Jack, yes Tetraethyl lead (a cut in gasoline) is commercially available. What's illegal is to dispense leaded gasoline into a motor vehicle, but the TEL is legal trade. Most of it goes to the off-shore speedboat crowd but you can buy it in quarts from Jack Podell, see his constant advertisements in Hemmings Motor News. I've used it sparingly in my 56 Caribbean for quite a few years when I anticipate long, hard drives where I tend to get a bit too much preignition and am reluctant to retard the timing.

As a retired chemist, let me add emphasis to your caution, it is TOXIC. If you must use it, wear impermeable gloves, keep your mouth and nose shut, and wash up thoroughly after dispensing.

I have no experience with the non-tetraethyl lead type of octane boosters but would consider them to be in the "snake oil" category, no real benefit.

The thread on the Monte Carlos and other Packard factory creations was so interesting to me and others and got such good participation, let me start another but this time I'll just broach the subject and see what photos and info others come up with. Let's stick to the postwar coachbuilt cars (though they are less coachbuilt than just gussied up factory bodies except for the 47 Clipper convertible sedans), all by Derham. I'll identify a few and let's see how good we are at filling in with pictures and information. (1) two 1947 Custom Super Clipper convertible sedans on extended wheelbases, (2) a 1950 Custom 8 sedan, (3) a 1951 or 52 formal Patrician, (4) several 1953 and 1954 Patrician formal sedans and formal limousines, and (5) the 1955 or 1956 Patrician formal. There are pictures that I know of of all except the last, though it has been seen by at least one PAC member (not me). Are there others? Let's leave the Packard Esquire for a separate thread as it really was a dealer creation.

I've seen both a just-prewar and a just-post-war B&S Cadillac convertible coupe and I believe there were at least 2 B&S Packards at the 1999 Centennial. B&S was in Pasadena, CA and set up by former employees of the Walter Murphy Company. Their cars are generally pretty flamboyant as you would expect for a firm whose primary clientele was the Hollywood crowd.

Two often-seen pictures of their work on Packards can be seen on pg 189 of Hugo Pfau's The Coachbuilt Packard; these two a 1941 convertible sedan and a 1940 Enclosed Drive limousine.

In this thread we had stuck to the postwar show cars and custom creations that Packard produced; if we want to branch out into the work of the custom coachbuilders, I suggest we start a new thread.

The running temperature should approximate the thermostat value; if it doesn't, there are many other things to look for. If it does, all should be OK. Great idea checking the water distribution tube, it's often overlooked.

I believe a similar armoured Packard was built for Walter Ruether, the American labor union organizer. Perhaps one of the heaviest U.S. cars built was the "Father Devine" Duesenberg which apparently suffered all kinds of maladies from it's excessive weight. I don't think it was armoured but it was built on a greatly extended wheelbase. Somewhere I have some information on both cars, I'll see if I can find it over the next few weeks.

Good thing I said SOME closure, I guess I'm due for a re-read of the Kimes book and thanks for the information about the wheels. Next time I see Ralph Marano I'll take a better look at the wheels on his Pan American and also see if he remembers seeing the maker's name on them.

Your 55 Patrician should run nicely on premium fuel, and maybe even mid-range. No fuel additive should be needed unless you intend to drive regularly at high speeds in which case you might consider adding some tetraethyl lead to the gasoline for valve lubrication.

Everyone has their favorites on motor oil but unless you live in a very warm or very cold climate I'd recommend SAE15W-40 such as Shell Rotella T or Mobil's Delvac, though there are many other good brands as well. If your engine is reasonably tight and in good condition SAE10W-30 should also be OK though I'd steer clear of 10W-40. You could also use the straight viscosity oil of the range recommended for the temperatures in your area according to the 55 Packard owner's manual, though if I did this I'd select a detergent grade.

But if the car is new to you and you don't have any prior history of it being done, I'd first have the oil pan dropped and cleaned, along with the oil pump intake screen.

Reminds me of when I registered by Packard on my E-Z Pass account. It ended up as "MAKE - unknown" and "MODEL - Packard" despite my lengthy letter. Who was it, Longfellow(?) who said something like "a foolish consistency is the hobgobblin of feeble minds". Perhaps a motto for some of our civil servants and their programs.

I think I've seen that kind of material, is it kind of chunks of cork in a black rubber matrix? I certainly wouldn't use that around gasoline but the cork I've used for gasket materials is simple basic sheet cork which you can buy in varying thicknesses at most auto parts stores for from industrial supply houses like MSC. And as I've said, never a problem using it around gasoline applications.

Perhaps a better example is this earlier patent plate where the identifying number is the motor number, but it's called the VEHICLE NUMBER. And then an example from 1949 or so, again it's a VEHICLE NUMBER, not a serial number.

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