8 volt Battery in 1949.

[Packard enthus.]

COLD WEATHER STARTING:

Here's something some of you do not know about pre-war cars.......

 

Packard Twelves were designed and built in Detriot, Mich.  Buicks were designed and built in Detroit Mich.    Fords were designed and built in Detroit, Mich.    

 

I have been in Detroit, Mich....in Feb.   Was quite cold.  Obviously, was NOT there in the 1930's.   But I have seen film-strips of traffic on ice-cold winter days in Detroit, Mich.  My suspicion is that engineers who lived in Detroit and designed those cars,  knew about Detroit winters....!

 

Based on the above....is it a reasonable assumption that 6 volt equipped cars were able to start up and drive around in Detriot, Mich. in their winters?

 

Would a properly maintained '34 Ford start as fast as a Packard Twelve?  ( I personally do not know...but do have a suspicion......even if it were a very cold day.....both might start just as well as the obviously well-maintained Buicks other posters have just shown us in this 'thread"....!)

[arcticbuicks]

Packards were also built in another location........the ford would likely start much better having a smaller engine for same size battery......but we may soon get to find out in talking with Reynolds museum......Packard struggled with the 6 volt .......there is a copy of the head Packard engineer [ C.R. Paton- chief engineer.,T.A. Stalker-tech serivice mngr. ]recommendation to bump charging up to 8 volts in minutes of the meeting along with other problems with them .......or you can also look it up on Packard .com

 

there is snow in your pic.......but obviously not a northern or central winter area  ........as you can see the road is melted and completely clear of any snow.......ground not frozen.......and the ppl have bare hands and little head cover,car not iced or frosted.......looks wet actually.......must have made great snow balls that day.......cant make snowballs below freezing-snow wont stick together

as you can see this is a example of a non detroit built packard

Edited November 1, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[arcticbuicks]

Buicks were also built in another location 

[arcticbuicks]

Ford's were also built in another location as well as designing ........there were 3/4 of a million model T's alone built outside Detroit at another factory

Edited November 1, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[Packard enthus.]

On 10/31/2023 at 8:20 PM, arcticbuicks said:

Packards were also built in another location........the ford would likely start much better having a smaller engine for same size battery......

========================================================================================================

Wow - this guy is a wealth of valuable technical info - he is right....Packard had an assembly plant in Canada - from what I read....actually contained some locally (Canadian) sourced parts.

 

Here's something this guy dosn't know about the Packards built on East Grand Ave, in Detroit, Michl (that is in the United States......In the USA version......they had larger batteries than came with Fords.  MUCH larger.   More amps.  MUCH more amps....

 

I was able to buy some  nice AMERICAN amps for my Packard Twelve a few years ago at my local auto parts store.  (They do carry group 4's....but you have to wait till they bring it up from their warehouse in Phoenix....!)    Does my car struggle to start when it is below freezing?   Yup......Sometimes the fan goes completely around TWICE before it starts. 

 

As for that photo...i don't recall the guy who wrote the above post being there when I tried my "cold-starting" experiment.   It was below freezing.  Not Canadian cold....just Arizona high country cold.  Of course I am aware of the difference.

 

Did the  pre-war American Packard Company recommend 8 volt batteries to start their product on a cold Detroit morning?   Could be...I wasn't there.   Not sure where they'd get 8 volt batteries in those days. I  can find nothing in my Packard literature collection to confirm that. (perhaps they had access to a time machine...could jump to the post-war years when such batteries were commercially avail...?)

 

Funny story about 6 -vs- 12 volt batteries.  But first....repeating my admission.....  OF COURSE 12 VOLTS IS BETTER IN SO MANY WAYS.   And of course I agree with the above poster that it is possible to produce conditions under which a 12 volt equipped car will be faster & easier to start than a 6 volt car.

 

Which brings us back to the point that proper maintenance CAN be a solution to hard starting (hot or cold...!).    Here's what happened.    My 28 ft. Bayliner Contessa....(a cabin cruiser with a Volvo Penta motor (shhh....they dont like to admit it is an ordinary Chevy small-block)  has a standard automotive type  12 volt electrical system.  Spent yesterday going nuts trying to figure out why it was running erratically....changed some wires....changed the ignition switch......FINALLY....(did I ever tell you guys I am the world's smartest mechanic...?)   figured out that the fuse block clips AND the fuse had enough traces of corrosion to make for wierd behavior.  Cleaned it up....starts & runs great now.

 

Bottom line......if it dosn't start and run well......FIX IT !  That holds true for ANY vehicle's electrical system!

Edited November 2, 2023 by Packard enthus.
I gots to learne how to speeil (see edit history)

[Grimy]

I'll make the popcorn!

[arcticbuicks]

lol.....i will try and make it worth your time.......i think its important to have correct information

Edited November 2, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[arcticbuicks]

its a good thing we live in the western world......say if Kim Jon Un  owned a packard 12..........and if i dare question something that might expose anything other than perfection......i would just be executed

Edited November 2, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[arcticbuicks]

im starting to wonder about the Packard slogan lol..........anyways......As far as Canada just being an "ASSEMBLY" plant......that would not pass ....and by "pass" i mean as for the only reason they[american] had car factories outside the US,.......It was for the reason of the British empire......and "tariffs"........the vehicles had to be manufactured and built with a percentage of manufacturing including materials from Canada......and in doing so many models also ended up DIFFERENT with different parts and even the different style.......that would also include some engineering to do so.........and being different and with parts manufactured in Canada from Canadian raw materials .......that is not considered "assembly ".......small example i can think of is 1937 packards [Canada] had smaller trim rings around headlight ,and glass......the windshields were safety glass and the side windows tempered...........getting into details and different  models and years we can see many differences......some companies were far beyond differences in Canada .....for example Ford .....had dual wheel AA trucks 2 years before the USA ....not just assembly differences .....but entirely different models ...........I too keep my boat well maintained and never want to be caught at sea with failed electrical 

Edited November 2, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)