In the Literature section, Service manuals for 51-54, at the end of the Engine section, there are some trouble shooting steps. (part of the page attached mentioning heat control valve)... earlier manuals suggest loosening it with kerosene and working it back and forth, plus tightening the spring so the flap can (is forced to) return to the closed position when the engine cools.

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The Last Convertible is a great story and the author, Anton (Tony) Myrer, was also an exuberant and friendly guy. I picked up the book when I saw it in a window display in Aspen, CO in 1978 because of the cover illustration.

What a great read.

Tony wrote several novels with WWII backgrounds. I wrote to him after reading the this one and he wrote back, telling me how the title was chosen and finding the car that was the original "Empress." That name was why I dubbed my '40 convertible sedan The Duchess.

I sent him a picture from 1978 when the Duchess was tan and he sent me a long letter and a photo of himself sitting in the original Empress, a car in storage and a bit worn near him in Malden, NY. For the color of the car in the book, a friend, Lee, gave him Packard paint swatches and he picked Berkshire Green. When Today and Newsweek and others came around prior to the book announcement and wanted photos and footage, he scrambled to find another 1938 convertible and located one in New Holland PA in perfect condition that he was told originally belonged to Mrs. Meriwether Post, the cereal heiress.

We exchanged 3 letters in all, and a very long letter on the making of the mini-series. (Not a good experience for an author, and 3 directors each wanting to put their own spin on the story made the experience even less enjoyable.)

I highly recommend the novel and mini-series. I've looked off and on for the TV series and couldn't find a source, though occasionally on some Euro blogs I saw mention of it. Thank you, Guscha, for posting the link for ordering EDIT on Page 13 of this thread.

Tony passed away in 1996. Once an Eagle is also an excellent WWII story he wrote.

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Check the bottom of this thread in Wade's Workshop and see if it helps.

https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=2179&forum=10&post_id=87081#forumpost87081

Joe

I just saw The Artist, a modern silent movie, and I thought it was great. It's playing in most theaters now. A 1935 Cadillac and Pierce Arrow are in the film. The articles below mention a Bugatti, but I think it was a Packard, the second car that passes by a theater at the beginning of the film.

It's a fun movie. I'm visiting Wash DC for the holidays. The audience here was silent, yet we were watching audiences in this silent film watching a silent movie. We could tell those audiences weren't silent at all...applauding, talking to each other, and to the actors on screen.

A unique experience, unless you're really, really old.

http://jerrygarrett.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/was-this-peppy-millers-cadillac-in-the-artist/

http://jerrygarrett.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/the-cars-of-the-artist-pierce-arrow-cadillac-more/

Joe

Al,

Re: Instrument Restoration
Bruce Abbott here n Portland (Tigard is suburb) does a great job and is a great guy, too. One of a very few craftsmen who have a young apprentice to carry on this work. The temp gauge on my 40 works great and so do the other instruments he restored from gas gauge to clock.

http://www.abbottinstrumentrestoration.com/

Joe

Yes, Howard.
The clock, of course, runs all the time. It is not working now, so if I can extricate the fuse, I can check that. It was restored and keeping perfect time, but before I left, every once in awhile it made a sound like a moth trying to escape from an inclosure. I thought it was in the heater housing, but traced it to the clock. So that is probably the culprit. Instead of a click it was straining and vibrating. But it stopped and still kept perfect time.

There is an LED in the turn signal that never goes off. Very dim. I will check it, too, but I'm suspicious of the battery. Four years old sitting around waiting to be used. It was disconnected much of the time, but not all.

And yes, the radio may have been left on to kill the battery, but it should have charged up again. I will check for a leak with everything off. I'll pull the fuse on the blinkers.

After I took the battery out yesterday to have Sears check it, I charged it out of the car. Nothing connected. I only got a fully charged indicator light on the 12 amp charge.

Thanks for the suggestions.

The Beaverton NAPA store is quite good, also. Mostly older guys who don't look at you in shock and shake their heads when you say Packard.

NAPA 7212 versus 7204

I don't think the NAPA 7212 will fit in my 1940 under seat battery box area. The opening in the floor won't take more than 11 inches. The 7212 is 13-1/2 inches long. The other dimensions W and H for the 7212 fit. The CA 1170 and ColdCA is 975, which would be nice.

NAPA 7204 is a Group 2 battery, 6 volt, and would fit perfectly. 10-3/8 L x 7-1/8 W x 9-3/8 H. But CA is only 940 and CCA is 780.

Unless it's a mistake, the price for either is the same: $109 plus $12 core (my current battery is a Diehard, not good for exchange at NAPA).

SLOW CHARGE versus FAST CHARGE

6 months ago I promised my physician a ride in the Packard, thinking it would be finished by then. He scheduled an extra 15 minutes for my appt today.

Last night I put it on the charger, 2 amps/ 6-volt setting. This morning it hadn't budged past the second of 8 indication lights. However, when I switched to fast charge, 12 amps/6volt setting, it lit up all the lights including the green one at the end.

Despite the questionable battery, I decided to drive it to my appt. and took him and his assistant for a ride around the neighborhood. Then after my appt I had to start it a 3rd time. Without any problem, it started right up.

So now I'm wondering if the battery is okay. In the past, the 2 amp/ 6 volt setting would indicate fully charged after a few hours on charge.

CURRENT BATTERY DIMENSIONS: The battery for the Duchess went dead while I was out of town for a week. I bought it 4 years ago in July 2007. It is a Vintage Diehard from Sears, a Group 1 battery L 9-1/8 x W 7-1/8 x H 9-3/8.

BATTERY BOX AREA DIMENSIONS: I measured my battery OPENING (box length is actually shorter) and depth of my battery box, an original which my son repaired by welding on a new floor. It measures L 11 x W 7-1/4 x H 9-3/8.

REPLACEMENT BATTERY: So I want a replacement and a Group 2 battery seems like the ideal size for the battery box area: L 10-3/8 x W 7-1/8 x H 9-3/8.

I went to NAPA and they had the above mentioned 7212 in stock.
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Result.aspx?Ntt=BAT+7212&Ntk=Keyword&Nty=1&Dn=0&D=BAT+7212&Dk=1&Dp=3&N=0
BUT it is a BCI Group 4 battery which measures 20-3/4 x 8-3/4 x 9-7/8 which is too long, too wide and too tall to fit in my 1940 1803.

Here are the BCI sizes for various groups. 6 volt batteries are near the bottom.http://www.rtpnet.org/teaa/bcigroup.html

So I'm wondering if the size has changed for the 7212, or if there is an alternate size. The Delco 717A is also a Group 4 battery.
http://www.battery-usa.com/AC_Delco_Professional_Series.htm

What am I doing wrong before I plunk out $109 for a 7212?

I used this place for my 1940 banjo steering wheel:

http://site.backwardsunlimited.com/About.html

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The usual suspects. and David Moe Packard-Seattle Co.

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