Thanks everyone!

HH56: I didn't think about a universal kit and cutting to length...neither did my mechanic....clearly we were both distracted with other things because that seems like such an obvious answer! Our neighborhood was built out in 1926 so the fact that I have a garage at all surprises me, but apparently many people have done the same extension to their garage back in the day. One neighbor showed me two big rectangular cut outs in their garage wall to fit an Imperial.

Owen: I should clarify, driving a few hundred miles and draining/refilling the ultramatic is what I meant. It currently has new fluid in it, but I saw a suggestion on here on replacing the fluid a few times after a few hundred miles on a slow to engage direct drive ultramatic. I will be getting to the lube points on the rest of the car. I only need to obtain the proper materials.

Fred: my mechanic thinks (that's the important point) that adding carb defender or something similar to combat the ETOH would help. But I think (again that word) that it is equally possible that sometimes you just get a bad part out of a batch.

Let The Ride: Thanks for that info, that's a huge help. I already had the car out today and now the wipers aren't working at all (there was some rain). So I need to check out the fuse first and then under the hood to see if something got knocked loose.

I forgot to say, I need to get a set of headlights too. My high beam burnt out on one. All in all, knock on wood, praise whatever you praise - it's a great, solid car.

So a brief recap:

I purchased this Packard in January 2017 from Fred Kanter himself. It had been in storage for many, MANY years as part of his private collection. Fred reached out to me on this forum when he saw I was searching for a Packard. I know it's a little silly but it felt very serendipitous since as a teen and young adult I used to drive by Kanter Packard on 287 in NJ and just stare and wonder what was inside and when I could get my Packard....turns out my Packard was sitting in there all this time. Ok enough of that, on to the work, in order performed:

Fred & his guys did the following:
1. New gas tank
2. Rebuilt carb
3. Rebuilt original brake system
4. Installed 4 new tires
5. Stripped & repainted the passenger side front fender to correct a long ago repair - that Fred had nothing to do with - which wasn't holding up

I am know there is more I'm forgetting that Fred & his guys did, but I didn't write it all down to begin with (lesson learned) so that's all I can remember.

I did...sort of:

1. Hired someone to extend my garage the necessary 6 inches to fit the car lol It was the best birthday present ever.

My local mechanic did the following:

1. Replaced points (which I "burnt" out)
2. Replaced accelerator pump, failure was assumed caused by EOTH (picture below)
3. Found a bad splice on coil wire, soldered & heat shrunk connection
4. Corrected timing as it was 5 degrees retarded
5. Replaced primary floats which were partially filled with gasoline
6. Tested bouncing speedometer to confirm it works properly, it does
7. Flushed speedo cable, lubricated core and reconnected cable, which turned out to be bad.
8. Ordered a new cable but it wasn't the exact right one, however bouncing is much reduced. Wasn't able to locate a NEW cable only used, which he didn't feel comfortable using without my OK
9. Replaced condenser
10. Rewired coil which was found to be wired backwards
11. Added oil supplement to quiet ticking lifter
12. Replaced missing bolt in shift linkage and adjusted
13. Gave me orders to drive the car as frequently as I can

So what's next for the car (which I've dubbed Vincent Price)?

1. Work on the throttle linkage for the transmission to get the direct drive to "kick in" at the right time. Currently it's waiting until 40-50 MPH. But I will also say that as the car warms up it gets harder to tell when it kicks in so I need to go on a drive in an open area where I can really listen and "feel" it.

2. Install new weather stripping, I'm ok with not keeping this original lol

3. EVENTUALLY have the weather stripping for the windshield replaced, it is hard as a rock and whistles as I go down the road. But I also don't want to risk breaking the windshield. So this is pretty low on the list.

4. Figure out how to get the Mag-Nu-Matic working. Right now the reservoir is empty but I would think even if it were when I pushed the button in the wipers should activate. Maybe not?

5. Get the ATF changed out again after I put a few hundred miles on it.

6. Hit up all the lube points that I found on a lube chart


Oh and I did get the car detailed to bring about the shine you see in those pictures. The storage Fred had it under really kept it in great condition.

Attach file:

---

  (234.27 KB)

Ok moving my Packard over to the project section now and I thought I'd start off with a few pictures before I outline what has been done since I purchased him in January 2017.

Attach file:

---

  (84.67 KB)


  (58.93 KB)


  (175.45 KB)


  (185.22 KB)


  (166.79 KB)

Sound advice, Fred. Perhaps just saving up in general would be the best bet lol The ultramatic does worry me a bit b/c it's not going into direct drive soon enough and sometimes groans - but I also need to drive the car around and give it some exercise, so it could just need some time.

Well now that my car is back to running, currently being detailed I think I've moved on to "shake down" to figure out what else needs attention while I enjoy it...probably should save up enough to overhaul the ultramatic just to be safe....but that's a story for another area. I'm gonna move on over to the project blogs with this as I take my time with it and focus on enjoying it!

Thanks, JWL!

I was sure to point out that the car was positive ground when I dropped it out, but my mechanic appeared to already be familiar with that fact. I'll double check it with him though, cuz it can't hurt.

I figured when he mentioned it was backwards you guys didn't touch it!


Unfortunately the speedo cable he picked up at Carlisle wasn't the right one, but it is an improvement and the fuel sending unit is taking a break...but I told him I could drive just fine without those things for a while. Just long enough to give my wallet a break!


It's back to running again and I"m hoping to pick it up tonight The only question is, do I really want my trip of any distance (35 miles) to be in the dark or just wait till tomorrow.

Ah ha! The coil was wired backwards apparently....now there's a sticking lifter. Fun never ends!

I'll pass that along to him, thanks for the suggestion!

So about that theory....

The car is running yes, but that's about it.

So the accelerator pump, a float (he found a bad float later) & the speedo cable were replaced - to stop the bouncing speedo issue. That's all good and well, but according to my mechanic it feels like the car is being choked when you hit the accelerator, unless you leave it to warm up for a very long time. Auto choke is good, timing is good, fuel system checks out. So that leaves just electrical?

My mechanic is a bit flummoxed but still trying to get it going right, last we spoke he's going to try putting in a good coil he happened to have.

Granted all I can keep imagining the ever lightening of my wallet and time NOT behind the wheel....ah well, at least once it's fixed it'll be FIXED.