primer hides. I paint doors, hoods, fenders, and trunk lids when removed from the car. It's a lot of work but allows you access to all the nooks and crannies. Paint materials are increasingly expensive and lacquer is difficult to find; but with patience you can achieve excellent results. Hope this helps. jnp

Now I'm totally confused. I probably won't find the hotel until sometime Saturday afternoon! jnp

Wayne, It looks to me like south is to the bottom of Bruce's map. jnp

Hal, A word of caution. We have done the rally type tours and it requires the tourmaster running the route a few days before the tour to make sure that all the subjects of the questions are still there! That antique car in the back yard may be moved by tour time! jnp

Dave, We sure have. Chesapeake Region was invited to provide several antique cars for the press conference that opened the show. We motored behind Ken Burns and Dr. Kesling who drove from the Ritz Carlton Hotel to the Museum for the conference. Also got to participate in a reception and dinner sponsored by General Motors and preview the exhibit that evening. We also saw excerpts from the PBS program "Horatio's Drive" that featured Horatio Nelson Jackson's record breaking transcontinental drive in a 1903 Winton. Dayton Duncan who collaborated with Ken Burns on this project rode in a CRAACA vehicle! You can find coverage of this event on our Chesapeake Region website "www.aaca.org/chesapeake". Enjoy! jnp