One of the downsides of owning a pre- 1956 Packard is that the electrical system is positive ground. On my other old cars, I have installed a newer radio in the glove compartment with MP3: and have enjoyed cruising to tunes from my iPod.
This option was not available on the Caribbean due to the positive ground.
I have employee a variety of Bluetooth speaker units that were not connected to the car's electrical system to fill the void.

I stumbled upon a cheap and simple solution through Woody's Custom Shop in Costa Mesa California ( 949) 722-1084.- Charles Rollins owner.


Woody's offers a tiny ( 1 3/4" square) converter that allows installation of a negative ground radio but also offers a cigarette pack sized amplifier which allows you to play the IPod without the expense of a new radio.

The " Mini Pod Hidden Audio system" attaches to the hot lead from the converter and a ground. Crank the amp to maximum and attach the iPod with a 3.5 cable and control the sound and selections from the IPod.

.The converter was around $39 but the amp unit and cable were only $59.95. I also picked up a set of compact bullet speakers for $15.95 which sound fine to my ears

The installation in the glove box was simple..attach the wires per the instructions, attach the speakers and play the tunes.
Assume that the install,would work as well anywhere with a hot wire and a good ground.

Looking forward to a long cruise with the IPod blasting.
Hope this helps someone else looking for a way to have music on the road.
RJR

Not sure if this will be useful, but perhaps someone else has tried this on an older Packard with the 6 volt positive ground system.
I recently secured an alternator housed in an original looking case from Summit Racing and installed it on my 1955 Cadillac.
My generator needed replaced and the cost of a rebuilt generator was about the same as the unit from Summit.
The unit looks essentially identical to the generator it replaced and uses the same belt size. The only required modification was installing a heavier gauge wire from the unit to the starter and a heavier gauge ground wire.
The unit puts out around twice the amps of the original generator and does not require a voltage regulator.

There were units offered for 6 volt but I did not determine whether there were specific units offered for the older Packards....but the case on the unit I purchased looks quite similar to the generator on the Packard.

My engine is at the rebuild shop and I have been considering upgrading to halogen headlights and electronic ignition when/ if the car gets put back together . I have given some thought to doing the alternator replacement if it is as simple as the install on the Cadillac and I can avoid cost of replacing the voltage regulator.
I did notice in the instructions that the higher amps from an alternator may not be comparable with older analog voltage gauges. My friends expressed concerns for whether the older wiring might be inadequate but so far things seem to be working out.
If anyone has gone this route with an older Packard and has run into any problems, I would appreciate the imput.
RJR

It is not particularly funny but USA Today reported yesterday that the replacement jack stands offered by Harbor Freight for the 3 ton units found to be defective due to bad welds.....are also defective.
The press release suggests not using either the old or new and returning them for refund or credit.
I have some old American made Jack stands that I purchased at auctions at old car dealerships or repair shops that I use but if I plan on raising the car enough to sit under it( do not have a lift) I always use wood cribbing.

When companies like Wagner and GE move manufacturing to China It is hard to get angry with Harbor Freight for offering junk. Trying to find a car part produced in this country is getting more difficult. At least Harbor Freight merchandise is offered without the illusion that you are getting a quality product and it is reflected in the price. I now check every bulb installed in the dash before installation because I learned that while the brand name looks familiar , the quality is not. Easier to check the bulb than to learn that it is not a fuse or bad wire or ground that is keeping the light from working....just another Mexican or Chinese product carrying a familiar American brand name.
No sense to rant about it....just hope that the wheel cylinder or other item that you depend on for your safety was not produced or inspected by the same outfit that produced the Harbor Freight jack stands.

This is the 39 packard sedan door panel with carpet at bottom.
Not sure of model.....or accuracy....but upholsterer said he did the interior some years ago and this was the original panel removed

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Dave- Thanks for the info on the sills.
One tidbit of info that may be of some interest...... my friend and body man is insistent that Packard did not install carpet on the bottom of the door panels in 1939. The ones being replaced on my car had carpet added at the time the interior was redone in the 1950-60 era.
I found pictures of a 39:coupe roadster at Daniel Schmidt that had a spectacular interior with the carpet added to the bottom of the door panels.
As of last evening I was willing to accept my friends assertion....backed by several pictures .
Today I visited an old upholsterer who took me to his back shed and pulled out original door paneLS from a 1939 Packard sedan he had worked on a few years ago...
The bottom of the panel was carpeted.
He was unable to confirm whether Packard had ever utilized vinyl on the seats of any of their cars but did confirm what my research had disclosed.
DuPont had developed a vinyl material in the 1920's that was utilized in certain auto interiors as early as the 1920's. The Naugahyde brand was developed by UniRoyal and became a popular interior material but it didn't come to market until the 195o's.
I took a picture of the 39 door panel and if I can figure out how to upload, I will add it to the post.
I am still curious as to whether Packard relied on leather for the interiors of open cars.
I also uncovered an older post from the forum regarding replacement rubber mats. Apparently Kanter's supply of NOS mats had deteriorated with time and they determined that new molds would be $150,000 which killed any plans for reproductions. The site listed a supplier but when I checked they only offered carpet.
Maybe someone knows another source.
Thanks again for the info.
RJR

I am gathering parts and spending money on another Packard. The current 39 six convertible coupe was sold about a half mile from my home in December 1938 and had been sitting in a local garage as an abandoned project for over 25 years.
The car appears to have been painted originally in a dark gray metallic( Blackhawk Gray metallic) by the looks of the paint under the door rubber.
The car was painted yellow at some time in the distant past and the interior upholstered in a tan Naugahyde vinyl. The car retained rubber floor mats and the door panels incorporated carpeting at the bottom edge.
I plan to install carpeting both for appearance sake and because I imagine the rubber floor mats are either no longer available or...like covers for the running boards...outlandishly expensive.
The conversation today was whether an open car like the Six would have come from the factory with leather seats and door panels to be more weather resistant in an open car?
I do not think that leather was the expensive addition it has become in recent years and doubt that vinyls were readily available 80+ years ago.
I will be doing the interior in modern vinyl since it will not be.a show car and the newer materials are pretty much bullet proof...and look more like leather than leather.
Was also wondering whether anyone is aware of a supplier for replacement thresholds.....I have the originals but they are pretty well shot.

Thanks for any insights.
RJR

I think the answer is lazy clerk. I had seen the same internet listing and it listed the option of buying online or picking up at the store. I called the store since I hoped to avoid the shipping charge.
After getting pricing from Kanter ($41+8 shipping) and actually ordering one, I posted my question.
My spelling error was mentioned by Owen but I had no luck finding a backup on the internet under various search headings and ultimately returned to the basic search " 1955 Packard temp sensor" that had taken me to the NAPA listing....and .ordered two on line last night at the price listed. The shipping cost seems excessive but I will now have three or four in the larder.
Good to know the part is still available.
Thanks again to all for the assist .
RJR

In a prior post it was suggested that NAPA or other auto parts suppliers listed a replacement sensor. ...Elgin TS6464. NAPA and AutoZone say they no longer have such part available.
Are there any other sensors available?

I read with interest Leeedy's comments on the difficulty in securing a top with the color matched interior.
I had the misfortune of having a top prepared by Klass Collections that attempted to replicate the original tops by sewing in a fabric liner.
In retrospect.it probably would not have worked very well since the fabric liner added buik and would have probably not responded well to raising and lowering.
As it turned out the top was not cut correctly and the upholstery shop ruined it during the attempt to install.....then Klass Collections advised that they were out of the top business.
Ultimately, I was able to secure 10 yards of the pinpoint with tan inner color through Superior Tops and sprayed the inner side with a water based dye from World Products. Superior assembled a new top from the material and the top looks fine.
Was it worth the effort and expense for a car that was not built for the show circuit....doubtful....very doubtful. But ...it does look nice.
I spoke to a Bill Hirsch at the ACCA meet at Hershey during the debacle and he relate that he had owned a 1955 Caribbean in his youth and that while the looks of the car had inspired its purchase, it was one of the worst cars he ever owned. Aside from the transmission that locked in park and the torsion suspension that either shot skyward or popped up in tu rear and required a tow truck and a cab ride, his biggest gripe was the convertible top. He stated that the material shrunk and would not allow the top to latch. I think he said it needed replaced at least twice during his short term of ownership. The bigger problem was that the front seal at the top of the windshield did not do it's job....the front floors flooded every time the car sat out in the rain. He said he was never so happy to replace a car.
By coincidence , a friend from New Jersey had purchased and restored his original 55 Caribbean and bugged him about buying the car of his youth. Hirsch said that there was not enough money on the planet to pay him to take that car back. LOL
That was my only dealing with Bill Hirsch and I was sorry to see the notice of his passing. I have dealt with the company since that time but Mr Hirsch took the time to shoot the bull with this stranger and gave me a fond memory. R.I. P.

One little addition. When I got my 55 Caribbean it was a basket case. The top frame was in place but no pump, Rams or hoses.
After removing the top frame for painting the unit was reinstalled. The rear seat and side panels were out of the car and the new pump was installed on the flat panel behind the rear seat. The rams were installed and attached to the top frame.
Since there was no clear guidance, i installed the hoses to the rams and filled the system with trans fluid.
The unit moved up and down but I did not attempt latching since the latches were out for chroming and the top was not yet installed .
We ran into a problem with the convertible top secured from Keppach...long story but it was cut wrong and the installer ruined the fabric.
A new top was secured through Superior and the car delivered to an upholsterer for top installation.
Everything looked fine but convertible season was over and the car was stored for the winter with the top in the up position.
When the weather broke,the top would not go down correctly. The driver side would go down properly but the passenger side would not go down far enough to enter the well.
I tried lubricating the jointS without success and even detached the rams from the frame and discovered the top would go down properly. We tried adjusting the length of the rams but had no luck .
Unfortunately, it the process of working the top up and down I succeeded in cracking the top frame. That drama was discussed in prior postings.
The solution was simple and stupid....the top fittings on the rams were installed facing the rear of the car. When the top was retracting, the brass fitting on the passenger side was striking the wheel well preventing the top from retracting. This twisted the frame and led to the break.
It was a dumb mistake which cost me a lot of grief and replacement of the passenger side ram before I discovered the problem....it bent.
Keep the top fittings for the rams to the outside.
Good luck with the project.