With it being the Eve of Christmas and yet another year winding down, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the folks out there in 'Packard Land' a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the coming New Year. I'd also like to say 'Thank You' for all the help, advice and support I have received from those core members who always weigh in. This site is a priceless resource!
Best regards, Chris Goodfellow.

Hi Dconnor

Welcome to the Packard site. I am also quite new to Packard, having purchased a '39 Six about 3 years ago. Since then I have learned a lot about the fine pedigree of the Packard automobile and the company who made them, mostly from the vast knowledge network of the members on Packard info. I researched Packards for months on the internet and winnowed through literally hundreds of sales listings before actually going out and kicking tires on 'real' vehicles. The car I ended up buying was advertised as a 120 and based on that, I went to view at it. Armed with all the different models wheel base measurements, the first thing I did was measure the for-sale car and it was 122", which excluded it from being a 120. It also had the seller doing some serious backpedaling and we then came to an agreement on price once it was established that the car was a Six. Had I not done my homework, I would undoubtedly have paid a premium price for an 'other than advertised' Packard, after which, it would have been too late. All the forgoing advice comes from folks who have bought one or more Packards and they certainly know of what they speak. My point is to be careful, take your time, research the heck out of your 'target car' and, as hard as it is with Packards, try not to fall in love with a prospect car, because as good as something can look on a buying visit, the list of what can be wrong with an +/-80 year old vehicle, is pretty significant. Best of luck in your search.

Thanks, Dave. and, coming from you, I will take that as gospel! (I wasn't sure, either way) Chris.

Yes, certainly worked fine with mine, Pat. Also, was browsing the Steele Rubber Products site for my 'next order' LOL and noticed a firewall grommet and wasn't exactly sure where it fit in. Your picture clears that up. A guy could order theirs or get a piece of 1/4" closed cell foam or some low-durometer, really soft rubber and make your own - the dimensions are right there.....
https://www.steelerubber.com/firewall-grommet-30-0070-21

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While on the topic, it's a good time to ask the question - should the oil line be 'bled' when reassembling the gauge?? When I removed the nut (I think it's a little flare or compression fitting) I didn't see any signs of oil; are these 'direct' gauges supposed to have oil right to the register or do they work on air pressure being built up in the line??? I know there is a multi-coil loop in the line right where it goes into the block and this would serve as a 'trap' to keep the oil from draining out, but as I understand it, that looping is more of a vib-damp than anything else. Anybody know????

a hand nut-driver works really well... 1/4" or 5/16"

Hi Pat,

Re 'refurbishing the cluster', not sure how far you are going - are you redoing all the gauges and speedo? I know in a previous post, you had talked about your heat gauge being the wrong one for your car and if you are just dealing with that, it can be removed with the oil pressure gauge and the temp-tube fed into the car through the firewall opening. the oil gauge tube is attached with a nut that can be removed, and the 'mini-cluster' can be opened and repaired/serviced with minimal disruption to the rest of the dash. I just did this on my '39 and sent the unit to Roy Martin, 'the Temperature Gauge Repair Guy' and he did a beautiful job of refurbishing the unit. Quick turn around, decent price - highly recommend him. If you are disassembling the entire dash cluster, then my comments are moot, just wanted to save you some time/work if you were going to pull the whole thing to address the sub-cluster. Good luck! Chris

Nice, complete, original old unit Don - good luck with scoping it out. Have to agree with Packard Barry though, that they're asking too much. When I was looking for my car, I was in serious discussions with a guy in Washington on a RESTORED 160 for $30K. That car was '39 or '40, can't remember, so not sure if that one-or-two-year-newer would make a significant difference, and the 160 I looked at HAD been restored quite a few years back, but it was a frame-off and the car still looked pretty jammy to my, at-the-time, untrained 'Packard eye'.
Anyway, best of luck! Chris

Hi 'Dumper',

I have a '39 4-DR sedan and can only speak to THAT fuel gauge, but presuming they are similar, the unit isn't that hard to remove. One disconnects the wires from the gas gauge and ammeter (careful, as the ammeter wire is hot regardless of the ignition switch being on or off) and then there are 4 studs on the back of the dash to which the gauge cluster is attached. Mine were secured with 1/4" nuts and a hand, nut-wrench seemed to be the easiest thing to use; the 2 on the outside of the cluster body must come right off and the two closest to the speedometer need only be loosened as they 'share' a common stud with the speedometer body and once loose the unit will come right out. The tin back has pressed 'latch-catches' and these can be gently pried apart with a flat screwdriver. After that, it is a simple procedure to remove and replace the gas gauge register. Also, check and make sure the sender unit is grounded to positive as that was the problem with mine - somebody had had it apart and put it back together negative ground. Hope this is of some help, good luck. Chris

Not sure who our Webmaster is (Big Kev?) but I know the website was down for quite a few hours Monday night and Tuesday during the day, with server problems. Oftentimes the technical know-how and all the hours that go into keeping a site like Packard Info running smoothly, go largely unnoticed and the individual(s) responsible, unthanked.
I just wanted to extend my appreciation for a) getting us back up and running, and b) for the ongoing work that goes into managing a project such as our website.
And, knowing that the site doesn't run on 'thank yous', and in keeping with putting one's money where one's mouth is, I clicked on the 'Donate' button and made a nominal donation. I'm not in a position to be a significant donor, but thought if folks who use and value Packard info threw what they could at the 'cause', it would make a positive difference. 'Just sayin'......