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Gravel had the same problem. I could only plow the the snow above the gravel, leaving about an inch sitting on/in the gravel. That would freeze into ice and get worse throughout the winter. Then a mud pit in the spring. No fun.

Bricks sound like a nightmare.

My '54 Panama has an Ultramatic (non-gear start). I assumed that it's operation and behaviors were normal. Then I drove my brother in law's '52 200 and noticed differences right away. That is the extent of my experience with Ultramatics, so I really have no idea what they should be like when they are operating normally.

What I noticed:
-My car seems sluggish/anemic when accelerating. It's not the engine as that seems to have plenty of power. But it seems to take much longer to get up to speed compared to the other car. The 200 seems to have much more pep to it, and that's with a dead cylinder and semi-functioning carb.
-My car will drop into direct drive around 35 mph. It will drop in at lower speeds most of the time if I'm letting off the gas. The 200 drops into direct drive quickly at any speed even on light throttle. It will hold until 35 mph when accelerating hard, but at lighter acceleration it drops at 15, 20, 25.
-The shift in my car feels more pronounced. Not a "slam" but definitely harder.

What's normal on these? Do they typically feel sluggish, or are they supposed to be a little more peppy?

Just looking to see if mine is having issues. Pan was cleaned out, all fresh type F put in. No other additives.

-Kevin

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Definitely! Concrete doesn't do so hot here during the winter. Frost heave and salt tend to damage it. The black color of the asphalt should melt off the snow and ice easily. The kids will appreciate more space to ride bikes and play during the winter too.

Not directly related to Packards, but we finally did some paving on our property. Up until now it was all gravel. It made it very dusty in the summer, very icy in the winter, and very muddy in the spring. Lots of gravel and dirt all over the garage and shop.

The asphalt will minimize those problems (though we still have several hundred yards of gravel to reach our property). And we were able to extend the pad in front of the shop. It'll be much easier to get vehicles in and out of the shop now.

-Kevin

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Howard - I'll have to measure the wheel opening on both sides, to see if one side is higher than the other. I don't think they are though, as the upper mounting holes are there, but just covered by either metal or Bondo (or both). The problem is with the forward radius on the driver's side....it's too sharp of a curve.

Two recent pictures to compare both sides. I think they are pretty similar and the problem is small enough that it's not easily noticed. I didn't catch it until I tried to fit a fender skirt.

Interesting discussion on fender skirts. I didn't realize they were an option either.

-Kevin

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I had plans to, and actually have the skirts stripped and prepped for primer. But I found out while trying to fit them that the previous owner had done some body work to the area.

Evidently the arches had rust issues and the PO had welded in new metal and done some work with Bondo. It looks presentable as is, but he did not pay attention to the radius of the curves. One is bad enough that the fender skirt does not fit. Plus most of the mounting holes were either lost or covered over when the body work was done.

So I'm forced to run sans skirts for now. But I keep considering redoing all the paint to the correct factory color.....which would mean stripping everything and fixing all the bodywork issues. I'm just not sure I want to open that can of worms just yet.

-Kevin

Did some minor adjusting to the driver's rear quarter window. It was very hard to roll up and down, and the top front edge kept rubbing against the upper weathering stripping. So I took off the door panel and readjusted everything, as well as lubed up the track. Everything moves smoothly now.

Took it out for a 15 minute drive to warm it up and snap a few pictures with some nice trees. Started to rain, so back inside it went.

-Kevin

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Perhaps some better pictures would be good to help provide more evaluation. It's hard to see what's going on with one picture and overexposure from flash. Perhaps the frame isn't as bad as we think. But more pictures and more information would be needed.

-Kevin

Haha, yeah you and I both get to learn to rebuild starters. Mine is getting so much worse. At least 50% of the time I get the "click" and eventually it will kick itself over and start. But it's getting more frequent now where I have to remove the band over the brushes and spin the armature slightly. Then it starts fine.

I'll probably have to have it turned on a lathe to get it reliable again.

-Kevin

My understanding of the role of thermostats in regulating engine temperature is thus. The thermostat helps to regulate flow through the radiator so that the coolant can fully cool by the time it reaches the bottom before it is circulated back into the engine. Otherwise the coolant going back into the engine is now hotter, which increases the temp overall, making it harder for the cooling system to keep up.

At this is what I've understood from all that I've read. Maybe this has more to do with modern cars.

My dad's '38 Super was apparently designed without a thermostat in the engine block, relying on the grille shutters to regulate the temperature. During my testing the engine has never gotten over 175 degrees....but I'm also running a variable electric fan.

I run a modern thermostat in my Panama. I can't remember what it is, but I think it was a 160? Car has done well and regulated the temp pretty well. Never overheated. Radiator is rebuilt, but have not flushed the block, or pulled the distribution tube.

-Kevin