Groucho

I don't have a prewar car so I cannot be certain of this. The vanes on that pump look very feeble to me. I know Kanter spent the money to have repros made for this epumps when the cores dried up.

I have put two of their 356 pumps and for a 288 on my cars with good results. You might also check with Gould rebuilders and Merritt, they might have some some on the shelf.

It is a little effort to put one on, and I wouldn't want to do it twice because it wasn't adequate . I have had to replace a good pump because someone else tightened the belt too much. The price for rebuilding and the price for a good repro seem to be close.

Best

John Harley

Friends


I had the privilege to spend some time with Ole, but of course it was not enough.

About ten years ago I bought (with some "advice " from a well meaning friend) a 1941 160 that was very needy. Ole tracked down a lot of parts of the mundane sort that are rather hard to find, parking brake cables, suspension stops, wiper motors , spring buttons and that sort of thing. He knew where the parts were. I was desperately afraid that I would need something that he couldn't find because that would mean it no longer existed .

Ole was great fun on tours and meets. We spent a lot of time together driving in each others's cars and chewing things over. I fancy we got along well..

Getting back off the road started the ceremonies. If it was hot and early enough there were gin and tonics the deal with the thirst. Dinner for about 4 at the best nearby restaurant we could find. Ole was in charge of the drinks. starting with the famous Manhattans and Rielsling with dinner. I want to. say there were aperitifs, but darned if I can remember. Lots of good talk and friendship .

I didn't see him much in recent years because of his troubles and I was conscious of the absence . He has left us with good memories and travels with the best wishes of many.

Regards

John Harley

Wes

The brass washers can be found in the plumbing department of a well equipped hardware store.

Regards

John Harley

Friends

This is related to the 160 Woody thread but I am starting a new one so as not to muddy things further.

Stuart Blond graciously forwarded this picture to me. It is from an old Eastern Packard Club Bulletin. I remembered the car as a 160 , but it is a 1940 120 with a custom station wagon body.

It belonged for decades to Nils Skog, the founder of the Eastern Packard Club. I remember it as painted s light green . This picture was taken before it was painted that color. Afther Nils died about 20 years ago it changed hands more than once. The last time I saw it was about 8 years ago at the Greenwich Concours. tt was under the care of Byron York at the time, I think it was for sale.

The original owner had it bodied by the New Haven Body Company . He was a salesman for the Harmon Kardon radio company. The body is full of drawers and compartments for samples The lines were a little more deft than the catalog offerings , but that is a relative judgment.

I tried to find a picture of this car on the internet . There are many pictures of light green 1940 120 wagons, but none of them are this car. You will notice that the exterior door handles are vertical, not horizontal .

There ia a very good article about this car in one of the older Packard Cormorants but I have not figured out which issue it is yet

Regards


John Harley

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Custo Eight

Ok. I just looked at your pictures . If you are wiring the overdrive according to the schematic , terminals 123 are on the bottom and 456 on the top. In other words try turning turn your schematic upside down when wiring . I got caught on this once. Terminal numbers are numbered either on the cover or the base, I forget which.

John

Custo Eight

Sounds to me that the over drive is being grounded out, I suspect that your governor is the kind for a car equipped with electromatic. These governors have two places to connect. Reverse the leads or move the lead if you only have one. This should solve it. I.e the electromatic is grounded when the OD ins't and vice versa.

If this is happening and the other switches too the od are not connected, one of the wires is going to ground or there is some issue with how the relay is connected
If you have a schematic it is easily figured out. The Packard manuals and the MOTOR manuals trouble shooting routines for this


Regards

John Harley

Friends


I wrote a longish post on this car a few years ago. I have looked for it in both Packard forums and for some reason I can't find it. I get to write it again.

I retired last year from a long career selling musical merchandise to school programs . The first of these jobs was at the now defunct Merit Music in New Canann, Connecticut. We rented about 600 instruments and there were 500 students taking lessons .

One of the adult students was Earl Thiel. He was an engineer or chemist or something and commuted from Weston , Connecticut to Wayne New Jersey everyday.

Earl was older, (maybe my age today!) and a real scholar and gentleman. He dressed and looked like a farmer and had a slow, shy aw shucks demeanor. He read philosophy and had machine shop skills. He is one of the most intelligent people I have known.

He liked cars. He had a huge garage attached to his house with one small door to take a car out. He never traded in a car when he bought a new one. He had a bathtub Packard, a XK140 Jag coupe with a competition engine, and a 1967 Ford LTD four door with a 427 and a factory 4 speed on the floor.

He bought the Packard in the link above off a used car lot in Norwalk 1956 for $375.00. I don't how much he drove it , but it had been garage bound for a number of years when I knew him. A friend of mine was working on it. The fenders and other parts were on the floor. The color was "Boticelli Blue", a dark blue with maybe a purple tint.

A friend of mine had me offer him a restored Stutz LeBaron SV16 coupe for a trade. Earl pointed out to me that if he did that he wouldn't have the Packard anymore .

My friend and I would go over on a Saturday afternoon. We would hang out , look at the cars and his machine tools. We would sit in his den and talk about cars and have a shot of whiskey.

The phone would ring. We hear\, one end of the conversation.
"Yes,....,
yes,.....
yes, ......

No Thank You."



A few weeks later, during the whiskey time. The door bell rings.

"Mr. Thiel. "

"Yes? "

"I am so and so from the Chandler Collection. Do you still have the Packard? Well, here is my card. Let me write a number down on it. If it is interesting at any time please give me a call."


It was like being married to Marilyn Monroe.

When Earl died , his son found a list with 58 names and phone numbers on it. The son started calling the numbers on the list. the car was sold to the first person who answered the phone.

People cried foul. The car change hands twice in the next 24 hours, the price doubling each time.

It ended up with a well known collector in New Jersey. Before the restoration was finished it was sold to another well known collector in New Jersey.

The last time I saw the car it was in a trailer going to a concourse someplace in its new color scheme. I like light green a lot, but I wish it was still dark blue.

I miss Earl.

Regards


John Harley

Steve

I knew that about the 23rd series Custom Eights but forgot to remember. That may explain why I have not seen any.

Best
John Harley

Judge

Bathtub Packards models are often confused with one another. If you truly have a Custom Eight Club Sedan, they are extremely rare. The estimate of survivors in the US of 22nd series in the US is less than twenty, perhaps twelve to fourteen . There were over 1100 Packards at the Packard Centennial in 1999, but no Custom Eight Club Sedans.

The production off the 23rd series Custom Eights was much lower: the Custom Eight was a very slow seller as it was more expensive than a Cadillac. By 1950 Cadillac had the OHV V-8 and Packard would not have one for another 5 years. I have never heard of an existing 23rd series Custom Eight Club Sedan .

Parts of the side trim on the Custom Eight Club sedans are different from the junior cars and are unobtainable. I have a friend who was reasonably well connected and he was unable to find a small piece 20 years ago and it was for a 22nd series. I imagine you would have to have parts fabricated for your project.

I am very fond of the Custom Eights. They are magnificent beasts and significant automobiles. I just spent a wad on my 1948 sedan to install a rebuilt engine and rebuild the transmission . Getting it done was somewhat of a challenge but I am lucky to have a number of knowledgeable and well connected friends.

Best of luck with your car

John Harley

Gentlemen

I had a 1941 160 for few years and got familiar with how the cars were equipped.

Color code "P" is the the two tone green and the two tone green interior is code 2207. These are listed in the dealer information, introductory information and other material.
The introductory memo for the two tone upholstery option calls it "Riviera" upholstery. It is pictured in the color flyer inviting prospects to see the senior cars.

Hudson was also trying to liven up their interior schemes in 1941. or "harmonize" them. They called it "symphonic".

Packard did not follow this up after the war until the 1953 model year, when Dorothy Draper was hired as a fashion consultant . Having owned 22nd, 23rd and 24th series cars, I some times feel al little sheepish when looking at how some Chrysler and GM cars from the era were trimmed . There is a school of thought that snazzier interiors might have moved more cars out of Packard showrooms.

The Salesman's Data Book from 1941 explains the dash plastic is color coordinated with the Riviera upholstery and that the dash board is painted the color of the lighter shade of upholstery .

Regards

John Harley