UPDATE: Cole-Hersee # 24046

http://www.colehersee.com/catalog_top/index.htm

They are NOT your standard "Ford solenoid"--those units are fed +12V when activated and the pull-in coils ground through the mounting bracket to body ground.
The solenoids Packard used on the '56 T-L system receive a GROUND from the torsion level compensation box and are fed +12V to the other side of the pull-in coils internally. I have seen exact replacements for the Packard units, wired as above in catalogues. I'll check the Cole-Hersee site tonight and file a report!

I'm sorry I can't add any relevant facts to this discussion, but as a Dutchman and a Packard man your picture has warmed my heart!

Gelukkig NieuwJaar!

John, I'm not doubting your ability nor your research--you have spent a lot of quality time in those volumes and I'm impressed with the depth of your knowledge. My post was merely a warning that there is always someone out there who likes to play "I know more than you do" and will argue how many automotive angels can dance on the head of a pin.
I'm not doubting your work in the slightest.

John--the role of automotive historian is a precarious perch to sit upon. It is very hard to exactly pinpoint who did what first without a lot of exhaustive research from varied sources, some of which may only be accessed by traveling to where the materials are. Every armchair automotive historian can be bested by someone who knows that a small European maker did thus-and-such first in 190x, on all two cars they managed to make. Others have an "American big three" mentality, if GM, Ford or Chrysler said they did it first that's all that matters, the other claims are questionable because "if they were so smart why aren't they still around"?
I'm in the business, and we tread very lightly when making such claims. It's basically a urinating contest, a game of Jeopardy with a variable set of books to use as the OED/bible. Some books have been superseded by later volumes which involved a much deeper level of research, many of which I'm sure you have in your library. One of my libraries is the National Automotive Historical Collection (NAHC) located at the Detroit public library's Skillman branch. It is one of the most complete libraries devoted to automotive information, and I am lucky to live within a 25 minute drive, and get to go there for work-related research occasionally.
Of course as I write this I remember what they taught us in Detroit public schools in the 1960s, when my third-grade teacher informed us that "Henry Ford invented the automobile and the assembly line" WRONG!

Did I hear my name?

Merry Christmas to all my Packard friends, I took two calls yesterday helping DIY-ers get their 56s up and running.

I have received that link in one of those "forwarded a million times" emails from no less than six people this week. I send back two sobering responses:

1) collision repair on something this complicated could be more than the car is worth.

2) If the monkies at the Sears auto department don't put the car on the hoist correctly the whole thing could be kaput

Man, that is one beautiful model. Insane detail, the AC stuff looks absolutely proper. I'm not into 1/24 scale, I got into 1/43 about 20 years ago,and built a modest collection of that scale. A friend bought and gifted to me the inexpensive 1:18 scale Carrebbeans that he bought at Menards--a Home Depot kind of store. Here are pictures of my collection, as it hangs in my basement today. There are close-up shots of my Packards,pay special attention to the Franklin mint '55 Carribbean, which looks like it was in a bad accident. That is just the age deformation of the plastic chassis.

Attach file:

---

  (28.33 KB)


  (19.52 KB)


  (10.88 KB)


  (9.02 KB)


  (14.94 KB)

Hey West, welcome to the site!

M@ross--welcome to the party! good luck with your bathtub and don't be too shy to post questions. There are a lot of good minds here with a lot of experience.