Kip56

West, Thanks for posting that find. What a fantastic looking Packard! Robert.

Thanks Randy. It certainly does look good. Best Regards, Robert.

Randy, What is the sticker on the radiator apron just above the hood latch? I have never seen that before. And oh yes, what a beautiful engine compartment!! Thanks, Robert

After cleaning them up I have to admit they do photograph well but they are not as good as they look in the photo. I may be able to save a set between the two sides of the car. My original question was if anyone was reproducing these and it seems like the answer is no. Given that, I will most likely save what I can and fabricate the rest. Once I complete this I will follow-up with a post to let you know how I made out. Thanks everyone for the contributions to this post. Robert.

Mr. Pushbutton, Thanks for sharing more pictures! 12 of those pictures would make a great calendar to hang in the garage! What an impressive collection of 56 Detroit iron in that photo. Hope they don't wait another 100 years to do another meet of that caliber. Thanks again for sharing such great pictures. Robert.

What a wonderful car! Thanks for sharing your pictures. Looks like a 400, 54 & 56 Caribbeans and a Panther off in the distance! That must have been one heck of a show. Regards, Robert.

Brain, Thanks for your follow-up post. Your description of cleaning the excess grease "must have scraped pounds pounds off" matches my experience exactly! Getting the steering knuckle to where you could recognize it again was very satisfying. I have attached an after picture of my pivot pins with the rubber that was on them. Again, I think I will be searching for a close facsimile to fabricate/substitute what was on them. Thanks again, Robert.

Thanks Kev. Great site you and other have created with fantastic pictures! Robert.

Good to know they still exist. Hope they come out into the daylight every now and again so we can enjoy them. Thanks for your post. Robert.

Just curious what happened to these cars? Are they part of a museum collection, private collection, crushed or whereabouts unknown? Thanks, Robert.

Brian, Thanks for your post. In cleaning mine up I believe they are sleeves on the top and the o-rings on the bottom. It is amazing that none of the top tier after market folks make these. Surprisingly, these items are really not well documented in the Packard Service manual either. Fortunately as Randy noted, a close fabricated equivalent should do the job. I agree that a heater hose with the proper diameter might be the ticket for the top sleeves. Best Regards, Robert.

Yup Kanter was on my list but I agree with Randy's post...since these are primarily rubber sleeve grease covers, I will endeavor to make them. Thanks for your reply. Robert.

Randy thanks. I had already checked Steele and Merrit and came up empty. My upper pivot pins have the sleeves you described so I believe those are originals. My lower pivot pins had o-ring looking grommets that were probably replaced along the life of my car. I will endeavor to fabricate replacements as you suggested to keep the grease in and other elements out. Best Regards, Robert.

I believe I described these incorrectly. These are the rubber grommets that are on the upper and lower pivot pins that connect the steering knuckle support to the upper and lower control arms. Thanks, Robert.

Does anyone have a part number and source for these? What remains of mine are shown attached. Thanks, Robert.

Steve, Mine was Hirsch Packard bronze. The paint can shows "Hi-Temp - Hi Gloss Engine Enamel and the printed label on the can lists V4375 Packard Bronze. I ordered on two separate occasions and the paint was identical. Regards, Robert.

Here is a picture after restoration. I have seen them go for as high as $1000.00 but that one should be on Barrett-Jackson! Regards, Robert.

Here is picture of mine before restoration.

Randy, I swapped the delco-remy generator with a rebuilt one that I had purchased some time ago and the overcharging problem disappeared. It now registers normally on the gauge. What shop did you use to have yours repaired? I also replaced the distributor vacuum advance line and advanced the timing and my backfiring issue has disappeared as well. A very productive day in the garage as the 374 was idleing beautifully once it warmed up. One step closer to having a driver again. Regards, Robert.

Mr. Pushbutton you are correct. A sharp eye indeed for details on this board. Regards, Robert.

Randy, Attached is a better picture of the engine and fan as a GIF file. Regards, Robert.

Randy, Yes that is an original Packard 6 bladed fan and it does help in the hot summer days. The car had AC added to it some time in the 1970's. I did not reinstall the compressor this go round as it was not working but will some day put it back to working order. I have attached a picture of the Mark IV unit in the car. Best Regards, Robert.

Thank you all for your kind comments and suggestions. I will start my troubleshooting on my overcharging condition tomorrow or next weekend. Never enough time to spend in the garage somehow! Brian, you certainly have a great attention to detail. I have not yet put the spark plug wire holders back on as I want to clean and polish the head covers before I add that final touch. I am missing one of the carb shields unfortunately. And you are absolutely right, it does feel great to see the progress that can be made by turning wrenches week in and week out. Attached is a picture from about a year ago...I can hardly believe I took this on! Thanks to everyone on this board for all the help I have received to get me to this point. Robert.

Gents, Just an overdue progress report on my 56 Carib 374 restoration. The Packard has been off the road for over a year and everything from the firewall forward has been disassembled, blasted, and repainted. Turned it over today and it eventually idled after a few spectacular backfires through the carburetors! A few leaks detected but overall a satisfying outcome so far. Next the suspension goes back on the car so I can at least have a rolling chassis again. One thing that troubled me when I had the engine idleing was the generator gauge was hard on "C" and the battery was gurgling as it was being overcharged. I will check the Service Manual on this issue but if anyone has experienced similar issues I am interested to learn how they were resolved. Regards, Robert.

Has anyone found replacement stainless steel fuel line clips/fasteners for attaching the fuel line to the frame? There are 3 in the engine compartment, 2 along the driver's side frame rail and 1 on the cross member towards the end of the fuel line. Thanks, Robert.