I might just start now with working on my Packards and just staying with this blog.
This episode I drove my 1940 160 Touring Sedan to a Club party here in Arizona. The car ran great to the party. It started up fine for the trip home, then I turned on the headlights and they didn't come on. I got a tow home, because you need headlights to drive at night.
I checked out the dimmer switch and it works fine. I have voltage turning on and off at the terminal block on the fender, but no headlights.
I pulled off the headlight bucket to check the headlights and I can't remember how to pull the outer ring out. So that's where I'm going to restart this blog.
Yes, I will add stuff about the 55 Clipper, when it needs work. Right now it is running fine. I did sell the 2nd 55 Clipper, so I am down to 5 Packards, 2 running, 2 needing work, and 1 is still a parts car.
So with the 40 160, I have 3 pictures. 1 for the headlamp bucket. 1 for page 35 in the manual of Fig 23 removing the headlamp outer rim. and the last one for the instructions on how to remove the outer ring. I have forgotten how. Can you help? I thought I would stop there before I do any damage.

Attach file:

---

  (22.13 KB)


  (64.79 KB)


  (18.00 KB)

A fellow club member had some antifreeze blow over his car and ruined the paint. He had a 1936 Super 8 sedan. He had insurance pay for a new paint job at $20,000 and this was about 15 years ago.
20 years ago I stripped my 1955 Clipper Custom 4 door down to bare metal and had some one paint it, for only $2500 and 3 months. I had quotes of $6,000 to $10,000 to paint my car, but that was before I had stripped all the paint off. I learned that I don't have that kind of patience, to do all the body work my car needed.

My wife names my cars:
1955 Clipper Custom (owned 21 years) Jezebel
1940 160 Touring Sedan (owned 14 years) Bathsheba

I guess you could say she's jealous of the time I spend with the cars.

Attach file:

---

  (62.56 KB)


  (33.42 KB)

Thanks Dell and Howard. Rhode Island wiring sent the wire harness with spade lugs not a bullet type connector. My 40 160 Sedan has the bullet connector. That's why I was going to try for another terminal block. The parking light wire in the car now is just a wire that was twisted and wound with black tape. I could try the modern type bullet connector, that would be quick and easier.

We added more fluid into the drivers' side front knee shock absorber. It is always low and I can't see where it's leaking.

I bled the front brakes and the brake pedal was near the floor and is now half way up and feels great.

The parking lights are not grounded. I will try to cleanup the metal where the parking lights are bolted on to see if that helps for a ground. The car came with a wire stuffed in with the light bulb and that wire going to a screw on the headlight bucket. At least it worked and you couldn't see it.

We took it for a spin and it seems to creak when we turn left. I have greased all the zerk fittings I could find. I looked in the steering column box and there is liquid in there. So I'm still looking for the creaking noise. I want him to drive it but it is over 100F here in Phoenix and won't cool down until November.

It still need a muffler and the top does not work automatically. I wonder if I need to put it up and down a few times to get it working. It hasn't been used in a long time.

Thanks for the information regarding the tires. I do like the bias ply tires because I know they will last longer than the steel belted radials.

As for the 41, the tires are too big, but we will leave them on until we wear them out. Then we'll buy the right size.

I just put in a new headlight wire harness. Now I need to figure out how to get the parking lights grounded.

I also need to figure how to put on the chrome surround on the headlights. The top does not fit. See pictures. How does the tab fit into the chrome piece?

The parking lights have a rubber gasket to keep it from scratching the paint but it also isolates it from ground.

I need to add 2 more spots to the wire terminal block for the turn signals. The turn signals were just twisted wires, wrapped in black tape. Just didn't look good.

Attach file:

---

  (28.06 KB)


  (32.03 KB)

Here's a 1941 Packard 120 here in Phoenix.
I know of a few other Packards, but since Craigslist is charging $5 to list, these have dropped off.
48 Super 8 Sedan
50 Sedan
36 120B Sedan
51 250 convertible
51 200 Sedan
51 Patrician, work in progress with parts car
53 Clipper
55 400
56 Clipper, hasn't ran in years

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/d/peoria-1941-packard/6929507847.html

Thanks for the picture and the tip, Owen. I do have a 40 160 Sedan and I think these are the same on there as well. But the 40 160 has been put on correctly.

What size tires go on here? The owners manual says 6.5x16. What is on the car is 8.2x15. The inside of the front tires rub on the steering arm, which is why there are spacers on the drum before I put the tires on.
I'm guessing the 6.5x16 tires would not rub on the steering arm and the 8.2x15 are way too wide. Would a 6.2x15 tire work?
The current tires are in great shape, but they are so big, and probably will stay on until they are worn out. So that means the spacers are going back on. I wonder if I need to replace the drivers' rear spacer as well, because it broke when the wheel fell off!

Nothing happened in a week except the drivers front knee shock was out of fluid again. We did not go for a drive and don't see where it is leaking.
I decided to lube the front end thinking that too may help stop the creaking. So I removed both front tires and then decided to look at the brakes. I know I should have started removing the drums as one of the first things I should have looked at after finding the lug bolts were loose.
The brakes are fine, the drums are fine, whoever was the last one in did not put it back together correctly. One side had one leg of a cotter pin being used, the other side had a cotter pin stretched flat holding the nut in place. The nut with the bump to hold the washer was pointing out, not into the washer. This was done on both sides of the car. I am looking in the forum to see if there is a picture of how it goes together and I'm always in a hurry and can't find it. There are 2 nuts holding the bearing in. A plain nut first, then the washer with holes and a tab that goes in the ridge of the axle. then there is a nut that has a bump that is supposed to go into the washer to keep it from spinning. I know the order is wrong but some thing is missing.
Can you post me a picture?

Thanks for the idea Howard. I'll save that task for later.

The driver's knee action shock absorber seems to be leaking. I fill it up and go for a 1/4 mile spin, then the next week it seems to be low. I don't see a leak. I know I am spilling the fluid but I can't see it any where else, unless it was totally empty. Then I haven't put enough fluid in the shock absorber. How much fluid does it take to fill it?
The creaking noise is still there. I will take a grease gun to all the zerk fittings next week to see if the creaking noise stops. And I will fill the shock absorber again and try not to spill as I am filling it up.

Howard,
When John pulled the knob to lower the top, I grabbed the top bow and moved it and lowered the top. They tried to do it without the car running and couldn't. The top is now down and they'll leave it that way for now. He is not worried about the top working yet, he wants the car road worthy so he can drive it (especially with the top down!).
I pulled the vacuum hose off the carburetor while the engine was running and the engine started to run rough. I put the hose back on and it smoothed out. The top hasn't been used in some time, it looks good. But I don't know if it is a switch or the cylinders. Could the cylinders need some lubrication?

We went for a spin with the top down and heard some clicking noises when we hit a bump. We put the front end up and found the driver's side knee action shock was full of dust! I scraped a lot of dust out and tried to put in some hydraulic jack oil. We went for another spin and it is still making the clicking noises when we hit a bump but not as much. Cleaning the dust/dirt out of the shock helped and adding fluid helped more. We will try to drive it and add more oil and see how it goes. The clicking sound is only on the driver's side. The passenger side had fluid in it and only needed a topping off. The driver's side has 7/16 bolt for the oil fill while the passenger side has a 1/2 bolt for the same oil fill. I'm guessing one of these was changed without the other.

We also have a noisy exhaust, the muffler is worn out. When the shock absorber is fixed we'll get a new muffler.