Rik lovely car. Is the Perfect Seal stuff designed to fix the crack in the heads? Cheers Brian

A display of club cars was organised in conjunction with this meeting. The only Packard there was my 1941 120 Club Coupe. It was arguably the best car there and attracted a lot of attention. Hence the sign board to avoid repeating the answer to "What's that?"

Cheers

Brian

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Yes, Howard's assessment of the competitive landscape for Packard is very fair. And diplomatic!

The fact that relatively few of the 1950s Packards have survived has given them a rarity value. They still attract attention on the road and are great conversation starters. They did not follow the US trend towards "moonshot" styling which began in the 1950s, but did not take hold elsewhere. Perhaps they could not afford it, or still had a semblance of taste in styling.

To my eyes, my 1941 120 Club Coupe and the prewar Clippers were some of the most attractive cars available then. Packard had not lost their magic touch with styling at that point. The early 1950s Patrician styling has also aged well, and perhaps appeals more today than when it was new.

You don't say much about the condition or accessories of your "barn find" Patrician. Certainly worth saving if it can be done. Pretty much everything you might need to restore it to good health is available, and there is a wealth of good advice on this site to help with the tricky bits. Maybe post a few pics (if you're smarter than me)? Do your sums on the economics of a restoration, keeping as much original as possible. If it doesn't make sense, perhaps pass it on to someone here with an advanced case of "Packarditis" and time on their hands.

Cheers

Brian

Ross

Just spotted the pic of your Clipper pickup (utility in our lingo). It reminded me that one of the RHD Clippers sold in Australia in 1956 was converted to a pickup and lived for many years in our southern state of Tasmania - a bit similar then to your part of the world. When it eventually stopped running, it was left sitting outside then later cannibalised for parts. Some of which I have inherited as spares for my 1956 RHD Clipper Deluxe, including the instrument assembly showing only 81,000 miles (or maybe 181,000 or 281,000!), quite a few of the stainless trim pieces and the hood/trunk mascots.

As far as I can tell, that was one of only three Clippers imported to Australia in 1956. So one has vanished, and two are accounted for. Not a bad survival rate.

Great to see another Packard which has led a colourful life and still in use. And what a bargain!

FYI pic of my car below.

Cheers

Brian

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Hello Howard

Thanks for the tip. That looks like a workable solution. Same seller has a 40A version which looks like a modern regulator so easy to hide. And I could hook other things like my clock to it. I'm guessing 40A would be enough for the overdrive, which I assume is peaky in power use with solenoids etc.

The seller is on vacation and not taking orders so I'll try again in a couple of days.

Cheers

Brian

No question that it's preferable to maintain an original 6V system than convert to 12V. Especially on prewar cars like Packards, which contain a healthy collection of 6V electrical components (eg the overdrive). Effective conversion of these cars is actually quite difficult, and arguably not worth the trouble. Ask me how I know!

The problem arises when you inherit a car where somebody has already had (usually a half-baked) go at a 12V conversion to solve some potentially expensive problem eg poor starting or charging when the cars were "old clunkers". Nobody cared much about originality then. Just needed the car to run. I have such a car. My 1941 120 Club Coupe. When I got it it was already fitted with a 12V alternator, upgraded ignition, globes etc. The overdrive, instrument lights and clock were disconnected to protect them, presumably. So now I'm faced with trying to untangle this mess. Gave some thought to going back to 6V, but soon realised that is harder now to obtain the original components, such as a decent 6V generator, and I'd end up throwing a lot of the existing stuff away (headlights, driving lights). This is not - and never will be - a concours car so originality is not a key concern. It's nice to be able to drive it safely at night with driving lights etc without worrying about running the battery down. Keeping the car usable and out on the road is more important to me than originality.

I know of many other cars which received this treatment. It's not such a simple issue for the current owners.

Cheers

Brian

Interesting insight Howard. I remember being surprised to see vacuum wipers on the 1939 12 Limo which was up for sale at the Gosford Museum. There's not a lot wrong with the electric wipers on the 19th series. I wonder why Packard thought they were inferior to vacuum? Maybe vacuum was quieter?

Sticking with vacuum using the oil pump to do double duty on the V8 seems to have cost them dearly, particularly in 1955 when the engine first appeared and began suffering reliability problems.

Brian

Hello Mal

Yes, of course you're right. I was talking with some friends last night who also reminded me that the turn signal stalk on Australian cars was usually on the right of the column. European RHD cars were normally on the left. Maybe Packard were just falling in line with European practice on the RHD Clipper. When column shift came to the Packards (1939?), it was on the right of the column so it may just have been habit.

I was also reminded that vacuum wipers were in use much longer than I recalled. They were gone by the time my parents' EJ Holden appeared, but apparently were on most of the earlier Holdens. My early transport was things like Simca's which had a floor mounted gear change and no turn signals.

So now I'm wondering exactly when the electric wipers appeared on my Clipper. I had assumed it was delivered new like that, but it may have been changed when the oil pump was replaced and no more vacuum to be had. I'll take a closer look at the plumbing on the engine - may give a clue.

Obviously, electric wipers were not unknown to Packard. The 1941 120 Club Coupe had them.

Cheers

Brian

Hello Howard

Just read your comment re positioning of the gear selector etc. on right hand drive cars. It was conventional at the time to have it on the right (on locally built cars), so the turn signal stalk was always on the left. I can't remember seeing any the other way around. Today, Australian built cars generally have the turn signal on the right - European cars on the left - and gear selector on the tunnel in the middle. Plus a blaze of other functions on two stalks attached to each side of the steering column. One of which doubles as the turn signal. You find out which by trial and error. Or as a last resort, by consulting the user manual. Then of course there are all the new cars with paddle shifters on the steering column - some of which move with the wheel and some don't. Ah...the simplicity of old Packards.

Cheers Brian

Very interesting.

You have to hand it to the guy for coming up with novel ideas. It would have to be pretty small/light to achieve that sort of (theoretical) speed on six cylinders at the time. I wouldn't want to be in a car like that at 110mph. Would it have had a separate steel frame?

From memory, the early Corvettes also had a steel chassis.

Arguably, the first successful "plastic" car was the fibreglass monocoque Lotus Elite of the late 1950s, which performed very well with a miserly Climax 1500cc four. That car solved many problems, including solid mounting of suspension components to the tub. But it was prone to catching fire and melting. Shades of Joseph Lucas.

This would have to be a pretty small car to perform the way they envisaged. That would put it in the same category as the Nash Metropolitans (and Bantams). The attraction of those escapes me. Maybe it's the usual story of not many sold or survived, so comparatively rare now. Doesn't make them good. Apologies to Metropolitan or Bantam owners.

In fairness, Nash produced some pretty decent cars early on. But not the Metropolitans or my dad's 1937 Nash Lafayette, which was notable for newer reaching a predetermined destination.

Just my tuppence (two cents) worth.

Cheers Brian