Packard8

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">How do you "unsluge" it? </div></div> Bill, I?ve used DuPont motor flush, and also ATF or diesel fuel to ?de-sludge? engines. Add a quart to the crankcase of a warm engine and let it idle for 10 minutes or so (IMPORTANT? don?t run it under a load or at high RPM!) then pull the plug and let it drain for an hour or so, with the nose of the car down via the TL. Refill with fresh oil & new filter and drive it for a hundred miles or so, then drain that oil thoroughly. Refill with fresh oil & filter and you should be good to go. Checking the oil pressure is pretty easy, just remove the sender on the rear of the passenger side and check with a good mechanical gauge (I believe it uses a standard 1/8 inch NPT thread). On my ?54, I installed a mechanical gauge via a ?Tee? fitting on the side of the block where the line to the filter exits?..I don?t trust idiot lights!

Well okay guys?.you?ve convinced me that there is no free lunch. I was hoping the ?apparently rebuilt? tranny in the ?55 was an unexpected bonus, as I ?m not aware of any shops in my area that are qualified to do the Ultramatic in the Carib. I believe the front seal is bad in the ?56, as I have to add about a quart every time want to move it around the shop. I?d rather not part out the ?55 Pat, as it is a really solid, straight rust free example. Hope to find it a good home, but I?ll see how it goes.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> For SHAME, For SHAME ! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> My manual says that there were improvements in bearings, differences in valve body and the way the drive shaft flange installs in '56. If the case of the '55 is Aluminum then it is a later version. I understand both iron and aluminum cases were used in '55. </div></div> Well, close but no cigar.....crawled under and looked, it is an iron case, but a nice shiny aluminum bellhousing & tail. Not sure which way to go now......... <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Are there any differences in the 1955 & 1956 Twin Ultras? The ?55 Pat I just got has a nice shiny tranny in it and the ?56 Carib tranny is kinda tired & leaky. Assuming that the ?55 tranny is rebuilt (as it appears to be) and working well, how much hassle to swap the pushbutton system from one to the other? I took the A/C compressor & bracket off the Pat yesterday?man, what a heavy sucker! I?m sort of torn between parting out the Pat piece by piece or selling it whole without the A/C, motor & trans. It is a super straight rust free California car and would be a good candidate for a Cruise Nite Special with a Mopar 440 & Torqueflyte pushing it around (sorry guys, at least I didn?t say Chebby?.lol). <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Hi Bill, That?s a good question! I?ve read that it?s the seals & hoses that aren?t compatible with the new refrigerants and it is possible to have an old system upgraded to use 134a. I?m sure the compressor will need to be gone thru anyway after 50 years and new hoses can be made at any industrial rubber/hose supplier. I?ve also heard that there are substitutes for R12 that work pretty well. Also, I have a friend who used to service supermarket refer systems and he has several hundred pounds of the old stuff?..(don?t tell the EPA!!!). Cheers, John <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Hi Randy, Thanks for the note. Sure, I would love to talk to someone who has done the transplant. I plan to have the motor out in the near future and that would be the time to do it. Cheers, John Packard8 at juno dot com

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">John - WRT <span style="font-style: italic">AlK</span>'s previous questions in this thread involving A/C (begun in post #272570 of 01/31/05 01:52 PM), does the system from that '55 Pat have I/P-mounted vents or are they in the rear parcel shelf? </div></div> Hi Brian, Two A/C registers with doors are on the top of the dash. The compressor is a V-Twin (looks like a minature flathead Harley-Davidson motor). The oil filter is relocated to the passenger side and attached to a cast iron bracket that supports the compressor. I haven't had a good look at the underdash plumbing yet as the car is still parked inside my trailer due to the lousy weather here. Looks like the major job in putting the system in the other car will be cutting a 4x5" hole in the firewall just above & left of the round fresh air vent hole.

Update on the California Packard Herd. I went over there Sunday and bought a ?55 Pat, mainly for the factory A/C (I might get ambitious and put it in the ?56 Carib). Most of the complete cars are sold, and I?m glad to see that as he only has about a week left to get them off the property. I?m afraid a few good parts cars will go to the crusher if no one rescues them (I think they could be had for next to nothing if you can get them gone by Feb 22nd). I really feel for the guy?.. he is in a mixed industrial/ghetto area and I doubt that the neighbors (the ones with their cars on milk crates in the street) are the ones behind his predicament. I suspect it is some PC City bureaucrat with too much time on his hands who envisions an ?urban renewal? 50 years from now.

I'm not sure what the software used here allows, but other forums I read have a "pinned" feature. A thread that is pinned stays on top, but is not locked. That would be nice for the X-ref thread, as it can be added to and stay on top. Re a moderator, I like things as they are. If I'm not interested in a thread I just skip it. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

IMHO, the best choice would either a 327 or 359 nine main bearing motor from 1951-54 Senior. They have forged steel crankshafts, forged rods and 32 sq in of main brg area (compared to 19? for an early Chrysler hemi). I?m building a 359 for forced induction and have had a custom solid lifter cam ground by Schneider ($150) and will order forged pistons from Ross (around $500). Other than that, a quality machine job including align honing the block, dynamic balance, and maybe some porting & relieving should yield a good strong motor. BTW, the 3 liter straight 8 that Mercedes ran in the 1955 300 SLR was routinely run to 7500+ RPM at Le Mans, so I?m guessing that the Packards could safely be run to 4500+ if everything is balanced right.

Looks like a King Midget on steroids.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Well said Guy. I think it's time for this thread to end and any further comments be through private email or a letter to the editor. </div></div> I?ll second that motion. I?ve been following this thread but have not commented, as I don?t know the people or facts involved. I?ll add that with the exception of the infamous 1965 Packard hoax, I consider the Cormorant to be the premier club publication of the many I subscribe to. I believe it is to be expected that some minor details of what happened 20 or 30 years ago can get muddied in the retelling, but my impression of the article was one of honoring one man?s life-long love affair with Packards. Cheers, John

Well, anything is possible. If you get the car, you might discover that the stock drivetrain & suspension would be practical to rebuild. If it has the Torsion Level suspension, you will find it a difficult & expensive proposition to convert it to a "modern" system. To me, part of what makes these cars unique and desirable is the original mechanicals. Go to a car show or cruise night and look under the hoods.... too many have a Chebby "bellybutton" motor..yawn. The parts to keep it stock are readily available, tho not "cheap". But grafting on frame members, replacing rear axles, buying replacement drivelines aren't cheap either.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Do any of the Seniors have A/C. I would be interested in purchasing the under the dash unit. </div></div> Hi Bill, I don't know anything about the cars, I just copied & pasted the ad from craigslist. You can contact the seller and ask, but it looks like he is just selling whole cars. A heck of a deal for someone with the room to store them.

Just saw this on the local Craigslist...cheaper by the dozen. Sheesh, wish I had a place to put them! Reply to: anon-57108123@craigslist.org Date: 2005-01-26, 5:24PM PST The cars are currently stored in a building and unless and until I remove them pictures are quite difficult to take. If you live in the area you are most welcome to come by and see them in person. I have a storage problem because of new zoning laws in my city and must dispose of most of my Packard collection. The cars I have are 1955 and 1956 as follows: 2 ea. 1955 Clippers 8 ea. 1955 Patricians 2 ea. 1956 Clippers All cars are basically complete with good bodies and good glass and trim. All have complete drive trains and all are restorable. 3 Patricians and 1 1956 Clipper will run and drive but still need restoration. Cars that run are $1000.00 ea. Others are $500.00 ea. If you want all 12 you get a great bargain as I will sell all 12 to one party for $5000.00. I must dispose of these vehicles in the next two months. The cars are located in Richmond, Ca. (a City 20 miles north of Oakland, Ca) Bryan Wold

One approach I?ve used is to do the bulk of the trim removal, stripping, prep etc myself (I work cheap?lol) and then taking it to a body shop with a booth for the final paint. I used a Miracle Paint shop in Alameda, Ca years ago. If you brought in a prepped car on a Sat afternoon with your own materials (paint, reducer, thinner etc) they would spray it for $75.00 and you came back to pick it up Mon AM early. They had a painter named Jose who did about 3 cars a day 6 days a week and he was GOOD! Most of the art of laying on a good coat of paint is practice & ?touch??something the average DIY guy doesn?t have (at least not until he botches several jobs?<G>).

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It doesn't have power seat or windows. The fuel filter is wrong and the rad cap also. If those are wrong, what is "perfect" Love the padded dash though! YFAM, Randy Berger </div></div> Sheesh Randy, what a stickler! Get out your checkbook and I'll change the rad cap & fuel filter no charge and even throw in a tar-top battery, okay?....lol. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Beautiful car, but waaaay overpriced IMHO. I see it in old car ads all the time?.?$50K invested in restoration, will sell for $25K/OBO?. I?ve been to the Imperial Palace collection a few times and they DO have the cream of the crop. And hey, it?s Vegas and you never know when some Saudi sheik will walk by and say ?I?ll take it, deliver it to my 747 at McCarran?.

I've used the Eastwood cast iron coating with good results. It's important to have the manifold completely DRY before applying or rust spots will pop up later. Bake out all the moisture first.

Hi Jack, That?s interesting. The one OD car I?m aware of may have been one that was ?in stock? so the distributor swapped it over to meet the customer?s specs. When I was a kid in the 60?s I spent some time in South America and saw some weird stuff like new Cadillacs and Lincolns with 4 speed trannies. Seems that there weren?t any shops qualified to work on automatics at the time, so most of the export cars were stick shift and a ?four on the floor? was the most practical way to go.

Yes, something looks odd about the wheels & caps. Also, I don't believe the 3sp OD was a "factory option" in 55-56. I know of one '56 Carib HT with OD and the "story" is that it left the factory with TU and was then converted by Earl Anthony (West Coast Distributor) prior to delivery to the first owner.

There seems to be an outbreak of ?auction fever? lately?.except when I?m selling something, LOL. I watched a reprint shop manual get bid up to $125 a while back. Last time I looked, Kanter sells them for $75?go figure.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Good idea. I'm going to do that today before starting the car again. The new oil was a bit dirty yesterday. </div></div> I bought my Avanti years ago at a very good price for exactly the same reason. The former owner was driving it on the freeway @ 80 MPH when it started making funny noises and then locked up. The fuel pump took a crap and was pumping raw gas into the crankcase. When I pulled the motor out and broke it down, everything was VERY clean & shiny inside?.LOL! I had to turn the crank 20/20 and bore it .040 over but it has run flawlessly since. Chances are that your short run didn?t do any damage, but do a few oil & filter changes just to make sure you?ve cleaned all traces from the system. I routinely smell the dipstick now when I check the oil on all my cars. This is also another reason for running an electric fuel pump if your car is a driver and not shown & judged.

That IS odd. I have a marine conversion V8 with "SP 003" stamped next to the filler tube. I wonder if the "SP" could stand for "Studebaker Packard" and these were motors that were destined for AMC or other non-Packard uses?

I believe the YYCC-0000 sequence started in 1954 with they jumped from the 26th to the 54th series in one year. The real confusion is in what different states considered the Vehicle Identification Number as shown on the title. At one time I had three 1953 parts cars with CA titles?.two used the engine number as the VIN (L2xxxxx) and the other had the YYCC-0000 format on the title. I believe CA stopped using engine numbers as VIN numbers on the titles in the mid 1950?s, not sure about other states. AFAIK, there is only one ?engine number?, the one stamped on the machined pad, although the components (block, head, bell housing etc) have individual part numbers and/or casting numbers (at least on the straight 8?s).