Clipper47

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I alway figure a little better than 10 mph on 42 limo. </div></div> I suppose you mean 10mpg? I am sure you can do better than 10mph with that old bus. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

On a recent road trip of about 200 miles I calculated that my 1947 Super Clipper averaged about 17 miles per US gallon. The car was driven a pretty steady 55-60 miles per hour in overdrive. I had expected slightly better perhaps in the 19-20 mpg range as some articles on this model have suggested. I am not disappointed considering the weight of the car and the 356" engine but I am wondering what kind of gas mileage others are getting with their Packards on highway trips. If this can be improved I would appreciate advise since gas is running at about $5 a gallon here! <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The retainer clips sometimes come up for sale on E-Bay usually auctioned by Joel Ray of Patrician Industries. He can be reached at Packards1@aol.com or Patrician Industries, Inc., Joel Ray, 26444 Nona, Dearborn, Michigan 48124 Tel. 313-565-3573 You could also try Merritt and Kanter as suggested.

Agreed. Change the coil. My 47 would do the same thing until I changed the coil. If you still have a coil on the firewall with the anti theft armoured ignition wire connected to the back end of the coil you will have to remove the coil and the back cover to get at the wire or just hook up a new universal coil and use a wire from any ignition activated terminal.

Ron , You won't need a passport to enter Canada but in 2008 you will need one to re enter the US if you are driving. Presently you require a passport to enter the US if arriving by air. Canada has no similar requirement but photo ID in the form of a drivers licence etc. is helpful.

No need to yell (capital letters means yelling). Yes changing to 12 volt will affect the operation of the both the relay and the solenoid. Unless both are 12 volt also the system is not operational and may in fact be damaged.

If it blows the fuse immediately check the all the wiring and look for a bare wire touching the frame. It might be something else but I suspect a grounded wire.

The manual indicates #3 cup grease. The Texaco lube chart I have shows "seasonal grade Marfak" which I think is just plain old chassis grease. I use a good quality chassis grease in mine. The trick is not to screw the cap down very much so that you don't overlubricate the shaft and get into the electric parts. As for the gasket perhaps you can make a new one using a sheet of cork?

I tried both SMS and Hirsch for my 47. SMS had an exact match but Hirsch sent me several samples that were close. Both great to deal with,

I have used "Sea Foam" with success. The product 'Techron" is supposed to be good also but Seafoam is my favorite . I usually use it on a back road not near any houses or at night so that the fire department isn't called out because of the white smoke! <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Aaahhh WWI I take it. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> </div></div> Maybe that was a 1916 Chevrolet???? I must be getting confused in my old age....? <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I remember buying the filter for my brothers vega at the Air Force Base Exchange to save him $ 5.00 on the filter. </div></div> And that was when a $5 bill would buy you a 24 of beer! <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Actually in the aluminum block the cylinders were impregnated with silicone and not a liner of steel. I remember being ticked off because the air cleaner came in a non refillable metal canister which you had to buy as a unit at something like $20. All in all not a good experience with Mr. Goodwrench. It has soured me on GM ever since although they have made some excellent cars over the years.

BRAVO!!!!!

Sorry to interupt also but to my knowledge the 1941 Packard Clipper was not viewed as a "junior" car or at least as a low or middle priced car. It was priced just under that of a Cadillac Model at $1420. All 1941 Clippers were of the long 127" wheelbase size. The Clipper Six and Eight model of 1942 were of the shorter hood version on the 122" wheelbase while the One Sixty and One Eighty Clippers were still on the 127" chassis but now with the 356" engine so I suppose you could say that there were "junior" and "senior" Clippers in the 1942 lineup. I think that the confusing thing about the 41 and subsequent Packards is that the price variance between the least costly and most expensive models was not as wide as it had been in the 1930's when the 120 was introduced so Junior and Senior designations was a bit of an anachronism by 1941.

Those Japs and Germs were always small and skinny. I'll say that one reason I don't particularly like Japanese cars is because of the tiny pedals and seats etc. but I have owned several German cars and like them because of the ample seats and doors for the wide butts of herr and frau. Ditto my Ford Crown Victoria and of course the Packard. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> The new Challenger will have two long doors when it comes out. I told my co-workers that the company should put in a digital sound module to reproduce the original E-body sound of the glass and hardware rattling around inside the door after you shut it! </div></div> Chrysler should patent that sound like Harley did with it's exhaust note for us purists of the Chrysler genre. How I remember with nostalgia my 60's and 70's Mopars with than glass and tin rattle whenever the doors shut! <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Our goal as Packard owners should be to restore and preserve the cars as they came from the factory notwithstanding the addition of safety features such as seat belts. The Ultramatic may not have been Packards greatest engineering achievement but it was the ONLY automatic transmission produced by an independent car maker and that fact alone makes them significant and worth preserving. If it can't get out of the way of a garbage truck then lets hope that the truck has brakes and a patient driver. I drove my Super Clipper today with the Electromatic clutch mechanism engaged. I suppose was not one of the makers best ideas either but I maintain this Rube Goldberg invention as it came from the factory and occasionally use for posterity.

In 1971 I bought anearly new 1971 Chev. Vega to replace my 1969 Plymouth Fury 2 with a 440 Magnum engine. Driven carefully at 55 mph the Plymouth would deliver 18mpg the Vega only got 21! I lent the Vega to my dad for a trip to the east coast and when he returned the car was burning oil so bad I loaded it up with STP and sold it for what I owed. I think the can had less than 30000miles on it. It was the only GM car I ever owned besides my 47 Cadillac which I never drove or licenced. I don't think the American car makers at least GM had a good handle on making a small car work well in North American highway driving any more than Toyota did although I would think they should have. The Pinto was not much better and the Plymouth Valiant was way ahead of the pack in reliability. I subsequently bought an old 66 Volkswagen than gave 40mpg and drove it until 1975.

I recall in the early 50's my older brother bringing home a 49 Olds with Hyrdamatic and it would burn the tires from a dead stop. Boy was I impressed! One of his buddies had a 50 Packard Eight with the 288 engine and Ultramatic and it was a dog on the getaway but could still beat my 52 Chrysler with fluid drive or my aunts '52 Chev with Powerglide. My 47 Super with the 356" engine with manual shift and overdrive is a hot rod by comparison with the later two and on top end I think would beat the Olds but I haven't ever tried burning rubber of the line. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

My first car was a 1952 Chrysler Windsor with 6 cylinder motor and Fluid Drive transmission. It was slow as molasses in January off the line but on the highway it would cruise at the speed limit for hours on end with no difficulty. I wouldn't let the fact that a Packard has an automatic dissuade you in the least.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I honestly feel that no matter where the car was built, if the profits go to a country other than America, it's not an American car !!! Does anyone feel the same way I do? .......Steve </div></div> Two reasons I have owned Ford Crown Victoria's for 25 years is because they are built right here in Ontario Canada,and my dad worked at Ford for 35 years. They have all been d***m good cars! Buy American and Canadian <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I was hoping Magna Corp. would buy it since they are a Canadian company and in the car business. This buyout by a "buyout" company like Cerberus has me worried for my hometown of Windsor, Ontario. Typically these types of "investors" loot a comapny of it's assets and then declare bankruptcy and have no interest in the long term survival of the company or the welfare of it's workers. Sad to see since Daimler Chrysler has really been trying to stay afloat with very stylish and well engineered products. I would rather see it sold to a company which is already in the business. It reminds me of the 1956 Curtiss- Wright buyout of Studebaker-Packard which also was at the forefront of engineering and style but went under in a few short years after it's buyout by a non automotive company.

"....."where did you get tires for that"..? And so where do you get tires for your Packard? Are they radials?

West, We all at sometime have said things which are not in the best of good taste but that is life and it is best to just move on and forget it. A spoken word is like a bullet. Once it's shot off it can't be recalled.