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.

I replaced the frayed battery cable and hooked the battery up correctly. Now the car starts easily.
Now when I put the battery cable on, I noticed a spark. I pulled the wire off the ARM terminal of the voltage regulator and there is no more spark. I pulled the voltage regulator off and will get it checked. The 1942 shop manual says, "Cut-out relay points will vibrate and burn if generator polarity is reversed." When the engine is running, I am measuring from the engine block (ground) to the starter battery post and the voltage fluctuates so much that I can't get a solid reading. When I check the same point with the engine off, I get a solid voltage reading. That's why I pulled the voltage regulator. The voltage regulator also got hot while the battery was connected.

I do have a question about the power top. While the engine is running, I push or pull on the convertible top knob and the engine sounds like it's under a load and the top does not move. Where do I go from here?

I also fixed his drivers' side door handle. I had to re-tap the handle and put in a bigger screw and washer. At least the screw now matches the other side.

Howard, Thanks for the info. I did just buy an new battery cable and will swap the battery back to original.
No this car is not the one on Craigslist.

John did say nothing was working on the dashboard.
He did have someone fix the gas gage so it would work. I believe this car came from a dealer in Texas, I don't know which one and it does have running boards.

The door handle's screw is stripped. Should I go with a larger screw like the other side so it matches? Or is there a better (right) way?

Hi, this is not my car but John's, a friend of mine. He bought this car 5 years after missing owning a 1937 Super 8 convertible.
He just got his Packard back from a shop and I discovered the battery is in backwards, 6V negative ground. Now I know it is supposed to be positive ground. What should I look for to put it back to being positive ground.
The car was driving a month ago. John took it around the block and in front of his house the left rear wheel fell off! No one was hurt and from 20 feet away you can't see the damage. He called me and we found the lug bolts still in the hubcap. The axle nut was missing it's cotter pin! The other 3 tires were loose also. I tightened the other 3 and put the one that fell off, back on. The car did start and run before. I even had the headlight on and rev'ed it and the headlight shown brighter. The battery is not being charged. I still think the battery is hooked up wrong.
After cranking the engine over, the battery cable is too hot to touch. It starts cranking slow and then speeds up after the 2nd turn. It would start like this and I don't think it charged the battery. But now it won't charge. The ammeter doesn't move, even though the gas gauge works (I think the shop fixed that). I just bought a new battery cable, the old one has bare wires showing up to 3 inches from the battery, but I haven't installed the new cable yet.
This car has other issues, but I will start with this one.

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Thanks, now I'm waiting for my new chrome pieces.

Howard,
It says,"To remove the grille assembly, it is first necessary to remove the fender side mouldings to gain access to the corner retaining bolts."
It is these 'corner retaining bolts' that I am not sure about.
I thought that these bolts should hook to the fender side moulding to secure that as well.

Here are the pictures of the side chrome piece. All the holes have threads to hold a screw. The one near the grill is just a hole. I never had the piece for that part.
Is is a hook with threads on the end or what?
If you have a picture, please share it.

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To start, I have owned this car over 20 years. I have driven it over 70,000 miles, not all trouble free, but fun. I got it as a parts car and repaired everything on it.
It took over 4 years to get it from parts car to driver. It is not a show queen but a daily driver.
When I bought it, the front grill was complete, I thought. The upper grill piece was missing the outside 'loops' to hold the ends to the fender. I have bought new upper grill pieces and noticed I am missing the part that goes from the side chrome piece through the front grill piece to the fender. It looks like it hooks to the side chrome piece and goes through the front grill piece to the fender.
The parts book does not show me how it goes.
Can some one post a picture of how this goes together?

The first picture was taken 15 years ago as the after.
The second pictures is the before picture as I found it in north Phoenix in 1998.

I have 5 other Packards,
one is Debi's 53 Patrician in another blog.
I have a 40 160 Sedan (running)
A 2nd 55 Clipper (with a blown head gasket, but it runs and needs everything)
A 48 Limo (141" wheelbase), doing brakes and need to put engine back together (the machine work is done).
A 48 Sedan its a parts car.

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The rubber has all worn out and my nephew said I should have replaced the king pins 10 years ago.
The King pins weren't coming out easy. I asked questions and someone said to soak it with penetrating oil for a week. I thought he was nuts. So I mixed acetone and transmission fluid together for a homemade penetrating fluid that I found I line. We soaked it and then used an air hammer and after a week of soaking, the pin popped out.
It was not that bad of a job, except reaming the king pin bearings, that took most of the time. I guess my file was not coarse enough.
The king pins have been replaced and now I need to change out the tie rods. I have the outer tie rod, they came with the kit and I need the inner tie rods (which are on order). Then I can get a wheel alignment and some new tires.

Thanks
I have a new front end kit from Kanter, complete with new king pins. We will try again this weekend. Hopefully the penetrating oil will help. These are probably the original king pins and will need more than just persuading to get the pins out that hold them in there.