It is certainly ambitious and with the Russian plus a Dubai dealership maybe more than a few will be sold. Is it another hand build custom made car as the last of the Zil's were or did they partner with another major auto mfg to share stampings etc?

I think I mentioned seeing a TV program a few years ago where a few of the old Zil craftsmen were going to try and cobble together enough finished pieces to make 2 or 3 more cars using up the last of the major Zil parts still on hand. I think it was a last gasp effort to try and keep the car alive because the Zil factory was going to be torn down or repurposed. The craftsmanship where they started with bare rough sheets, slabs, and bars of metal and by hand hammer forming and welding on pieces wound up with finely finished detail pieces was amazing. Kind of makes you wonder if we still have craftsmen left here who can or would still do that.

I don't recognize that car but with the lettering with the photo of the plane in the background, is it of hand built Russian manufacture and the latest version or successor to the Zil?

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I believe there is a missing letter k in that email address. Unless something changed since some years ago correspondence, think it is flackmaster.

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An interesting question. Packard went to some effort in describing the Safe-T-Flex suspension in the 35 all model service manual someone labeled as good for use in all 32-36 models but seems to have kept info for the seniors, both 8 and 12 models a secret. They described how to do toe in and all the other front end adjustments on a 120 with the Safe-T-Flex but no mention of the senior one piece or solid front axle setups other than a list of symptoms for all models and what items to check. Details for the front adjustments in senior cars must be in one of the earlier manuals not on site.

If the 37 senior front axle setup is similar or the same as 36 then on page 48 in the 37 all models combined SM there is an illustration and brief description on how to do toe in on a 37 super eight.

EDIT: Motors Manual doesn't give much detail or any illustrations either so it must not be too involved.

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And I'd expect Mercedes and to a lesser extent RR whose cars appear to be the dictators cars of choice today would agree. Cadillac seems to have lost out at the prestige end but still manages a few. IMO, Cadillac's styling and size has been less than spectacular for several years so any self respecting despot today would surely figure he could do better. Mercedes and RR are in the business to sell cars so I doubt -- unless it would be a very spectacularly bad publicity move -- either would turn down million dollar orders for a custom car. Packard still had the reputation of being a very dignified and prestigious car during the days when they appeared so often with those infamous passengers. If they were around today and still considered high end, expect they would be willing to make and sell a car too.

Most dictators then and today use their ill gotten gains or direct the state treasuries they control to get the best available but there have also been a few that try to carry off the humble "I'm one of you" approach and have a lower end more pedestrian car at the ready. It could also be that a 57 Chevy was such a very popular car to have and be seen in then. No rhyme or reason but then, just like today, the 57 Chevy seems to be the car half the population wanted to have or remembers - and still wants.

Unless clogged, very doubtful that filter or those hoses are an issue since they are so new. Don't know what the connection between the pump and metal fuel line looks like at either end on a 38 but if it has a hose, then unless that is fairly new too it would still be a consideration.. Another fuel filter like issue that could cause issues could be in the fuel pump. It there are any fine rust particles in the tank there is usually a screen arrangement in the pump fuel bowl that can get clogged very quickly if the rust problem is bad enough. Also the usual cautions of making sure the vent for the tank located in the filler cap is present and open and making sure nothing is in the tank that could be moving around and intermittently being able to block the fuel intake opening.

If the coil is acting up, it can take quite a few minutes to cool enough to work again. If you can almost immediately start the car after it quits, not as likely to be a coil issue but along that line, capacitors also can have heat issues and there have been far more problems with new capacitors than coils. Usually those fail hard and the car would not be as likely to start again if it is the culprit. If the car has an internal distributor advance plate, sometimes the flexible wire connecting the points and condenser to the outside terminal can lose a chunk of the fabric insulation. The advance plate when moving can short the bare spot in the wire and mess up or even kill the engine only to have it start again when the plate moves back to the resting spot and clears the short.

As to fuel, if it is one of the ceramic filters I had a similar issue on a 56. Engine would idle and move car slowly but as soon as more fuel was needed to go above a crawl, engine would start to sputter and die. Turned out the filter was clogged internally probably due to varnish from going dry during periods of staying in the garage. Filter looked clean and air could be blown thru without difficulty but with the pores mostly clogged it could not sustain a decent fuel flow.

Another issue I ran into on a 54 was due to the short length of rubber fuel hose connecting the metal line to the pump. It was old and probably dry so with some bending when changing a fuel pump the inner lining of the bore must have cracked. One of the cracked pieces apparently was still attached well enough so it could act like a hinge. With more fuel needed at driving speeds the unattached part of the lining was pulled into the bore like a flap and partially blocked the bore as the pump suction tried to pull more fuel. The car sputtered with barely enough power to get to the curb but would start again and run at idle until you tried to go anywhere.

Personally, I would rule out fuel issues before condemning the new coil.

Again, very nice and expect it will work quite well with no worry of it being pushed out or vibrating loose.

Mine was darkish but cannot say it was a definite gray. I would think it should be a darker fabric or at least some shade close to the screen color because a very white or light color fabric would show thru the perforations in the screen and be very noticeable. To my eye, that would be quite objectionable.

Don B has given excellent information. If you verify you have 6v power from one of the auxiliary fuses on the headlight switch that is getting to the brake light switch then with the jumper bypassing that switch, the power would be present on part of the brake light wire so it must be getting interrupted somewhere between the brake light switch and the turn signal switch or in the switch itself. Because the rear bulbs are shared, since the turn signals have a different power source and they work, we know the wiring between the turn signal switch and rear bulbs would be OK.

The turn signal switch will have some kind of structure to support and hold its contacts in position much like the brown fiber support shown in this photo of a Packard switch. There will probably be 6 wires going to the switch board and depending on the type and where the flasher can is located, there will probably be 7 to 9 wires in the black cable between wherever the connections to the car wires are being made and the switch assy on the steering column.




If the brake light wire is not broken or disconnected somewhere before reaching the switch then the other likely problem is the brown fiber or phenolic support board holding the wire terminals and contacts has warped letting a contact or two drop out of position so the wiper cannot connect or else the contacts themselves are burned or very dirty. The wiper moves when the lever is moved and connects the 4 contacts going to the light bulbs in various combinations to the wires coming from the flasher or brake light switch. Some bulbs flash, some will be off and another can be on solid depending on what is needed. Both dirty contacts and warped boards have been issues on Packard switches and your aftermarket switch would likely also be susceptible to the same issues.

Again, if you can find a brand or model number of your controller assembly there might be a wire diagram available online. May not be as detailed on the internal switch construction like the photo showing details of the Packard switch but at least the external wire colors and function information should be available.