D.O.

Given that so many of us have the combination of an Optima battery with the original charging system I would say that combination is quite acceptable.

The ammeter indicating ‘no charge’ in itself is also not a concern, but it could be a clue, because once the battery is charged that’s the correct meter reading. Your comment about a discharge with the headlights ON, is a clue that the generator output might be compromised . . . perhaps zero output. Check the battery voltage with the car not running, and again running at a high idle. There should be about one volt difference in the two readings (running would be the higher voltage). If you measure no difference between the two readings I would agree with your observation about running the car on batteries only. I’m assuming the car is a 6+ system and the two batteries are connected in parallel.

dp

Marc Williams

I finally had a chance to measure the coil resistance on the A/C compressor on my ’54 Cavalier. What I found was 3.6 ohms, which is exactly the same as the coil in a replacement compressor I just bought for my ’99 Suburban.

I also went on the fruitless task of searching the web for an A/C clutch designed for 6 volts, meaning one half of the resistance to hold the same current. Just like many before me I failed miserably, however I did find that coils come in ‘one-wire’ and ‘two-wire’ configurations. All are actually ‘two-wire’, and it’s just a distinction on whether the ‘ground’ wire is external or terminated on the case of the compressor. I also found a few sites that mentioned a 12 volt coil will work on a 6 volt car, but speculated that there might be cases where the clutch did not function properly at 6 volts. There was a discussion that at the normal system voltage of about 7 volts the success rate would be better.

There was also a discussion about shimming the solenoid air gap to the minimum allowable. The specification for air gap for a Sanden compressors is typically 0.016 to 0.031 inch, but that value varies with air compressor manufacturer and compressor model. The air gap on my Sanden equipped ’54 Cavalier is 0.025 inch, so there is a bit of margin I could take advantage of if my compressor had problems with ‘pull-in’.

My take a ways are:
1. The resistance of a modern air conditioner clutch coil is approximately 3.6 ohms, and at that resistance success on 6 volts is not guaranteed, but is highly likely.
2. Modern air conditioner compressors are available in either a ‘one-wire’ or ‘two-wire’ clutch configurations, and the installation should provide a clutch coil ground path that has the least practical resistance.
3. Reducing the clutch air gap to the specification minimum would help, but that adjustment may not be required on all compressor clutches that will be operated at 6 volts.

dp

J
I can PM you some photos of a ‘drill no holes’ solution for a ’51-’54 car. The only thing missing is a ‘bladder/diaphragm’ equipped reservoir. . currently my reservoir does not have that feature, but the search continues.
d

JeromeSolberg

With respect to your observation about ‘little bladders/diaphragms’, have you considered a remote reservoir where the reservoir has that feature? I suspect that would scratch two itches, one the accessibility of master cylinder, and two the better sealing of the fluid from the atmosphere.

dp

I think I’ve discovered a few fundamental differences in a Packard fuel system that may/should shed some light on the fuel cap leakage situation.

The Danchuk website claims a faithful reproduction of a tri-five gas cap, and that cap has a center through hole for a vent. We have at least three forum members that have reported leakage when this type of cap is used on a Packard. HH56 has posted a photo of an original Packard gas cap that does not have the center through hole vent design. So what is different between a Chevrolet (likely includes more GM brands) and Packard fuel systems for the same era?

PackardDon was on the right track, I think when he was talking about pipe bending dies, especially the long radius dies . . . fuel leakage may have a lot to do with the shape of the fill pipe. There is also the location where the fill pipe attaches to the tank, which is low on the Packard and high on the Chevrolet. This has a lot to do with the fuel level when the leakage stops. Now the fill pipe: The GM is a short pipe (remember it’s mounted at the top of the tank), with a short radius bend that looks about 45 degrees. The Packard (original not reproduction) fill pipe has a much longer smooth radius bend that allows the fuel slosh to be converted to a rising level in the filler pipe far easier than an abrupt bend. Based on Kevin’s experience the reproduction tank fill pipe is close enough to retain this characteristic of easily converting slosh to fuel level in the fill pipe.

The bottom line is to remain somewhat leak free the Packard fill pipe design and mounting location needed a vented fuel cap that does not feature a simple through hole, whereas the Chevrolet fill pipe and mounting could tolerate a through hole vent design in the cap. There is the possibility that the Chevrolet cap did leak but only when the tank was ‘really full’. There’s one other item, but at this point I only have photos, not hard measurements . . . to my eye the Packard ‘filler door’ appears to be measurably lower than the Chevrolet, perhaps as much as 6 inches. If that can be confirmed and the height from the top of the fuel tank to the spill line on the filler is less on the Packard, that would help explain a lot of the situation, in-fact that may be the single most important difference between the two systems. Does anyone know of a ’55 Chevy (non-wagon) that measurements can be taken?

For a while until we find a source for caps more like the original design we will be relegated to soda cans, tuna fish cans, or plumbing store stuff to keep the gas stains off of the fender.

dp

I was looking at the photos of the ’48 Station Sedan, especially the view of the engine bay. I’ve always thought the selective trimming of the battery tray was to remove metal that had corrosion damage, but after seeing several, albeit limited, cut in about the same size & place I’m wondering if the surgery is for some other reason. I know the tray in my ’48 has the same type of hole that appears to have been cut after the tray had been powder coated. I have some appreciation of the skill set and resources the previous owner possessed, or had access to, and if it was a simple job to cut-out of corrosion I would have expected a repair patch to have been seamlessly welded in, especially before power coating.

Is there a gap in my education as to a reason for this cut-out other than corrosion removal? Just another case of good intentions?

Bear

When I want to control the amount of lift with any degree of precision I normally use a scissor jack . . . that type of jack also is not likely to relax with time, so it’s OK to leave installed for longer durations. As HH56 said, spreading the load on the pan is wise as the top pad on a scissor jack is not normally flat.

dp

I will not sign-up for Ernie’s last caveat of who might respond . . .

’53 Clipper ‘Standard’ Touring Sedan = 288 . . . . ‘Standard’ was added by me to emphasize the two different trims available.

’53 Clipper ‘Deluxe’ Touring Sedan = 327

The car in question has the side trim of the ‘standard’, and is not equipped with the rear fender ‘fins’ as found on the Deluxe. I would say the car is a ‘standard’ Touring Sedan and would be originally configured with a 288, however you’re only a crankshaft and connecting rod set away from a 327, perhaps via short block with the original head, or the lad is confused, or the lad is trying to maximize the sale price.

Frequently I will be asked ‘Who made this car?’, and I reply ‘Packard’. I guess the person has already did a quick walk-around and had already saw the badging, because the next question goes something like ‘No no no, was it made by Ford, GM, or Chrysler?’. That begins the slightly longer discussion about all of the ‘non-big-three’ manufacturers that went out of business. I guess I can add the modern badges within the ‘big-three’ that fell out of corporate favor.

I went looking for how many US automobile manufactures have closed their doors . . . it’s an amazingly long list, see:

List of defunct automobile manufacturers of the United States - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defunct_automobile_manufacturers_of_the_United_States

Perhaps I could edit this list to remove those early ‘brass era’ marks, and again those that did not survive the depression. That might be a better list to discuss when the ‘question’ is asked.

Howard my ’48 is not equipped with the AC . . . it’s the ’54 Cavalier.

Joe Wareham ‘Joe’s ’49 Club Sedan’ project blog covered installation of a Sanden compressor starting on page 13. Joe and I exchanged several messages on what we thought was a competitive method to mount any such device. Two issues can be resolved by a two piece bracket design, where one bracket is rigidly mounted to the engine. This bracket will have slots (not holes) that a Sanden compressor bracket mounts to. The slots allows for alignment of the drive belt to the existing Packard pulley. This adjustment would be typically done once, and there would be nothing wrong if an attempt was made to fabricate this bracket with holes alone, as Joe shows in post #170. The Sanden bracket will have slots that will allow for belt tension adjustment, although some Sanden brackets allow the compressor to pivot to tighten the belt.

Back to my ’54, again it’s a 6+ car. I’ve looked for something that might boost/convert the voltage to power the AC . . . I couldn’t find anything, so I’ve concluded; 1.) The converter is inside the evaporator unit under the dash, or 2.) The unit is truly a 6 volt device. I’ve never determined whether the Sanden clutch has been changed or that clutch is intended for 12 volt. As luck would have it I just ordered a Sanden replacement for my ’99 Suburban, so I can compare the resistance of the two clutches and report those values. I have not noticed a problem with the engine coolant temperature on that car, but I do agree with HH56’s observation on the cooling margin available on the ’48-’50 cars.

As the photos show my compressor is mounted on the right side of the engine. It was installed prior to my ownership, and although I tried I have not figured-out who installed same. With power steering and an oil filter real-estate on the left side of the engine is at a premium.

dp