60FlatTop

I was just reading some Packard wiring and switch information and had a brain fart. I have worked on high end British cars of the 1940's and 1950's that use a capacitor on many of their switches; windshield wipers, lights, and the like. The capacitor arrests the arc when energizing and de-energizing. It prolongs the life and reliability of the switch. As the switches on our cars grow older and become obsolete it might not be a bad idea to install a small capacitor on our switches when ever we service them or the wiring. I have the dash pad off my Riviera now and I am getting my '48 Packard ready for next year. Now is a good time to take my own advice. Sometimes I really do that! Bwenie

Although I am not the original poster, thank you. The script and pictures are in my growing folder on 22nd Series Packards. The information will be a great help as I work through my '48 Deluxe Eight. I'm snagging some info from your previous posts as well. Bernie

Tony, you might want to put in a new dimmer switch just for general principle. It appears it wasn't your first problem. It will probably be the next if it is 50 years old. Bernie

Discretionary money has always been the key to the car hobby. Most of today's major clubs have a connection to founding members being a couple of Army buddies pooling together 50 bucks to share an old car in the prosperous postwar 1950's. Today's ligitimus state would have a tough time handing that. And the monthly though the average discretionary dollars are about $50 per month today. Most people dole the $50 in three increments on smaller items than car stuff. When one wants a collector car where thousands are spent the deal is going to be made with hobby earned money in the under $10,000 range. Moving up in cost you'll find the buyers to be us old guys still living on the wealth of the past. And we are getting better deals because of the lack of competition. Now throw in the concept of sales and service from a legitimate business. Costs nearly double due to fees and taxes levied on the business owner. I'm not complaining because it gives me more power in my personal area of the hobby, although in general it draws an end to the hobby as we knew it from 1940 to 1990. Being a hobby of transition, it will adapt, maybe to more of a spectator sport in the media. If it sells enough boxes of soap. In 1899 automobiles were a plaything of the rich. Collector cars still are. A broad brush is out there painting people with money as evil. They buy old cars. Business is evil. They sell and fix old cars. If it is not a Prius it is evil. No one is collecting Prii. Prices are good for the evil rich. Contact me if you want to sell that old project car. Bernie

I figured that was the case with the fog light switch, especially since mine shows no evidence of the lights. I'm just being lazy and trying to discover what turns on the spotlight without sticking my head under the dash. I got busy with work and only opened the door on my garage twice this week. Bernie

Here is the steering column out for the next guy; just two bolts and a plug: The 500W light was for heat. We did that job in February and even though we started the firnace, it took a long time to warm the inside of the car. Bernie

I used a comealong on a cross tie above the firewall and lifted with a chain in two of the front body mounts, position 1. A vertical 4X4 supported the cross tie. I supported the rocker panels at the rear of the pinch weld with 24" jack stands. With the rear wheels removed and the third member supported with a 3 Ton floor jack I was able to snake the frame out by myself. The front wheels were left on to help it roll. Bernie

I am curious about the engraved identifier. My 1948 Deluxe Eight has quite a few factory options. One is a left mounted spotlight with an attached rear view mirror. I expected to find a thumb switch on the handle of the light. There isn't one. I do have an engraved switch label Foglight, however there are no bumper mounted foglights. Would that dash switch be the factory switch for the spotlight? The dash switch did not have the same action as the other dash switches. It feels like a blank. Bernie

I wouldn't try sliding the coupling apart as I lifted the body. A better approach would be to drop the steering column from the dash and remove it first. Them lift the body. That will also help when you put the body back on the frame. I have had my body off twice and doing it with no column installed is easy. Bernie

Smooth, easy, and no mess. No more halo's as we drive into the sunset: The fit was perfect from Prosource Glass. Its nice when a plan comes together. Bernie

Some days you just can't deny the big and little of it: That's a Park Avenue! Bernie

Lares is a contributor here. I bought a few boxes from them in pre-computer days when we all read Hemmings cover to cover. They made me happy. Bernie

Minga, I don't even get invited. Its a "family" thing. My stock answer is that I have more cars than a sane person. And I usually pay the asking price for a car. I am more selective about the personality of the previous owner. I only buy from nice people with a pleasant attitude. I have found their personality stays with the karma of the car. So I prefer not to generate my endorphins by beating a guy up in the car purchase. I also am dead certain the "entry fee" is only a small fraction of what it is going to cost at show time. They used to run Vaudeville shows up in Buffalo through the 1970's. Ever been to one? The theme is a lot like owning a collector car. I like #3. My first 4 adult years were spent as a sailor, I'm Irish, and I don't drink. I need a bigger garage! Well, I'm off the make the '48 Packard I bought three weeks ago legally mine...... Bernie

Humor doesn't work in emails or online. I did catch that the post was suspiciously like the Time Warner ad where the guy bought too much furniture. The uncompleted sentence style I learned from Kurt Vonnegut in Breakfast of Champions That nominal two grand for a 14 year old Riviera in 1978 with inflation calculates to about $7200 out of pocket and after taxes today. If I was 30 years old again I would have to earn about $12,000 to have the cash to buy the same car today. Before you buy the first generation get thoroughly familiar with them personally, maybe even buy a cheap runner as a test and compare it closely to a '66. I have had both ('64. '66, '68 too.) and I always liked the extra 2" or so of elbow room in the '66. It is pretty easy to buy a cheap version, drive it for a couple of months, and sell it just to really know where the bigger bucks are going. You might even make a little. If I did that today I might choose the '66. Oh, those guys whom thought I paid too much; one is still around. They were of a particular genetic lineage that forces them to always pay less and sell for more. Otherwise they can't go to Big Tony's annual picnic. Bernie

Here is some good information: http://pnwclassics.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/2009-4-bg-winter.pdf ernie

This thread brings back memories of my Packard powered 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk. The tach had brushes in the distributor that worked as a pick up. I remember it was a bit techie to get my 16 year old fingers to hold them in place so it would still work after checking points. I never did see that tach work at the same time the speedo sat on 135. The car was about 9 years old at the time. I found a Caribbean convertible (we pronounced Caribbean differently back then) that had all the windows broken. At the time I couldn't find a replacement windshield; no email, no computer. So the manifold came off for the Stude and the other parts sold off. About 25 years later I sold the manifold. It is a neat memory to think of owning a '40's or '50's car with a tach. Most were in trucks with the shift points labeled. Bernie

I can't remember if I paid $1900 or $2100 for my '64. It was one of the two, but I was 30 then and impetuous. Some of the smarter guys picked on me for paying so much. They knew you could buy them for a thousand bucks all day long. Ooops! now the secret is out. Bernie

If you sold the car for $10,000 the IRS would count the sale as personal income and want a cut of $4,000 or so. There are some interesting nuances to selling an old car these days. Bernie

Here is a hint of this week's goal: Work and life and all that other stuff has kept that big crate with the new windshield in the corner of the garage. There's my original Sahara Mist that was hidden for about 40 of the 50 years the car has been around. Had the same goal last week, let's see what happens. I was in pretty good shape. All the cars were running and able to be waxed and caressed. We got a new addition, so naturally I have two under construction now. Bernie

Select the quote that best applies: 1. "If you hang out at the barbershop long enough you're bound to get a haircut." 2. "If you hang out at the barbershop long enough you're bound to get a haircut." 3. "If you hang out at the barbershop long enough you're bound to get a haircut." Bernie

I am into my 13th year of driving my '60 Electra an average of 1,000 miles a year, that includes two years out for medical misbehavior and putting similar miles on a couple other cars. We think noting of jumping in and taking a 200 miles drive on the weekend. In 2002 I put new front wheel bearings in. Maybe it was 2004 when I put the water pump in and cleaned the radiator for general principle. Around 2006 I did a complete brake job. In 2010 I put a u-joint inside the torque tube. I am on my second set of tires. There is an NOS ignition switch sitting next to my computer. The key got a little finicky one day. Oh, I did a tune-up in 2011 and came home on a flatbed a week later. Don't buy anything but Echlin points. I put the 10 year old condenser back in after the new one failed. Its a Buick, drive it a minimum of 15 miles a week and it won't need much. Bernie

I like the MKS sedan. Or ladders are short and I never really work that hard.

My '05 Silverado (kind of a contractor, of sorts) is getting close to replacement. I use a Reese hitch canoe rack for a ladder rack, 8' box with a front hinged cover. It has a longitudinal V8, the rear wheels push it, it has a separate body and frame, leaf springs rear, unequal length A arms up front. It was chosen because of the similar design features to the 1967 Electra I once had, the '64 Riviera, the '48 Packard I just bought, and a whole bunch of other durable stuff built over the last century. With the hard cover on the box it is my business coupe. If I got a new one it would have coil over in front and not ride quite as good. Maybe a Cop version Tahoe will replace it. I only have one unibody car with a cross mounted V6; not really my style. So being real fussy about details, I have been looking very close at an interesting jumble of parts. It has a Volvo body and a Toyota engine with a blue oval hidden in the paperwork. Anyone looked at the Lincoln MKS? If it will carry a kayak it will carry a ladder. Bernie

The shortest brake shoe is the primary and always goes to the front. Bernie

Driving a Buick gives one an air of maturity without the stigma of owning the Mercury parked at the American Legion post with the tattered flags taped to the roof pillar. Bernie