I don't know if that's the general concencus or not, but I think the recommendation is valid. I'll note, however, after a rebuild I went to Dexron, had the groan, changed back to Type F (actually, Type FA) and have had 13,000 miles of flawless performance since.

It was not until well after WW II that Packard kept production records by body style so there is no quantitative answer to your question, though it could of course be estimated by knowing the highest VN production sequence known. You might contact the PAC roster keeper for that year/model to see if his has an estimate. In a general answer, the coupe victoria (or coupe/sedan to some) is relatively uncommon, though of course far more common on the junior chassis than the seniors.

The 1601 came in two wheelbases, 127 for the factory bodies, and 1602 (139 inch) for Rollston-bodied series of quasi-customs. 1602 is an Eight (120) on the long 148 inch wheelbase for the inexpensive limousine and 7-pass sedan.

Just to round out the picture for you, 1603, 04 and 05 were Super Eights on 127, 134 and 139 inch wheelbases. And 1607 and 1608 were Twelves on 134 and 139 inch wheelbases.

Commonly accepted production numbers were: Six (110) - 30,050; Eight (120) - 22,624; Super Eight - 2478; and Twelve - 566. As you can see, the Super Eight and Twelves, which are bona fide Classics, were far outnumbered by the inexpensive bretheren.

I'm not aware of a 1601A, but the 1601D is an Eight (120) on the 127 inch wheelbase that came only in a 5 passenger sedan.

1938 can be a tough year because it's the only year that Packard replaced the metal patent plate (containing the vehicle number) with a decal which more often than not has turned to dust. If this has happened there is no way to recover your true vehicle number except perhaps thru documentation.

If in fact your body is an 1195 (that is, the vehicle number begins with 1195-), then your car is a chassis 1601, called an Eight for that year but otherwise known as a "120", and the body was called a Club Coupe (2-4 passengers). For 1938 there were 4 Packard lines, starting from the bottom the Six (aka 110), your car, the Super Eight, and the Twelve.

Heatherdef, you had asked in your series of posts if Henney still exists, and I didn't see that anyone had responsed. The answer is "no", but you'll find a very concise and interesting history of Henney at www.coachbuilt.com/ , page down to the listing of professional coachbuilders and click on Henney.

One last thought, check with Henry Yeska in Pennsylvania (he advertises in Hemmings and PAC); at one time he was repairing or converting Owen-Dyneto cutouts and regulators. Phone 610-759-0230.

Sorry to dissagree Tim, but the 55/56 V8 Packards have a bypass oil filter, not a full flow.

Scott, my 34 Eight has stock 4.69 gears which was pretty much standard for the closed cars; the lighter open cars could have that, or 4.36, or 4.07. In my case I find 45 to 50 to be very comfortable cruising speeds and the engine is essentially silent. I've occasionally cruised at 55 for an hour or two where modern highways seemed to demand it, but try to avoid it.

Boy, if NAPA (Echlin) has finally stopped making these it's a shame for those who weren't aware of them; it sure was a great security blanket for those who knew and stocked up on a few, especially at about $40 each. The O-D unit for the 33-34 Eights and Super Eights was NAPA's VR-755. I believe the original cutout for your car was Dyneto #20220, and NAPA's replacement was CU 3.

As far as reliability, despite having several new NAPA replacements, my 34 is still using the original unit so I don't think that solid state could be any more reliable - that O-D was really top-notch equipment.

I know I suggested this before, did you ever get to NAPA and check for one? As of about a year ago they still cataloged them, almost exactly original appearance, and about $38. I bought several of the 33-34 replacements for the Owen Dyneto and the only physical difference is an acorn nut in the center of the cover to attach it, rather than two screws at the side of the base. I'm sure I could find the Echlin/NAPA number for you.

Let me digress from the original topic to that of oils for the earlier engines. Despite the terrific advances in motor oil since the early thirties when they were marginally refined crude oil, none of them can turn a slow-revving, long-stroke, babbit bearing engine into a streaking speed demon. In the era when 65% of the nation's roads were unpaved, 45 mph was a challenging and not commonly reached speed and the cars were geared accordingly. Changing your oil frequently, dropping and cleaning the oil pan regularly, and keeping to the speeds for which the car was originally engineered are probably far more important to good engine life than the specific oil type used. Although there maybe something that appeals to logic about using higher viscosity oils (for cushioning effect?) in the older engines with babbit bearings, it is probably a bad idea. Higher viscosity translates into lower flow rates which transfers into less heat transfer and heat is the major enemy of babbit materials. Thus for these early engines I'd recommend sticking to the viscosity recommended by Packard at the time. If the engine is clean internally, I doubt that it makes a difference whether you use detergent or non-detergent, though the engines of the 33-39 seniors had full-flow oil filters and heat exchangers. I'd make an exception for the Twelves and use detergent single viscosity because they have hydraulic valve clearance dampers with very fine tolerances.

When you get to the advent of the 356 engine and those that follow with hydraulic lifters, a detergent oil is much recommended but again you should insure that the engine is clean inside. If the car was recently purchased and you don't know when it was last done, drop the pan and clean it along with the valve lifter galley. Again, driven sensibly at the speeds for which they were engineered, a single viscosity detergent oil should be fine but likewise a multi-viscosity grade should be OK but I'd avoid SAE10W-40 which is probably the poorest of the bunch due to very high levels of viscosity extenders. If your summertime temperatures are in the range that Packard recommended SAE 40 for, then I'd use SAE15W-40 like Rotella T or Delvac because you can benefit from enhanced additive packages that include anti-scuff additives. In any case those are my opinons, feel free to differ.