The Packard Club's roster of 1955 Packard Caribbean Convertibles has 258 cars registered. Known production serial numbers range from 1001 to 1499, yielding a total production of 500 for this model.

Probably not, according to the parts lists. Page 597 of the 1948-54 parts list shows the heater core part number as PA436017. Page 285 of the 1955-56 parts list shows the heater core part number as 6484619. There has to be some difference in the two cores. It does look like a heater core from any '55 or '56 model would fit your car. Both of these lists are accessible in the Literature Archive on this site.

The Seventh-Eighth-Ninth Series Parts List (available here in the Literature Archive,) lists disc wheels for the Ninth Series on page 144 but they do not mention chromium plate like the wire wheels do. This would lead me to believe that chromed disc wheels were not an option on 1932 Packards.

The tag on the desk is interesting. I was given this one some years ago by a co-worker who said it came from a locker in the Philadelphia Packard Distributorship. Now I'm wondering if what I was told is wrong or did someone create an inauthentic piece of antique furniture to increase the value of the desk.

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Dell, if your cap is for a 1933 Tenth series Eight it definitely won't fit the distributor pictured. Tenth Series distributors have wires exiting from the front and back, not all exiting in one location as this one has.

53 Cavalier, I'm very familiar with that screw. It's very difficult to loosen since I'm bending over the fender, reaching down and it's not visible without placing a mirror underneath. I've replaced the screw with a threaded rod inside a spacer tube to bring it out where it's visible. I have set the plate at 0 thinking that would be a good place to start.

I was getting a vacuum reading just barely into the normal zone, dipping sometimes into the low zone. I suspected the vacuum advance might be perforated, so I ordered a replacement from Max Merritt. The Merritt advance matched the existing one perfectly. Thanks again for all your help.

Thanks, kevinpackard. In the Ross Miller video, that's where #1 was. Once I get #1 at TDC I can see if the oil pump-distributor drive is correctly indexed and then go from there.

Thanks Howard, 53 Cavalier and Packard Don for your responses. The Ross Miller video and the photo from 53 Cavalier were most helpful. As I thought and Packard Don surmised, the pointer is missing. I will have to employ Ross's penny trick to confirm when #1 is at TDC and see where the distributor rotor points and set the spark plug wires accordingly. I had seen the diagram that Howard provided, but it didn't show enough reference points to clarify where #1 wire should go. It shows the primary circuit wire coming out of the distributor at the 1 o'clock position. In reality it's closer to the 3 o'clock position and there's no indication of where the hold-down clamp tabs and the vacuum advance are located, so the correct orientation of the plug wires is undetermined. In Ross's video it appears that #1 is at terminal "D" in my diagram, so Howard's diagram might be correct after all. Thanks again.

Trying to set the ignition timing. This engine looks nothing like the illustration on page 21 of the electrical section of the '51-'54 shop manual. I don't see any pointer for the timing marks on the pulley. If someone could let me know which distributor cap terminal fires the number one spark plug, that would be very helpful. Thanks.

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This has been my experience with DOT 5 fluid and brake light switches:
I converted a 1937 120C to DOT 5 fluid in the late 1970's, never had a problem with it. I sold that car in 2003;
I switched my 1933 Packard 1002 that had been converted to a hydraulic braking system, probably around 1940, to DOT 5 fluid in the mid-1990's, have yet to experience a problem with that brake light switch;
I converted my 1954 Convertible, bought in 2005, to DOT 5 fluid around 2008 and did experience a switch failure within a couple of years. The fluid leaked through the switch and shorted it out. I bought 2 switches at that time, have yet to need the second switch.
To me, the benefits of DOT 5 fluid far outweigh the potential detriments in shortened switch life. It is also helpful that these switches are easy to replace, inexpensive and readily available.