I concur with Ross’s observation. My ’54 front seat was elevated with one inch rough cut white oak pieces, one block for each side. The bottom side of these blocks even had rotary cutter cut-outs to clear some ‘bumps’ in the floor pan. I don’t know exactly who installed these, but the attention to detail suggests it was not their first rodeo. To facilitate some under seat non-OEM electrical equipment I replaced the previous blocks with 1 ½” units . . . red oak this time, darn ¼ sawn white oak would have been classier. I’m about 5’11’’ and find the elevated seat results in a comfortable/acceptable driving position. I still however find the seat cushion a bit soft. The condition of the cushion springs and the weight of the driver will surely alter the amount of lift required. Interestingly my ’48 does not have seat riser blocks and that seating position is equally OK, go figure. Todd if you think the seat needs to be elevated the solution back in the day was wooden blocks with longer bolts, however as Howard mentioned shims at the individual bolts seems to be an option for less aggressive shimming. I’ve also have the impression that shimming seat heights was quite common years ago, meaning if a sale of a new car was contingent on the height of the front seat I’m sure each dealer would accommodate the customer needs.

dp

Also: If you do the micro-drill and lube through the housing shaft cover "bump"...remember to tilt the bump up when done, then wipe it down with alcohol and dry it...then put a dab off 2-part epoxy/JB weld (after it just starts hardening) over the hole to keep the oil from weeping back out onto precious upholstery/carpet/etc...if you need to lube it (in another 75 years), just knock the epoxy bead off and repeat

David would you be able to answer this question?

Was Sam's 24 Single Eight the correct colour, excluding all the "battle scars" of course?




SorryKarl for the thread hi-jack. Now back to normal sevice.

Speaking from experience you can disassemble the motor but the fan will nearly always be rusted onto the shaft and completely inseparable, so the process is convoluted. If you really want to let me know and I'll add more detail.

Thank you, David, for clearing up this little error…. and my thanks to West Peterson for his appreciative comment. To say something about the originality of my !924 Sport…. I already bought the car with some non-original modifications. At that time I was not aware of the special features of the original. For example, the original top linkage was missing. The original seats were missing and all nickel parts were chrome plated. Also, the window frame, the snap rings and the wheel mounting rings... which as far as I know were only painted black. During the restoration I gained more and more knowledge about this vehicle, in which David Mc was significantly involved. There were a few reasons why I decided not to completely restore the car to its original condition, despite the considerable effort involved. On the one hand, it is almost impossible to get access to the original parts, which are already very rare, from Germany. I learned this while searching for some parts that I consider essential to the look and character of the 1924 Sport. When I saw the first photos of an original vehicle, I asked myself why the designers had brought such a SPORT model onto the market with so much drab color and so little sporty elegance. (If you drive along in front of a hedge with this original color, from a distance you can probably only see the wheels.)
Perhaps this was due to Packard's zeitgeist at the time, as other comparable car manufacturers at the time had color schemes that were still very close to today's tastes.
Of course, I chose colors for my sport that were also current in those years... also at Packard. And even though I couldn't mix the original Dark Red color at the time... I really like the color combination I chose. In any case, I refrained from using metallic colors like those you can sometimes see in Pebble Beach on very exclusive and very expensive vehicles on which they really have no place. But since this is ultimately “only” about “taste” and less about values…. after all, my 1924 Sport is not a 2 million Duesenberg…. we really shouldn't argue about it. And as I know from the Pebble Judging Rules... there is only a relatively small point deduction for a non-original but timely color choice.
Since components... such as the convertible top linkage... are to be attributed to a contemporary Packard follow-up model, I did not see any break in style and the character of the Sport was not changed as a result. On the other hand, the original Sport roof frame is a fairly thin/wobbly construction. I won't put on the original soft top cover either, although I still have the Material in my inventory as a reproduction but would like to use it for something else. I didn't want to make any compromises on many other components. So I thought it was essential to have the original headlight lenses from Bausch & Lomb on the Sport because they contribute significantly to the original look. I looked for it in the forums for 2 years because everything offered at E…y etc. was always too small. Then a hint came... Unfortunately I accidentally deleted the email and don't remember the name of the person who gave me the hint... and I actually got these glasses NOS.
I think I'll have another positive surprise in the near future about original parts that I value... but more on that later when I have them in my hands.
Wherever I could recreate the missing original parts myself, I did so.
So I hope that with my “deviations” I don’t lose the rest of my friendly commenters.

Karl

Thank you!

The bearings are supposed to be lubed for life but I guess as things go 75 years or so could be a lifetime. While it is not really recommended, rather than disassembling I have read of people carefully drilling a very small hole directly on the end or top of the bump and using a needle applicator to add a drop or two of oil at the end of the shaft. If you do that be careful not to drill deep or add more than a drop or two as too much oil will leak out and cause issues with the brushes and commutator.

Ok thanks…got everything figured out except the panel switch…I have it all wired correct ..it is getting power from the light switch..the only issue is the panel lights and clock light which are all on same wire do not work when pulling the panel switch on ..the reading light which is on a different terminal on the panel switch comes on when pulling to 3rd and last position..this is correct..for some reason I get no voltage to the panel and clock lights when l switch is is pulled on to first or second position…I know the light switch needs to on before the panel switch will operate…when I push the panel switch in all the way to the off position I get the 6 volts to panel lights and clock light but the bulb does not illuminate….assuming the panel switch may be bad? I have not reached up and removed the panel bulbs but assuming they are good….any thoughts? Tks

If you want to download the 48 fact book there are some interior dimension charts for the various body styles. Depending on how much headroom and legroom under the wheel you have when seated it might be possible to add some shims under the seat tracks to raise the entire seat frame depending on the length of the threaded studs going thru the floor. This was something dealers could have done to fine tune to a drivers comfort when the cars were new and some years even had various height shims listed in parts books.

And there are some people who have mounted the switch on the floor in front of the battery box so the lever is near the seat front edge. I think depending on model the lever winds up out of sight just under the seat edge but still easy to reach or just in front exposed but still out of the way and not an obstruction. Am fairly sure there are some photos of the floor install on site but can't remember the cars or who posted them right now. Maybe someone else can direct you to those photos.