Really delightful pics! This link should make it easier to find these artful photos...

TG

RE; the question of the first post of this therad.

The ideal situation is to have 2wo OR MORE cars of identicle model make and year. One car is kept as a factory perfect original. The other car is less authentic for the purpose of meeting modern demands. Even a 3rd car used for research/parts etc. Such a collection is what i've strived for over the years but have never been able to succeed at.


The arguments of originality vs owner preference have raged on for decades and will continue to rage on. The only solution i can come up with is as outlined above. But even among the purist crowd there exists debates as to what was original and what wasn't. Even among those of us that are compelled to more pragmatic service from a car often debate modifications and procedures.

OR, to put it another way, just exactly how many original Madonna Lisa portraits still exist anyway???? The answer strictly depends on which collector u talk to.

you may also want to try SKIRTS AND VISORS.COM
I bought a set there for my 42 clipper and was pleased with price and quality. They make them per order so it may take a while to get them.


crotomac

thanks for the reply - but i wasn't thinking two-tone as much as the body being one color and the fenders being the chassis color (black). i agree, i've never seen one, but this came from reading a packard service letter that said... all chassis were to be painted black...and fenders were considered part of the chassis...for 1937.

thanks
jb

Quote:G'day 40pack,
to PackardInfo. Good to see you use your Packard regularly a great way to enjoy it.

To West's suggestions, and presuming you are taking the radiator out in it's cradle with the front clip, I'd add the following. Drain radiator, remove upper and lower radiator hoses, remove the nuts from large bolt/s securing the radiator to the front cross member and disconnect any wiring connections from the firewall or frame to the inner fender panels or to the front clip.

And a request, could you please include your '40 1801A Henney ambulance in the Packard Owner's Registry here, together with a pic, any known history and how you acquired it?

Tuesday 15th June 2010

On the way to the workshop filled the '41 up with fuel. For the 155 miles travelled between fills, 65.37 litres of fuel were required. And with 65.37 litres = 17.27 US gallons or 14.38 Imperial gallons this gives about 9 mpg or 10.8 mpg respectively. Low mileage figures for sure but I expect improvement with much less workshop running, more road and highway running and as the engine loosens up.

Took the running boards down to the workshop by transporting them "mounted" on the running board brackets but without using washers/nuts to secure them in place. Because of having to slide them in at an angle from the side so the inner lip goes under the door and body line then laying them down flat with the captive bolts in place in the running board brackets there was no likelihood they would part company from the '41 on the way. Once there I proceeded to final clean and prep them then applied POR-15 to the underside of each. And called Harvey, had also called him on the weekend, and he's going to spray the flat black paint on the topsides of the running boards later this week.

And when I arrived Wade was in the midst of manufacturing a special Packard tool to facilitate removal of the harmonic balancer from Big Red without having to remove either the front clip or radiator. The special Packard tool took the form of the 1&7/8" very large socket having a flat surface ground on either side of the socket fitting, an idea suggested by John. And although I queried Wade as to whether I should mention this in my narrative and he said no, in spite of having to face "The Wrath of Wade", I have nevertheless decided to make mention of it. It's really necessity being the mother of invention in this case, it's not as if Big Red itself was being modified in any way. By doing this and using a large adjustable spanner(crescent wrench) the retaining bolt for the harmonic balancer can be accessed without the need for removing major components from Big Red. Only thing removed to facilitate access was the fan belt. That is if you can still use the term access for the very confined space you now have to work with and in. Anyway, to cut a long story short, it worked! Wade had also phoned Graham Wilkins earlier who advised to come over in a couple of hours and pick up the balanced balancer.

And while I was painting, Peter Packard had phoned Wade and had a detailed discussion concerning OD's and their failings and foibles. In order to give Wade a first hand view, feel and experience of the '41's OD problems we took that for the journey to Graham Wilkins with Wade driving. On the way there we called into ABC bearings for Wade to source a large o-ring to take the place of the perished original rubber ring on one of the tuners for the radios Wade is rebuilding. Looks like he found one, not exactly to spec but close enough to do the job. And the price, all of AU$2.50, Pepe don't let him tell you otherwise! I also took the opportunity, while Wade was in ABC, to duck round the corner to Grippy Rubber to buy some rubber grommets for the '41. Leaving ABC, and travelling to Seven Hills to see Graham Wilkins, Wade pulled into a side street at Rydalmere. In the side street, he drove the left side of the '41 up onto the kerb affording room for him to slide under the side and, disconnected the OD Solenoid wires. Doing this improved the performance of the OD somewhat but on the over-run the sounds emanating from under the car still weren't good at all. Was unable to manually lockout the OD using the cable to the dash. Locking out the OD as per the manual, consists of depressing the clutch while in gear then pulling the OD lockout knob out. But doing this still resulted in horrendous crunching noises so wasn't persevered with. Wade is of the opinion that the "sprag" clutch is shot.

Anyway, putting that aside, arrived at Graham Wilkin's to find he hadn't yet balanced the balancer and was still in the process of finishing the collar required so the balancer could be fitted to the balancing machine. Because of this we were afforded the opportunity to watch the balancing process "live". Consisted of mounting the harmonic balancer on the end of a shaft looking somewhat like a tailshaft but running on two pairs of rollers. The driving end of the machine contains the controls and a number of indicating dials. Speed is about 1,000 rpm and the area of imbalance was shown as being at 290 degrees(there's a 360 degree wheel on the front of the machine to reference the balancer to) and a quite substantial imbalance too! To bring it into balance Graham drilled holes, in the face of the balancer being balanced, at and around the 290 degree indicated mark. Although newer more sophisticated machines can tell you how big a drill to use and how deep to drill, Graham's machine wasn't that refined. This necessitated Graham drilling a couple of holes, running the balancer again, drilling a couple of holes, running the balancer again, drilling a couple of holes, etc, etc until the imbalance was negated.

That done returned to the workshop in the '41 and which, except for the OD's problems, is running very well. Oil pressure is good, temperature is good, although it's winter here at about 17C or 63F and it's getting looser and stronger all the time. Now that it's not "sort of" constantly in, out and about OD even I can feel that it's running well. Back at the workshop Wade first remarked the timing marks on the balanced balancer then attempted to install it into Big Red. My earlier observations about access now came firmly into play. Although Wade could start the balancer on the crankshaft he couldn't get it back on the snout, and no amount of coaxing, contortions or cussing helped. Unfortunately I had to leave Wade to it at that point, because of our regular babysitting appointment, but I fully expect it'll be back on when I get in tomorrow. Wade is also going to look at the '41's OD lockout, time permitting, so I'll also see if that transpired.

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Houshold carpet remenants can be used in place of the burlap/foam. Place the burlap backing of the carpet against the springs. THe finish side of the carpet provides the softness of fooam rubber. A bit more expensive to use carpet remanants but provides a custom slightly over-stuffed and luxurous seat to sit on. Lasts about 20-50 years longer too.

say hello to the pavement


parked the Packard at Craig'z back yard in Inglewood
to get agave margaritas
and something screwy happened to the suspension

because now the body of the Packard is touching the ground




it seems like the coil and leaf springs have been sliced right out of the car.


luckily i think we can put some airbags in there to get her off the turf, but not too high... probably only like 4 inches
at full bag height




ridiculous

might as well weld titanium strips to the underside of the frame so real sparks shoot out when she scrapes

might as well fabricate some gruesome sinister sidepipes to boot. and maybe some low pro whitewalls



doctor doom already asked me for a ride

Not all that difficult. Remove the bumper, remove the hood and its supports, remove bolts from the fender to the body, remove sidemounts and bracing under the fender. I may be forgetting something, but the first time I did it with a couple of my friends, we had it all off within two hours. Add extra time if you've got to deal with seized bolts.

Plus if you have a marginal battery your going to end up reducing the life of the generator as it's going to be constantly trying to charge a battery that wont take a full charge.

Most auto-parts store will test your battery for you for free. It may be worth a check.