Those are nice driving cars, and easy to maintain.

My first observation would be to lose that tiny little air filter. Its kind of like running a marathon and only breathing through your nostrils. I'm sure someone can find a correct filter for you.

After an uncommonly long wait, my 56 400 is at last painted. Here is the goal: one of the last print ads from Packard in the Saturday Evening Post. Productions record show they never actually built an all red 400. But here is a major step in that direction.

I first drove this car as a teenager and was bowled over by its performance. A few years ago the long-time owner passed and I snapped it up based on the that 40+ year old memory. It is still one of the best driving V8 cars I have encountered. It was black and white from the factory, but these 56 cars look about three blocks long when in a solid color.

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Since the OD is an add on at the back of the normal trans, if you leave the plunger in you will get the overdrive ratio applied to all of your forward gears. First will feel like second, second almost like high, and high will be .72.

A very expensive problem occurs if you try to back up with the OD engaged as the overrunning clutch will go to war with the shifter pawl and one of them will lose. There is an interlock inside the trans to prevent that but in well worn units someone can force it into reverse. When you go to back up chances are the engine will just stall.

Do you still have the overdrive relay hanging somewhere on your firewall? It looks like a voltage regulator but has 6 terminals. It is really not that hard to make the whole thing work and it is very cool, practical and enjoyable when it does.

Easier said, the ONLY things they changed between 288s and 327 were the crank, rods, manifold, and head. Carbs were jetted differently, and intake manifold runners were slightly smaller on the 288. Exhaust manifolds are the same. This is assuming both have solid lifters.

If you leave them disconnected for now the transmission will act as a normal three speed and the overdrive will not operate. You will need to move that one lever on the passenger side forward to prevent the trans from freewheeling. Once upon a time there was a knob under the dash for doing that but who knows if that is still there.


Looking at all the mung I can see why you say they put lipstick on a pig.

Later on when other issues are under control you'll want the overdrive to work as it makes the car freeway capable.

Look at the little stub shafts and see if they have grooves you can feel worn into them. If not, pack them them and mark the calendar for November of 2083 for the next service.

If grooves are present, its better to replace them.

The panels are aluminum and annodized. There was no pattern in 55, just little rectangular holes. In the annodizing process the aluminum oxide on the surface of the aluminum is dyed. Seniors were dyed gold, juniors were left natural color.

In 56 there was an engine-turned pattern on the senior cars and they were dyed gold, including the Executives. Juniors got a textured pattern but they were again left natural color. That was not changed according interior trim .

The dye used on the senior cars was quite durable but not 100% resistant to light. Cars that have had sheltered lives have a very noticeable gold cast--pretty stunning especially in 56. Cars that have seen a lot of strong sunlight will fade completely to silver. My own 56 400 seems to have had an outdoorsy life and is just faintly gold. Remove an escutcheon, and there it is where the light did not hit.

I'll have a pickup for swanning around but for actual work a flatbed is unbeatable. In a couple of minutes I can have an engine block loaded and strapped down. The other day I got a whole pile of Ultramatics and we used the back for a giant workbench to strip them down.

Very interesting 52 Mayfair. Not only does it have a Packard V8, but it also boasts senior rear fenders and tail lights--but not the 54 style add-ons. I didn't do it!

Back in the days of pencils and triangles I was a very good draftsman so I still love to get out my 50 year old equipment and do up a proposal for a customer. That probably took 2 1/2 hours to draw accurately to 1:10 scale. I have them copied in black and white and then color them by hand to the customer's request. The original proposal was pale silver with dark green highlights, but they have now settled on the pale silver with dark blue.

The customers love having a rendering to take home and it makes a very relaxing evening for me.