Has to be a cap for a long neck. Napa 703-1411. Also, don't fill any higher than an inch or so below the neck or as the water expands it will force its way out regardless of the cap.

Ah yes, what were they thinking?

They were thinking that there was no place to produce a Packard engine as they could not keep the Utica plant open and no on else wanted to buy the tooling for it when it was offered.

They were thinking that big engine set very far forward as it would be in the sedan bodies would be unworkable.

They were thinking that in 56 darn few people wanted to buy a Packard even with a Packard engine.

They were thinking that they had to produce a Packard car to honor the dealer sales agreement or be sued to death.

They were thinking that the Stude 289 was a fine engine but needed to have a higher rated hp for that market and supercharging was a good way to do it.

And by 58 they were thinking that the medium priced car market was collapsing, so we'd better try the compact field next year.

Lacking any sort of government assistance they pulled off a comfortable, well built, reliable medium priced car for minimal tooling expense. Just like a--Packard Clipper.

Studebaker applied a supercharger to their 289 to make it meet whichever market they were hoping to hit. There was not a problem in 57,58 or again in 63 or 64. The engines are quite reliable and surprisingly zesty even when not supercharged.

The Packardbakers were of course based on the 56 President Classic. If you are on the east coast sometime I'll take you around the backroads in mine. Bring a change of trousers.

I believe the main point of the ad was to launch the first salvo in making the public aware that Packard was trying to separate their price spread into two distinct categories so that the prestige of a Patrician would not be diluted by cheaper cars that were so necessary for volume. This was one of Nance's top priorities.

By 56 a Patrician was widely separated from a Clipper Deluxe. Compare that to say a 48 Super 8 that sold at Caddy prices and a 48 Eight. If the Eight has a couple of accessories, it can not be told from the more expensive car without a very close look. But every 7 year old could tell it was a Caddy, not a Buick.

Have been learning quite a lot from Robert Neal's new book on the 48-50. Had not realized that the Supers were to be in the general Caddy price range, and the Customs were actually above that.

I drove a 50 Super through high school and college and knew it like that back of my hand. Looked at Caddies at car shows and was convinced from my semi-dismal interior appointments that my car had to have been much cheaper than a low-line Caddy. Not.

Get yourself a NAPA 7694. It has the correct bend. The legs are extra long, and if you cut them off carefully you will have enough to plumb both ends of the transmission cooler. Or, if you have stick, use a 7438 for the lower.

Being that your engine is a four stroke, eight cylinder, in point of fact it is only making 4 sparks per revolution. You will need to set your tach to 90 degrees.

That puts your tickover up where you thought it was, and the engine revs at road speed about where calculated.


If one is used to hearing 4 or 6 cylinder engines, an eight can sound a little busy at first, especially in an open car.

Just for the record, you can use 53 and 54 Patrician and Cavalier. Not Clipper, Mayfair, Pacific or Convertible.

And did you notice the very cool all leather interior?

Thanks very much for posting that,Henry! This is apparently a film to recruit/hold dealers, judging from comments at the end. For sure the whole thing was staged judging by the lack of filth and damage and hood straps. This car is probably the early prototype that appears in a couple of shots in the rotogravure sales catalog.

Especially enjoyed the staged shots with the various executives. This is also probably the only footage with the machine tools in motion.

While we can now comfortably armchair second guess every decision, this film gives a hint of the fantastic effort required for a small firm to launch a new engine. I'm still proud of 'em boys. Makes me want to hop in my V8 and go blow past some Escalatoraids on the Interstate. Again.

Part of the problem is that antifreeze is slippery stuff and will contaminate he crack before it is sealed--then it works out under your epoxy. Might want to run quite a bit of fresh water through the block then drain it while the engine is hot so it dries up nicely. Fully agree with Owen about drilling the holes at the ends.

Freeze plugs are 1 61/64, NAPA 219-3042. I never have luck pulling them, always punch them in then flip them out with visegrips. The oil tube will pull out. You can loctite it back in.