The windshield wipers on my 1956 400 do work, but they are painfully slow. I seem to remember that vacuum wipers tend to act this way, but I don't remember how to fix them. The older cars, I know, had a vacuum booster on top of the fuel pump, but this 400 has only a single-acting pump.

Any advice on this would by appreciated.

Steve in Indiana

OK and thanks again. Guess I've got them all working. Time to obsess over something else!

I bought this 400 last fall knowing that the TL was inoperative, contacted a reputable restoration shop, and was told they would start on the car in January. It's now March and I'm getting nervous. They don't answer my emails. I want to drive the car this summer and take it to the PAC National Meet in West Lafayette, Indiana, in July.

I'm 76 years old, don't bend the way I used to to get under a car to work on it, and don't know much about the TL suspension, anyway. I want to hire the job done if I can.

Does anyone have a recommendation of a good shop that would be qualified to work on Packard Torsion Level? I'm in northern Indiana, but I would take the car wherever to get the TL working.

Thanks,

Steve in Indiana

Found the fuse block, should have seen it first time I looked. Now the interior lights appear to be working, but I only find two on the sides above the back seat and one above the radio just under the lip of the padded dash. I guess I was expecting to find a couple under the sides of the dash like in my 23rd Series Deluxe Eight. I looked, but didn't see any. Are there any other interior lights besides those three?

HH56: Thanks. I looked in that area, but must have missed the fuse block. I'll check again tomorrow.

I bought a lot of the old SFE fuses at auctions back in the 70's and still have most of them. I think I may have the one Packard used.

Appreciate the help!

My 1956 400 has me scratching my head again. The exterior lights come on when a door is opened, but the interior lights don't. I figure it's a blown fuse, but I have no idea where to look for it. Is there a fuse block in this car? (I've looked but can't find one.) Or is it a problem of searching for an individual inline fuse somewhere?

As always, any help appreciated.

Steve in Indiana

My 1956 400 hardtop still has the original interior in good condition, except for the leather caps on the seats. They are losing their color (pink) and the interior guy says it's too risky to try to re-color them. It appears that I am going to have to replace them, and I seem to remember that Packard offered a special-order all-leather interior in '55 and '56. If so, I would consider a complete makeover in leather.

Does anyone know whether I'm right about this? And if I am, do the door panels get leather, too?

Present interior colors are pink and black.

Any help appreciated.

Steve in Indiana

Nice car! I had one with the gray woodgrain about forty years ago. I sold it when we moved due to lack of storage space at the new place. I knew that gray woodgrain was rare and hated to part with it. Wish I still had it.

Steve in Indiana

Good thought, and thank you for sending it.

I checked the 1948 color chart and found four shades of green, two of maroon, two of blue and two of beige. I guess it's possible that they doubled up on some of those. There is also a Sardonyx Brown, which I have never seen on one of these promos. All of this tends to bring me back to a feeling that the colors are only loosely related to the actual colors used on the cars.

I found myself wishing that this could have been absolutely correct, though. It would have been a quick answer to my question.

Hi, JW:

Good to meet up with another Packard dealer's son. I was pretty young then, but I do remember going to Chicago to get cars with Dad and some employees. We went on the train--still steam locomotives then--and I remember how cool I thought it was to eat on the the train.