If the thing ran good, had good oil pressure, quiet, etc, I'd roll it. The 37 12 is arguably the best of the best. The fact that it's a limo, well, you wouldn't find a convertible anything in that price. Worth a set of gaskets and accessory rebuilds to get it road worthy and run it as is. I wish I had a spare $25K. As far as a banjo wheel, I've seen many original 37 12s. Can't recall a banjo wheel on any one of em. It should be "cast" woodgrain. By that I mean the bakolite type material was swirled in an both brown and a burnt orange to get the effect. They look awesome when they're repaired to OEM. Did I say I wish I had...

Leave it to our buddy Owen...good stuff.

The plug, plan on some paint touch up, but you'll be able to get it out with this simple process:

Warm the engine up to full operating temp.

Once it cools down just enough to work on it in some level of comfort,put some heat to the plug with a small MAPP gas torch, similar to a propane torch. DOn't get it red hot as you'll anneal it and bugger the slot, but get it good and hot.

Apply a candle to the threaded area and in the slotted portion of the plug. You'll see the wax run around a bit but just trust that it's finding it's way to the threads. Let it "soak some and repeat the process.

After 1-2 wax applications, get a screwdriver that fits that plug to EXACTING tolerance. Twist it out. A shorter driver will offer more control and leverage, one with a hex near the grip, even better. Just be square and deliberate. If it binds up just warm and wax it again.


The idea of warming the engine 1st relieves you of having to apply the heat for too long to get deeper into the plug. The wax will definately creep through the threads, and the head being warm already won't stop the creeping process as the torch work cools. Try it, you'll love it. If your plug is a 4-sided version, get the right 8pt socket to fit vs a Cresent or pipe wrench. Better leverage. Good luck and let us know how it worked.


BTW, if you have access to straight parrafin wax bars that's fine, but the Mrs always has an abundance of scented candles. I prefer the cinnamon variety, but I digress...

Thanks for those pics 'fee. It explains everything. I have the splined end in full. I'll need to shag the rear u-joint deal. I may have it, got more digging to do. Tonight's tough. I'm just ready to split. I didn't hope to be here this long (!), but I do what I gotta. Tomorrow?

That was mor than helpful!! Thank you very much. It looks as though the rear has a U-joint affair similar to the front. Very unique. I have all of the front, just need to see what else. Even though that was really a "hit", I could use a pic of one installed or a finished/OEM/parts book shot. Sadly, all of our Packard Info stuff comes up "can't open" for me most of the time. Thanks again.


Anyone else? I could use all I can find at this point.

If I may interupt just a bit, I'm thinking the 9th Twin Six cars did not have the angle-set hypoid rear axle. I wouldn't raise my right hand to that, yet I believe the 900 series did indeed incorporate that feature. Why bring it up? it would explain the unique geography at the rear portion of the frame.

In "Packard: A History Of The Car And The Company" by Kimes, there's 2 lovely photos of 9th and 10th prototype chassis. Pgs 402 and 403 show the 9th, including the 3rd pedal for a vacuum operated clutch. On pg 412 is a very nice shot of the 10th which is more what we enthusiasts of the time are used to seeing. However, I don't see the rear axle.

I've seen more than 8 different L-29s myself. That number must be related to something very specific?

Ok, sorry to butt in...

I've sorted through much of the inventory I have and I'd like to see some pictures of the driveshafts used. I did figure out what I believe is the front but not the rear. Can anyone direct me to a site where some parts pics may be available? I searched several ways and i get a "phonebook" amount of everything except what I'm seeking. Being a specialist in 33-4 models, I can't raise my right hand to some of the stuff I'm sorting. Thanks in advance for any help.

Ahh, Hershey. I can't wait to get there again. Yet by Saturday afternoon, I can't wait to get home. The meet was very small for me this year. I had to stay mainly in my space attending Mr.Blevins' 33 Packard. The response to that car was nothing short of overwhelming. It may be a good thing I hung around for those 3 days. I got to meet several new friends and put smiling faces and voices to some of you I haven't met yet. It was gratifiying to see some of my international friends for the 3rd year in a row. Perhaps with some help next year I can roam around a little bit before the excitment begins at each day in our tent. The show was as good as always. I look forward to the HPOF section (Historic Preservation of Original Features). Those are the cars that keep their originality intact. You'll have to wait for pictures, but the hit for me in HPOF was a 27 Packard Murphy Roadster with aluminum coachwork and twin rear spares. I litterally smiled to myself when I got right up to it. Just plain kool. Thanks to all of you who stopped by with kind words about the 33. It took a 1st Junior on Sat, but I have a serious hit list of changes and upgrades already. Considering that the crew and I finished and loaded the car at 10:40 Monday evening, it's no real surprise I guess. I'm still feeling the aches and pains of the last 3 weeks. I'd do it all over again though...and I probably will!

There are 2 modern colors that are a pretty spot on match for Packard Blue. One of them is called Midnight Blue and it was offered on 77-79 T-Bird, Cougar, and some Lincoln models through those years. It's very close. The other is from Chrysler Corp from the early-mid 80s called Nightwatch Blue. Spray it over a black base or black sealer and it's just about perfect. Packard Blue is "Prussian Blue" tint and binder (the clear portion of the mix), nothing else. And yes, the Prussian Blue tint is just like the bluing used for valve jobs. Very transparent. Have fun...

It sounds like either your tread covers are "sprung" or the tire is too small. In the case of them being sprung, what I've done is take a piece of stainless welding wire and fashion a hook of sorts to hold them snug. This does require drilling a hole in the very bottom (never seen) and you'd want to be sure it lines up with a groove in the tread of the tire. Now I was saying too small a tire because it sounds like the tread cover's loose the way you describe the issue. It's possible the tire's too large and it simply won't wrap tight enough to lip over the face cover. In that case deflate the tire and see if it will go on. If it does, well you'll know what to do at that point. All of the newer tires run larger than the OEM sizes used to be because that's what most folks want, a bigger tire.

All I can express toward the original question is an opinion. Since Packard decided to keep their senior models through 39, it would make sense for that market to maintain the powerplants that their customer base would expect to see. They had already dropped the 384 Super 8 and re-classified the 320 as a "Super" for the 15th through 17th series cars. Once those were done it was time to develop or enlarge the 120 (288/282) into the beloved 356. Well, I love em anyways, and IMO it was a good move. The monstrous senior cars were gone, times and tastes were changing, war was looming on the horizon, cars were getting smaller and faster. I did read somewhere that the 41 160 cars were the fastest production US cars available. I read this in an issue of "MoToR" magazine, the dealer network's professional publication. I had to return the books to whom I'd borrowed them from so I can't cite the actual article, and strange enough, it was in a story of another car line and the author was extolling that line's new increased power. The statement was how it was 2nd only to the new 160, "...the fastest American production car available...".

In an effort to analyze that market place and try to put it all into our own perspectives, we need to try and remove ourselves from the topic. I personally think the 356 was perhaps the best ever. It's cousin, the 359 is just as nice but not the 1st. In one of the replies above about the 15,000 mile test, well that was a publicity move for the 36, or 14th, model year during the auto show in NY. The real test according to the big "Packard" book by Kimes was for the 12th series where they ran the new "insert" bearings in a 320ci 8 at full throttle for 25,000 miles (!!!!) with no failure, stopping only for gas, oil, driver and tire changes. Still, in light of such durability, it had to go in order to keep up with the times. Not because it was outdated or unreliable, it just didn't fit.