HH56

I think you're right. It was 54 they did everything to make it a senior car.

The Caribbean engine in either year was not special or specific to that model but was considered the "senior" engine so also used on the Patrician & some limousines. In 54, also on the Pacific.

Jeff Paley of Santa Barbara was still a member of PI in directory I have--same phone. Maybe someone at PI knows the car.

heater motor

Looked thru my general auto books and can find several cars that used all around that number but there seems to be a void in the 111883x series. Maybe it was an aftermarket replacement? Hopefully someone has a Hollanders that will help. Mine is too early to go that high. EDIT. An aftermarket catalog lists 1118839 as 12v pos grnd--no reference to "E". Unless someone else comes up with something, maybe try using same data as regular?? The Chilton manuals don't even bother to differentiate models--just brands on their instructions

The pos/neg would not be an issue as long as the AC is only referenced to the 12v battery. Only one input would be used which would be the +12 hot wire from battery, ground being frame (and also bat negative). The clutch would be supplied from the ac unit and thus referenced. The bad part would be in someone not knowing the setup and accidentally tying something else in that could upset things. It would be better if the AC were the older or less expensive type that had one hot wire and mechanical contacts. If it required another input for some function such as illumination or a switched leg from ign switch then that would also have to come from the same place via a relay which would be operated by the regular 6v. Blower speed would be better with a rheostat selector to say away from newer solid state speed controls because of some methods used referencing those components. In the equipment I work on daily we have multiple DC power supplies 5, 12 or 15, 24 volt with one side all tied to same common which is also frame ground. The other side of power supply with respect to that ground is either a positive or negative depending on whether + or - is tied to ground.

I think that's a possibility and don't think there would be a grounding issue as long as the components were separate and"floated". We use single return "ground" utilizing different power supplies in medical equipment all over the place and as long as the components and their respective power supply is kept separate, no issue. I'd be more concerned about how to physically mount and belt a compressor and extra alternator given the pulley grooves and space & mounting bolt points available. That would take a bit of engineering but certainly do able. It would be nice to just keep things as simple as possible.

Agree to a point. The problem is on/off and temp regulation. All modernish and todays aftermarket units cycle the clutch to control temp and to prevent evaporator from freezing. If a 6v clutch not available, then only option would be having compressor on all the time like 1954 and before. Those systems used various methods of short circuiting the refrigerant to provide that control but those parts also pretty much non existent. There have been suggestions that a 12v clutch will pull in on 6 but not having tried it, can't say. That's why I was curious about the unit mentioned.

A few preliminaries are at packardinfo.

It is awfully nice. Be interesting to see what it actually does go for. Also think that is first 57 I can remember seeing with the power windows.

Would be curious about what kind of underdash AC you have and has the car been converted to 12v. There is a discussion on packardinfo as to how to add AC to a 52 and be practical--the clutch and lack of 6v ones seems to be the biggest obstacle.

What model radio and do you have schematics? Was just looking at the PA series info and there is mounting instructions, locations and dimensions given for that one & might be close to your needs. If you don't have anything, several models of radio information is available on this site. http://www.nostalgiaair.org/

Restoration Specialties is excellent for Auveco clips as used on many cars. Go to www.restorationspecialties.com/ and download their catalog. In it you will find several pages of clips you can compare yours to (sample attached). They may no longer have identical since Packard did have some strange ones but there's a good chance of finding something that will work. If you want to order a print catalog, the illustrations will be actual size and you can lay your old clip on theirs and see what will work. As to the manifold info, not sure what you are looking for but here is bolt size and torque specs for stud. The lengths listed are 6 that are 2 inches and 2 that are at 4 9/16 inches

If brake lites still work, there is a separate fuse for turn signals. It should be a wire inline type in a metal cylinder holder coming off of ignition switch and going to the metal can mentioned earlier. If things suddenly failed and the fuse IS blown, then would look carefully for a short. I'd start in the front end area since brakes still work and that wiring is common between brake and turnsignal, next under dash with the indicator light. If I remember, that light is in the typical metal socket and have seen the old wiring insulation recede more than once leaving 1/4" bare wire entering. Of course, if blown the fuse could have just gotten tired after 60 years too.

If the car already apart, then the paint or spray on is probably the less expensive way to go but if not, I still like the self sticking pads like the Dynaliner and comparable made for the purpose. Almost any of the modern would be better than original though, and agree about staying away from anything that collects moisture and not attempting over dirt or rust.

I would absolutely use a new pad because the steel top will tend to "rumble" without and if your car is like a 54 I did, the steel hoops holding the headliner can touch the top in a couple of places. There are any number of acoustical pads available from car stereo places and other outlets (Quietride is a good one) both with and without an aluminized layer to reflect the heat. I would go for the heat control as well.

LINC400, sorry if everyone ignored you but your descriptions were a little vague. We could go thru the litany of possible problems with the TL from the simple such as is it on, fuses blown or brake lite sw NG to the extreme like a limit switch failed and the compensator self destructed--all you said was it didn't work and nothing as to what, if anything, it tried to do. The steering wheel could have been reinstalled off the shaft center by a spline or 2 or the control valve geometry could be misadjusted. Its just kinda hard to guess all the possibilities. The windows could be as simple as dirty or binding mechanism to bad switch or wire to burned out or sheared shaft motor. If you do find another 55-6 you are interested in, then a bit more info would help along lines some of the other posters asked and I'm sure more people would be glad to offer an opinion.

It is a "regulator" of sorts. The way these work is there is current flow thru the regulator and gauges and associated senders. The instruments see a current & voltage until the regulator wire heats the bimetallic strip and opens the circuit, then upon cooling, voltage again, then off and so on and on. If you look at the output with an oscilloscope there will be very crappy square wave pulses but the average voltage is considered approx 5 volts because of the constant on-off. There is a small adjustment screw that can change the amount of on time and the resultant output. Because the gauges are dependent on their bimetallic elements heating & cooling, and the slow response while that happens, the result is a smooth non perceptible movement of the needles. There can be additional resistance added in the circuit to fine tune the gauges which is what Packard did on some early 51's, I believe.

I believe the number is 372343 and fits 19 & 20th Clipper and then up thru 50.

Here is a pict of my 56 using the Chevy motor. No problems and everything bolts on although I did add a 1/4 spacer. Problem is they are pricy to find originals and don't know if they're repro'ed but the aftermarket replacements are also up there so guess its 6 of 1 etc etc. Here are some aftermarket types although they won't take the original windshield washer setup. http://www.specialtypowerwindows.com/powerwiperkits.htm The one that is featured at the 56 Panther site is a bit less money and seems to work. http://www.1956packardpanther.com/wipers.html

Wasn't there an article in one of club mags a year or so ago re development of that engine and the potential problems encountered in mfg if it went and on test track I think with crank twist which resulted in it not going into production.

The pressure side in a Monroe unit is 8-900 psi, Bendix less. Return side in both would be in the "few" psi range as since the spool valve is taking care of the pressure and balancing the piston, basically all it's doing is allowing the excess fluid on the shortening side of piston a path to go back to reservoir when making a turn. There is no connection to pressure side in this instance so most generated would be what little the piston would need to displace as it moved. A hose clamp is all that's necessary to keep on.

If screws are out and cluster moves, then one possibility keeping it in is the wire loom. As I recall loom is quite stiff and leads are short. It may be draped in such a way that part of it is behind the steering column support behind the dash and it won't allow cluster to move forward or the wires to headlight switch also causing same condition. The short mechanical cable to speedometer trip reset may also be contributing if it is wrapped around something. About the only thing you can do is contort yourself in such a way as to get your head down under and in as far as possible to see what its hung up on.

On your original post you mentioned a lot of wear and someone had installed things incorrectly. Something one of the other service articles mentioned was a new design in linkage for 40. While it was directed more toward jr cars, the gist was in previous design, excess linkage wear would cause the pedal to ride up against the floorboard preventing full engagement while the new design would allow the pedal to fall & prevent full release. Again, don't know those years as to differences between jr & sr but maybe worth a look if the spring turns out to be installed properly and it still won't return all the way.

Here's a pict from a 12/39 service letter. The article and others stated that when the B&B clutch used on Jr cars, mechanism was same as seniors so I think this might be senior pict. Not that familiar with pre war, so if not, apologies.