for the pic's Jim, much appreciated, and glad you had a good Packard day.

We headed out for the 30 mile trip at about 4:00 pm with 80 degree temperature. The trip was challenging only because trying to navigate the car at 65 mph and get a picture of a road side saguaro (as requested by alburton) is tricky.
No cactus or Packard club members were hurt in this production

The cars arrived every few minutes. All made it with no trouble from all parts of our sprawling desert community. As fast as cars filled their places of honor, the spectators flooded over to see what may have been their first ever Packard in real life, or a Packard once again after many years. Forum member Duane G. set up the club table with club publications free to those interested in learning more about Packards and our chapter of PI. It was very encouraging to see how many people were interested in the cars. A number of young people showed what one might consider to be above average reverence for the opportunity to interact with the club members and learn more about all things Packard.

Everyone had a great time talking Packards and dreaming about which would be their next. There was also discussion about the great momentum Packard Info. is gaining. A fun time for all who came. In all, there were 15 cars that made the outing. I was able to photograph most, but not all. I apologize to those I missed.

Enjoy!
Jim

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Quote:

Yes. There is no free lunch. The TL system will level the car, but if a great deal of weight is present--either front or back--the car will be level at a different height from the ground. (lower overall)

This is a nuance of the leveling characteristics that is often overlooked, I think, when it comes to questions bout "lowering" the entire car, front and back.

So pack some pieces of railroad track back there and have a field day (although it's anybody's guess what this will do to handling).

Alburton, Since this is truly a Clipper, the newly formed standalone division of Packard, (Which I think is very novel!) what if you titled it as '56 Clipper - by Packard I really think this would signify the intent of Packard to start a new standalone product line supported by the example representation of your car bearing no Packard script. Very educational for our car show friends.

Food for thought,
Jim

Not sure I like the style (and that'll be one cold grip) but the idea of a smaller diameter wheel is a good one. The effective steering ratio will be higher, with quicker response likely to result (although higher effort) Probably most appropriate for PS equipped cars, or steering effort for parking would be high.

Wondering if you do have PS, and if that's an AC vent on the dash? A '55 Clipper with factory air would be quite desirable.

Didn't you have a video of this car running in the garage a while back? I like your no-holds-barred attitude with it. I think that we could really use some exposure of nicely modified Packards at the rod and street meets. It grows interest in the brand in general, and many will remember the mania for the '56 Clipper tail lights in customizing other makes.

Kev,

Thanks!

Wonderful News about your upgrade. Hope you sleep better now.

Great plan for the next few Birthdays.

DanL

Quote:

No question about that here, just some observations that different companies sought different qualities in their automatics, and hence it's subjective what is a "good" trait or a "bad" one, particularly regarding shifting. Some folks like more positive shifts, even in a luxury car.

It comes down to driver preference what would be considered "the worst" shifting characteristics. Heck, the last of the big Cadillac Brougham models locked up at about 30 mph. That was a gas mileage thing, more than likely. It sure wasn't a driveability consideration!

Some characteristics are almost always bad in the mind of almost any driver, such as shift points that rob acceleration, or those "overlapping" shifts (never experienced that) and ways to modify them out of a trans have a lot of general appeal. Good to know someone is willing to share their experiences.

So, some more tweaks for the T-U please.

No, he was there according to his wife. As I said i gave up after the 3rd try. I'm in sales and I'm amazed at some of these companies treat their customers.

I had put his company on the Packard's of Oregon website for links to companies, but it's off there now.

Kev, Yes, mouse traps, Raid and my Winchester '97 12 gauge shotgun just in case a bruin has taken up residence in the back seat.
Just kidding

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Good point Dave. These were the first two tools I used when I recovered my car from the field it was sitting in:

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