Re: Brian's 1956 Packard Clipper
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Thanks, I'll chase up Max Merritt re the ducting. Would be nice to keep it original if it's not hideously expensive. I'm assuming all the electrical tape on the right hand duct hides a mess. I can see the plastic grille on the left hand side opening in the firewall. Was there supposed to be ducting on that side in the engine bay? Mine looks fairly original but maybe it was only in non- air con cars? Also spotted in your pics the location of the TPN. Will check mine for Dave Czirr B.
Posted on: 2019/5/23 19:45
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1941 120 Club Coupe (SOLD)
1956 Clipper Deluxe (RHD and auto) - for the wife, or so I told her! |
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Re: Brian's 1956 Packard Clipper
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Howard, I checked out the electric wiper assembly on the Clipper. It's an Australian made unit branded "Preslite", which I've never heard of, but appears to be an original fitment.
Cheers Brian
Posted on: 2019/5/23 19:29
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1941 120 Club Coupe (SOLD)
1956 Clipper Deluxe (RHD and auto) - for the wife, or so I told her! |
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Re: 1956 Packard Clipper Pics
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Just saw your pics, which answered my earlier questions. Yes, the Clipper is theoretically easier to work on without most of the accessories to get in the way. The only thing I miss is power steering. Manouvering the car at parking speeds is character building! Apparently it was not feasible to fit this in the RHD cars.
I can't find any reference to RHD components in the parts book. They clearly exist. Hopefully I'll never need anything unique to RHD. Things like the heater, radio and electric wiper motor etc are still readily available here. I'd like to tidy up the air ducting in the engine bay. Any idea where to get the corrugated tubing from? Cheers Brian
Posted on: 2019/5/23 18:55
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1941 120 Club Coupe (SOLD)
1956 Clipper Deluxe (RHD and auto) - for the wife, or so I told her! |
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Re: 1956 Packard Clipper Pics
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Looks like your car has air con, too. Is there supposed to be an air duct running to the left hand circular opening on the bulkhead? Do your rocker covers have "Packard" stamped on them or a sticker? Mine are stamped "Clipper" which strikes me as a bit unusual - bothering to make a different pressing for the Clippers in 1956. I have heard that the earlier V8s (55 etc) had a sticker of some sort.
Cheers Brian
Posted on: 2019/5/23 18:40
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1941 120 Club Coupe (SOLD)
1956 Clipper Deluxe (RHD and auto) - for the wife, or so I told her! |
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Re: 1956 Packard Clipper Pics
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Howard I see what you mean about the TL solenoid location on the LHD cars. I wonder why it was changed? Maybe somebody did it later.
I don't know where the fuses are - will have to look more closely. The electric wiper setup looks like it might have been a local fitment. Vacuum was virtually non-existent in new cars in Australia by then and would have been looked upon with great suspicion! I will see if I can spot the brand on the wiper motor. It looks like the wiper motor on the locally-made GM cars (Holden) here at the time. Interesting seeing your engine bay. Is the car running? Cheers Brian
Posted on: 2019/5/23 17:05
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1941 120 Club Coupe (SOLD)
1956 Clipper Deluxe (RHD and auto) - for the wife, or so I told her! |
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Re: 1956 Packard Clipper Pics
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Howard, per you comments...
Here's a pic of the heater unit, which is slung under the dash and seems to be controlled by the standard knobs. It's a Smiths unit, the same as many local cars at the time. The electrical box on top of the air ducting next to the right hand guard looks like a relay or control box for the heater. Made by Lucas and presumably designed to keep the smoke in! The wiper setup does look quite neat. The electric motor is slung down next to the air duct on the firewall. I can't spot the brand but will look more closely. Are those the Torsion ride units sitting on top of the left hand air duct? Cheers Brian
Posted on: 2019/5/23 5:41
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1941 120 Club Coupe (SOLD)
1956 Clipper Deluxe (RHD and auto) - for the wife, or so I told her! |
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Re: 1956 Packard Clipper
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Today I got out the rubbing compound and had a go at the only two good expanses of paint on the car - the trunk and hood (boot and bonnet in our lingo). Also took to the vinyl in the interior on the seats and door trims. Thirty years of grime came off. Not bad condition. Need a few stitches here and there. Here's a few pics of progress so far. It will get harder from here! Next will be some touch up paint to fill all the chips - mainly on the front of the hood.
Cheers Brian
Posted on: 2019/5/23 4:24
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1941 120 Club Coupe (SOLD)
1956 Clipper Deluxe (RHD and auto) - for the wife, or so I told her! |
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Re: 1956 Packard Clipper
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Lots of input. Thanks guys!
You have spotted things I did not notice - or wasn't aware of. It looks fairly certain that this car was one of a bath of right hand drive assembled in Detroit in 1956. Unlike UK - where left hand drive cars could be registered then - it was not possible to do that in Australia. Overseas built cars were typically imported here in right hand drive configuration, whereas as they say in the UK road test story it was optional there to convert from left hand drive and was done locally. I do not know for sure, but have been told by somebody who should know, that about 12 Packards were imported into Australia in 1956 (several of which were Clippers) and all were right hand drive. At that time, it was typical for imported cars to be fitted with a local radio (which it is) and heater unit (local Smiths unit hung under the dash and connected to the normal controls). As for the other changes, I'm not sure. I do know that the RHD cars imported here were generally not fitted with power steering, presumably because of space issues. My car does have the Torsion ride suspension - which works really well - but I don't know what changes might have been made to convert it to right hand drive. There are dash layout differences between my car and the one tested in the UK. Also, the fuel and temperature gauges are reversed on my dash, which is otherwise a perfect mirror image of the left hand drive car according to the owner's manual. I have not yet delved into what lies underneath related to the right hand drive configuration. Will get some pics for those who are curious when it's next on a hoist. I'm wondering whether the change to wiper operation might be related to a different swept pattern needed for right hand drive cars? You probably understand now why I'm anxious to preserve this car. It has escaped the scrapyard so far and definitely worth preserving. Cheers Brian
Posted on: 2019/5/23 2:23
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1941 120 Club Coupe (SOLD)
1956 Clipper Deluxe (RHD and auto) - for the wife, or so I told her! |
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Re: 1956 Packard Clipper Pics
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Sorry, should have mentioned the first pic is of the car not long after it was repainted. Doesn't look like that now! Brian
Posted on: 2019/5/22 5:32
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1941 120 Club Coupe (SOLD)
1956 Clipper Deluxe (RHD and auto) - for the wife, or so I told her! |
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