Well now that I am finally back at home after almost 2 weeks on the road, I was finally able to get some work done on the '54.

First I alternator mounted on it's new bracket and also bolted the ground strap the the same bracket.

Also I pulled the valve covers to inspect everything. Everything looks good. When I pulled the oil pan last summer I had found 4 value keepers in the down in the muck. So I was worried I might have had a couple free values. But as you can see everything appears to fine. I guess the last time the valves were worked on, someone must have dropped a few keepers. I also rotate the crankshaft and verified that all the values are free and nothing is sticking. Fresh gaskets and a little gasket sealer, and I buttoned the covers back up.

I also started to reinstall the engine accessories back on to the engine. The transcooler was reinstalled, as was the fuel pump. You can see that the top hose has two different style hose clamps on it. This is acutally correct. All the hoses use spring-style wire clamps, except the hose end that hooks to the water pump. It uses a screw-style wire clamp. This is called for in the PI engine judging guide, and also there are a couple of pictures in some some of the service manuals that verify this.

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does anyone have a scrap of the blue color used in 55-56 that they could spare?

John -

Rear axles for the 56th Series were of an all-new design that was supplied by Dana/Spicer. The rear axle was smartly designed with interchangeability in mind; that is, the only difference between a conventional rear axle and a Twin Traction unit is the differential carrier.

Yet, implementation of the Twin Traction (aka - "Power Lock") differential in production was delayed several times. An STB seems to indicate that cars with T-T units did not begin reaching dealers until sometime in February 1956. In fact, it was so late in coming that servicing the Twin Traction differential isn't covered in the 56th Series supplement to the shop manual, but only in the April 1956 edition of the Service Counselor.

So, there probably weren't a lot of Packards built with that option - certainly none with early/low serial numbers in the 56th Series run.

A couple of things make identification tough. While the factory installed a tell-tale tag on T-T units, I have to wonder how many of those got tossed over the years (during an axle drain and refill). Then, for a variety of reasons, I've heard that some Packards with Twin Traction were converted to conventional diff. On the other hand, while it's hard to say if many people shelled out the $$$ to have a conventional rear axle converted to T-T, but it is possible.

While I've done Turbo's test with later designs of limited-slip differentials, I'm not sure how valid that test is with the T-T units. The production order for my Carib shows it was built this option (code PL), but I have never tested it and am so backed up with work that I won't be able get out to offsite storage until late this fall. My dad's Exec had it, but the car is sitting in a field, which doesn't lend itself to testing. I believe Randy Berger's Carib was built with T-T as well, but while he told me it has the tag IDing it as a Twin Traction unit, the rear wheels spin in opposite directions when he when spins one by hand.

The definitive way to check is by pulling the rear axle cover and examining the differential carrier. A Twin Traction unit will have TWO pinion pins, which have "cammed" ends - each resting in a V-groove in the carrier (which serves as a ramp to engage the clutch pack). This is illustrated in the Service Counsleor article.

An afterthought after installing the rear sway bar backwards. It would be easy to mark the rear-facing side of each bar with a file notch to remind you how to install them with the new bushings.

Joel,

Thanks for your hospitality the other day, it was appreciated, you really went out of your way.

To all you other guys, thanks for your offers but because I haven't been able to log on for a while I missed the chance to co-ordinate the opportunities you presented and because I not going near Nashville that too is passed up with regret.

As to the driving, as was said it just takes care and concentration and certainly being in a car designed for LHD puts you in the right position to start with. Saying that there have been about 1/2 dozen "incidents" and these have happened turning at intersections mostly when I've been distracted turning on the wipers instead of the binkers and all without mayhem occurring. Also you're right about the pedestrian thing, as I learned very quickly when I arrived in San Francisco. My rental cars have all been autos to help in the driving process.

The '41 I've bought I am going to leave as LHD so the aspect that Loyd mentioned when the car arrives in Australia in a couple of months will come into play.

I'll cetainly post some pic's. Including those of a guy in Idaho with 10 Packards for sale, being '39 Convertible(only 7 known), '40 Supr 8 - 7 seater Henney conversion, '41 110 Coupe, '51 Patrician, '52 Coupe & parts car, 52 Auto w/- Conny kit & 25000 original miles, '53 300 - Looks nice, '55 Patrician w/- Air Con in trunk & '56 hardtop clipper.

John, are you talking about Willamport Pa. If you are that kind of close to home for me. I wonder if we know the same guy. Do the cars in the pics look familiar?

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Like all limited slip rears, jack up the back, put it in neutral, and spin a tire. If the other one goes the same direction, it's a limited slip. If it turns opposite, it's a conventional open rear.

I think Roscoe told me it was a three speed. I am not sure, but it may have 2 4bbl also.

Mal made it to Michigan and stopped by for about an hour. Here is a photo of him with my 1956 400.

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The car that you can hear sure sounds like a 3 speed manual tranny....is the Clipper a 3 on the tree? There were a very few Avantis delivered with a 3 speed floor shift. As I recall, the curb weight on an Avanti is around 3500 Lbs.