Packard Don

Old post but I’ll comment anyway. These long wheelbase sedans were typically purchased as mourners vehicles by funeral homes and had no need for a radio. Some were even ordered with manual transmission!

No trick. Just have it verified first, then take in the title and the proper form filled that you are applying for a non-op. It wouldn't hurt to also fill a Statement of Facts that it has been stored on private property and never on the road in all that time. I have never ever had any back-fees whatsoever.

California where I live has a one-time non-op fee BUT it's apparently not forever. As I understand it, eventually (although no preset time is stated) it disappears from the system without any warning. When that happens, it's a waste of time to go to the DMV to try to reinstate it without first getting a VIN verification which is what I do as a licensed California VIN verifier. Going there with the verification in-hand saves a trip.

I know this is an old post but as an addendum and as a licensed California VIN verifier who specializes in vintage cars but who, of course, does not know the details of every single one until the time comes to verify it, I have found that sometimes the camera in my phone can see things that my eyes cannot so once you know where to look, try taking photos before resorting to grinding and cleaning! It might just pull up what you're looking for.

Is the trunk unit factory ‘53 - ‘54 or aftermarket? The compressor sounds like the ‘55 - ‘56 v-type that will not work on the earlier cars.

I am still gathering bits and pieces for my 1956's A/C and recently got a second plenum assembly as the one I had was fairly rough and a while back got another pair of the rubber/foam outlet tubes. I also just got the blower fan as I had only the housing before. Oddly, my car already has the extra pulley even though it's the original VIN-matching engine. I've owned this Clipper Custom for many decades and am only just now starting to work on it. Of course, interested in factory A/C for my 1954 Patrician. I have the blueprint which shows the entire assembly (the paper is about 8' long with all the exploded views!) but would like an actual trunk unit as a sample because the blueprint, possibly being a copy of a copy, is almost impossible to read. Anyone have one to sell or loan, even if it's a junker? I also had the rear fender scoops and dash control castings made into 3D models so those can be reproduced fairly easily.

The embossed numbers on the cowl are the anti-theft numbers and have no real significance other than the face that they can't be ground off without leaving large holes. They are not used for anything but it really doesn't hurt to document them just in case! As for factory A/C, it wasn't used on the Henney Junior as far as I know as there was no place to put it due to it being a trunk unit. I heard rumors of a couple senior models having been fitted with it on special order but I've never seen one and no idea where the fresh air inlets would have been placed. On the one-off 1954 Henney Super Station Wagon which was based on the senior body, it had a small rear-facing seat with the A/C tucked into the space between it and the forward facing seat but for a hearse or ambulance, this would obviously not be possible.

I'm looking for a rear crossover for 1966 Imperial. It must be 1966 as it is different than 1965 and different than the later models. Please let me know if you have one and are willing to ship! Yes, I already checked with the usual imperial parts sources and if they had one at all, it was 1965 which won't work.

No two Ghias were the same so as you suggested possibly you have one of the early ones for 1963.

Typically the Ghias were built in batches and often the later ones got updated to the new model appearance without changing the chassis so not odd at all to have a '62 chassis, especially as there were no '62 Ghias. To get ready for the '63 style, they likely sent what they had in as far advance as possible. Also, they were on the convertible chassis so not only do you need to look at earlier chassis parts but on some you must specify that it is a convertible. On my 1964, that was true of the driveshaft support as they were different between convertible and closed cars but also the exhaust system as the closed cars (at least on '64 and '65) had single exhaust while the convertibles had dual. The '61 Ghia would have the '60 styling.

Thank you for that! I never heard of them and they couldn’t be farther away and still be on the same continent but I did drop them a note for these and a few other things after I saw your message.

Thank you and yes, I know as I'm a member of that forum too and asked long ago.

Thank you. I have tried all the obvious places so what I was looking for is not so much a referral as someone here who may actually have a pair.

French Lake Auto Parts has only one 1962 Imperial so cannot help. In the meantime, I've looked into having some made but to do so would require a good pair to have 3D scanned in order to create a CAD file and the only 3D scanner place I know that is nearby where I live is VERY expensive! They scanned some Packard parts for me.

Maybe but more likely the sun was at fault as these paper-thin covers just self-destruct when exposed to it! They were really the only weak spot on these otherwise heavy, well-made luxury cars.

Thank you but I tried them a few weeks ago and they had nothing.

Thank you! I seem to recall asking them long ago but I just asked again to be sure. I see you are in Oregon and that's where my LeBaron is too but in the high Central Desert.

I am looking for a nice pair of plastic b-pillar covers, preferably in white but will consider any color if good. Even if slightly cracked, if it's all there and not too brittle, I may have some made using yours as a template but my own have more or less fallen apart. These are for 1965 Imperial but are probably the same for all 1964 through 1966 Imperial 4-door models.

Pati did some beautiful work for me in reproducing tail light lenses from NOS samples that I supplied and she was working on quite a few shift indicators when she fell off the grid! She had told me that when she bought the company, the domain name did not transfer over and that it had been a nightmare to convince the registrar to transfer it to her and I believe there was a similar issue with the telephone. I understood that she had gotten it sorted out so not sure why her telephone mailbox is full. Although I have not paid her for the latest work, she does have my original samples for the indicators including a couple NOS and I have another protect for her too. I finally reached out to some friends of hers through another organization to which she is a member and am told that she is okay but that she is off somewhere doing something related to photography but it was rather vague.

There were no 1977 Imperials - the last of the era was 1975 so this is either 1975 or it is a New Yorker with Imperial trim and badges. Also, Imperial was Imperial, not Chrysler Imperial.

You are right that hearses are not convertibles. However, there were a few open/convertible hearses over the years and even a few with pillarless hardtop styling. On the latter, I seem to recall that Superior‘s mid-‘50s Coupe de Fleur, which was technically an enclosed flower car that could double as a hearse. I am not sure of the name as I know it was also used on their flower cars.

The contact email probably won’t work unless you are logged into Craig’s List as it is tied to your “session ID” to be sure you’re a valid member.

No wrecking yard or recycler can legally accept a vehicle without current paperwork.

It applies to any vehicle without regard to age and includes trailers or any thing else that uses the public roads but if you keep it long enough it should drop out of the DMV database. They say five years but it’s been my experience that they don’t drop it until later so you may by stuck with it! Best thing is to call and talk with the DMV again and explain the situation and see what they can do.