I bought my 1940 Oregon plates at a fall swap meet. $30 for the pair. They were in pretty sad shape, but the best ones I could find.

At the show, a fellow who lives on the Oregon coast, has a business of restoring plates. You give him your beat-up plates in the fall. He restores everybody's plates over the winter and in the spring they are returned looking brand new in the authentic colors at the spring swap meet. $60

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Maybe I'm a little sensitive about dissing convertible sedans. Ok, I am, so don't take offense, Tim. When I'm gone, if the kids put My pride and joy, The Duchess, up for sale, I hope for a kinder approach. We were taught to identify at least 3 positives for every negative. Helps to put things in perspective.

There are many, many positives about this car.

Here's a 1941 160 Conv Sedan listed at NADA Classic Cars
http://www.autotraderclassics.com/classic-car/1941-Packard-Other+Packard+Models-860417.xhtml?conversationId=26758
Yes, it's a senior, but the asking is almost $75k

Attached is the NADA range for the eBay 120 car. This car is definitely above average. 1500 miles on the rebuild. I think the color is influenced quite a bit by the lighting in the garage. So, yes, it's 10-30k underpriced, so plenty of room to fix the radio, etc. This is a very cool car. Fender skirts and all, real 1941.

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Amen and 3 cheers to that! Their knowledge of everything Packard, technical know-how, and referrals when you feel all is lost are invaluable to anyone who wants to at least try to do some restoration of their car DIY.

If it weren't for this group, and the willingness of everyone else to share their experiences and challenges, I'd still be driving around in this every Memorial Day.

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Not sure if these will help, but there are few bolts attaching the splashers, plus the little screws across the top. You have to loosen it at the rear bottom at the rear of the fender, and at the front, where it's slipped in there with the rear end of it up high.

But if you want to do any extensive work on the engine, you're better off removing the front clip.

Check Jim's work here:
https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=5335&viewmode=flat&order=ASC&type=&mode=0&start=70

Joe

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AXLE AND HUB: The owner of the machining manufacturing company suggested it would be best if the operator, the shop foreman in this case, have the axle, in addition to the original hub and the replacement hub, to be sure we had a perfect fit.

My friend Vaughn agreed to come by and help me with that. Because I jacked up only one side, no synthetic gear oil leaked out, eliminating a smelly mess. The parts were gone a week, so it was just a matter of reassembling the axle and wheel when they returned.

I cleaned up the parts, primed and painted some. I used the same seal, so after I run it a bit, I'll check that it's not leaking. Poured some gear old on the bearings and reassembled. Took it for a short test drive and everything seems fine.

FLUTTERING: New problem. I'm not sure how else to describe it. When I press the accelerator pretty far down to go up hill, the engine starts missing. I suspect it's water in the gas. Is adding STP the cure, if that's the case. I'll assemble more data tomorrow about what the conditions are when it happens and when it doesn't.

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Like Who is going to tell the truth about this???

The Duchess gets 16 mpg on trips of 200 miles roundtrip, same day. 356 with R9 overdrive. Okay 15.9.

6-VOLT to 12-VOLT CONVERTER FOR POSITIVE GROUND CARS. There is an alternative to changing your entire polarity, if you want to add a stereo or charging port for electronics.

https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=9011&viewmode=flat&order=ASC&type=&mode=0&start=10

I think we've established that the person who replaced the broken axle back then replaced both axles with commercial ones and the brake drums, too. Unlike many items installed on the Duchess over several decades to keep her on the road, from the carburetor to the steering wheel, I think I'll keep the rear-end as is for now.

What the flackmaster sent me and Max Merritt pulled were the correct drums for my 1803. How were we to know the axles had been changed?

Last week in desperation I asked a client, who owns a large manufacturing business with half a dozen CNC machining devices for making precision modular airlocks, for a recommendation on a machine shop that could machine the taper of the hub hole to the larger size and deepen the key slot. He said he'd do it as a personal favor and is picking it up and the broken drum next week. You have to live right, guys... and maybe be willing to play chauffeur for a couple of special occasions.

So we'll see what else can go wrong. Stay tuned. And thanks for all your help in solving this.

I'll try to find some more numbers. In the meantime I emailed the fellow (very knowledgeable Packard guy) who was the source of the solution.
He may be able to say what model uses a 50 544 drum with a 1-5/8 to 1-3/8 hub.

I say "solution" because all I remember is that I had a broken axle and somehow it was repaired. How much of the rear-end was changed, I don't know.

If the correct 1803 rear end was as popular as it sounds, it may not be as difficult to find as finding a commercial drum/hub assembly (or whatever the heck I had on the car).

An alternative might be to remove and re-rivet my hub to the new drum.

I haven't found a machinist to ream out that hole on a taper and cut the key slot deeper. Everyone says it's tricky.

Caution has been expressed in welding the original hub faceplate back on to the drum because of the different metals, rates of expansion, etc. I wonder if the T clips or pins they used to hold the two together are available anywhere.

The plot thickens.
The 1803 rear drum/hub assembly sample at Max Merritt for 351423 matches the one sent by the flackmaster. 2" shoes are correct for the 1803.

According to the book, the 1803 and the 1806 share the same hub/drum assembly.

There's a logical syllogism here that would tell me what hub/drum assembly is on my car. (Where is Guscha?) My shoes are 2" supposedly correct for an 1803. The drum depth on my drum and the flackmaster's drum both measure 2-9/16".

The inside diameter is a full 1/8" bigger on my hub.

The only larger axle, and therefor larger hub hole, is the ambulance one, which takes larger shoes.

But it seems a 2-9/16 depth drum would accommodate shoes larger than 2". Is it possible I have an ambulance axle and ambulance hub/drum, but 1803 differential/ axle housing and brake backing plates and shoes?

I have a vague recollection that my axle was changed in the 1970s. I will check with that person, who for the moment will remain anonymous and see if he remembers anything about this.

It might be a good idea to record the specs on these hub and drum for the future.

Axle
340110 is for 1800
323143 is for 1801,1803, 1804,1806,1807
338693 is for 1808,1801A,1803A ambulance

Hub/Drum Assembles
347048 is for 1800
341982 is for 1801
351423 is for 1803 (my car, same as Jim Wagnon's), 1806
333931 is for 1804, 1807, 1808
333200 is for 1801A,1803A