Man alive what is the secret for removing the sending unit from the gas tank. Is there a special wrench available for removing the sender.There isn't much information in the Packard manual regarding the tank. I tried placing a wood block at each one of the (4)ears sticking up and some light hammer blows but nothing moved. I don't see how a spanner wrench could be used either.

Mrpushbutton & Owen,
Thanks for the quick reply and info.
I pretty much figured the dash wrinkles were more common than not. The vinyl seems to be in pretty good shape and not really stiff, so maybe I can do something with it. The original foam padding must have been fairly thin.
Owen, where were you able to find the foam you used. Did you have to slice it with an electric knife to the thickness you needed.

My 56 Pat has a vinyl covered dash that has some wrinkles in it and is not smooth or tight fiiting around the windshield area. I am guessing the dash had some foam padding that has shrunk and will require replacing. I'm sure someone has had to do this and am wondering about what type foam and thickness of the padding is required, and any pointers or problems encountered.
Thanks in advance!

Are you saying the car is quieter with or without the resonator. I don't like a loud noisy exhaust. The Packard parts manual shows resonators on the 5680 as standard so I'm guesing they were all supplied with resonators.

I need to install a completely new dual exhaust system on my 56 Pat. The current exhaust has no resonators installed and I was wondering if Packard produced any cars in the 56 model year without resonators. I would like to keep it as original as possible. I had a 56 Cadillac coupe deville (man what a car)way back in the sixties that was one of less than a hundred produced without resonators so I know not all of the big cars with V8s had them.

Thanks Owen;
I have enjoyed reading everyone's input and you have really added to my thinking about lubricants. I will stick with the Sta-Lube Moly/ Graphite. That seems to be a good choice and allows for peace of mind, so to speak. I don't recall ever hearing discussed the "channeling issue regarding grease properties" even in some the industrial engineering classes I attended back last century, and I find it very interesting to say the least.

I really appreciate the input fromall you guys and it's great to kick all of this stuff around. Actually none of the NAPA stores around here (at least 5 or 6) carry the sta-lube grease, but they do have the lubriplate which packard recommende for the backing plates at the brakes shoes/drums. I did find some more (1 package of 3 tubes) of the SL-3144 at Harbor Freight. I am sure I bought some at the local napa store a couple of years ago but no one remembers having had it in stock and it is no londer in their listed items. But, the good news is I have 4 tubes and I'm pretty sure it will be enough to fill the compensator housing. I'm pretty sure never seize would also work very well in the T/L compensator, but it is a bit moe pricey. What is your opinion on the never seize. We use to use it in pump casings, turbine drives,valves gear boxes, etc.and it never seemed to fail before the next scheduled PM, which was about 2 years on a lot of that equipment.

I haven't found any of the Sta-Lube SL 3303 at any of the Auto stores or "Dealers" but I still have some CRC Sta-Lube 3144 which is a Moly-Graph grease and wondering if that is about the same thing. Even the SL-3144 is very difficult to find around here in tidewater VA. You can find it on the web but S/H adds a lot to the price.

I want to add grease to my 56 pat compensator. I don't know what or how much is in it now, but it looks and feels like never seize or something like it that is grey/silver in color. Some of the grease manufacturers say not to mix with other types of grease so, what is a guy to put it when you don't know what is in it currently? The Packard manual just says they use a special lube and should never require additional lubrication unless it is disassembled or whatever.

It would seem reasonable to believe the best and first choice would be use the proper replacement gasket and follow the manufactures recommendations (if provided)or follow Packards service manual. If the gasket is not available then use shelac or equivalent.I agree after having thought about it for a couple of days, that RTV may be the least desirable. But the gaskets are available for $10.00 bucks + $2.00 S&H so I think that is the best choice.
Thanks for all of the input