Thanks Owen and JW for responding so quickly. This is exactly what I wanted to hear and see. I will give Kanter a call and see what they have. I have seen those covers you put over modern batteries to make them look old and was completely fooled by it. I will go that route. Thanks again.

Hello Everyone,
I need to replace the battery on my 1955 400. I would like to get one of those batteries that looks like an original battery from when the car was new in 55. Anyone out there have one of those in their car? If so, where and when did you purchase it and are you satisfied with it's performance? I am also looking for a correct/original battery hold down. I've combed through the photo archives for 55 and 56 and no luck finding an engine compartment with a good view of the battery hold down. If anyone has a picture of one I would really like to see it. If anyone has a hold down they would like to part with that would be great. I realize there probably aren't many out there since battery acid and corrosion did a number on them. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Brian

FWIW
When I bought my 55 400 7 years ago, one of the first things I did was get the radio repaired. I removed both parts and sent it off. When I picked it up, the guy told me he had changed it to negative ground, assuming I was doing the same to the car. He said I would need to change the car to negative ground before installing and using the radio. I wasn't planning on it but since the radio was changed to negative ground, so went the car. Now I can charge my cell phone, etc. with the car's ground being negative. He said a lot of the capacitors in the radio were bad and so were a couple of the tubes and the vibrator. It works like a charm now and I still get a kick out of waiting for it to "warm up" and then start playing. Since he told me the radio now had negative ground polarity, I can only assume the radio is polarity sensitive. My advice would be to call a couple of the businesses that repair these radios and see what they say.

Thank you Howard and Owen for the info. It looks like a new (to me) window switch is in my future. Once I have a replacement installed I won't be so nervous about experimenting with the old one. If I do find a way to repair the switch I will be sure to update this post. Thanks again. Brian

Hello Everyone,
It looks like 60 years of up and down have taken their toll on the window switches of my '55 400. The 3 individual switches work fine but the bank of 4 switches on the drivers door started acting finicky. Two of the four switches worked intermittently. I removed the switch and took it apart and saw signs of arcing. Some of the tabs in the switch body had holes arced through. Can these contact points be replaced? (Preferably by me) Thank you in advance for any suggestions or advice. Brian

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I had the same problem with my '55 400. The suspension was loose as a goose, no binding. When I would lift up on the rear bumper the front end would drop and then some body weight on the front bumper would level the car back out. I found out the contacts inside the compensator switch box were out of alignment. The were leaning towards each other and the pivoting contact point was going from raise to lower, back and forth because when the bi-metallic point would release from one contact it would touch the other contact instead of reaching a neutral position. I simply straightened the raise and lower contact so they were parallel with each other and no more seesawing. I did a bench test of the switch after adjusting the contact points and it worked like it should so I installed it and it worked fine. Since your problem only occurs when you are in motion, you might try spreading the contact points apart a little to increase the neutral position space. You will probably need to adjust the turnbuckle on the suspension adjustment after you adjust the contact point gap. Hope this helps.

I had my carb rebuilt by Daytona. They were more expensive than others out there but I couldn't find any bad reviews on this websight about them so I chose them. I am completely satisfied with their work. "Do it once, do it right" was why I justified the additional expence. Once your carb is correct you don't have to do any more with it so it won't cost you any more money.

Thanks Howard. I'll be calling Steele in the morning. I have a question for them. Packard plate 20C shows 2 pieces, one along the bottom of the door, wrapping up towards the latch, then a second piece that connects to the bottom piece and goes up to the latch area. Looking at the pictures on Steele's websight, they use one piece that runs the length of the bottom of the door up to the latch. It probably doesn't make a difference when it comes to keeping the water out but at these prices I want it to be correct. Brian

I'm getting ready to replace the weatherstripping around the doors and trunk of my '55 400. Any vendor recommendations and installation advice will be greatly appreciated. I have looked at Steele's web sight already. Thanks, Brian

Congrats to the newlyweds. FWIW... 4 doors may not be "COOL" but they sure are easier to get in and out of the back seat. I have a '55 400 and it is really hard for my friends to get in and out of the back seat. Heck, when I clean the back window, I have a hard time getting out of the car. I have to power the front seat all the way forward to give the back seat occupants foot room to get out. Even then, when your car is drawing attention because of its beauty, my rear seat passengers are backing out of the car. (not beautiful). I would like to have a '55 Patrician just for the drive with guest, up the Oregon coast with all the turn outs for Kodak moments. I think Packard did a really good job of of incorporating the rear doors with the overall body lines.