We had some problems in the lab so I have been tied up from 4am to 7pm including the snow storm. Today I escaped for an appointment.

Anyway here are some pictures of the Deluxe ornament that hopefully provide an accurate assessment of the item.

Please note the dinging of the wheel and the nose, the chipping of the rear wing, and the two grooves that came from I don't know where. Junk yards used to throw ornaments in barrels and such.

It still has the eye detail which usually is gone after "restoration". However, the metal is sound and the arms have not been stressed.

Attach file:

---

  IMG_1279.jpg (52.41 KB)


  IMG_1280.jpg (78.18 KB)


  IMG_1281.jpg (75.87 KB)

That is correct. The base is the radiator cap. There is one for sale on ebay at the moment.

I will go through my records and send you some pictures.

I just got it out and it's better than I remember. When it went into the junk drawer it must have been terrific. The threads are good so it didn't fall off. I bought it because I knew if it went to a restoration shop they would destroy it.

Give me some time. I don't have a camera phone because the internet hackers are stealing billions of dollars by hacking phones.

I have an original Deluxe (flying lady) in shiny, but with drawer wear condition. It would be good for an original car, but I would hesitate to replate it. I don't have a base for it.

If you find a base let me know. Given the depletion of reproduction inventories these things are going to get harder to find, but demand is declining as well.

Years ago I was at a coin show in New York City and expressed an interest in a prime investment grade item. I offered to buy it in New Jersey to avoid the punitive New York City sales tax, but they thought I was just some bum and didn't return my phone call. It hasn't gone up one lick in value.

I don't think the 1930 car is a period picture. I think it is from the 1950's when super nice original Packard sedans were showing up on car lots for $50.

As well, I think it is a Custom 8.

For anyone who is interested there is a job opening in Michigan for an experienced P51 / Packard Merlin mechanic.

I don't know where you get the experience. After that crash in Connecticut I am not interested in getting any. I suppose there are a few people involved in antique planes that can hack away at those motors. Fortunately the parties concerned aren't interested in Packard cars so I don't get any phone calls.

There were a number of those LeBarons around the New York area. Two separate cars were used in the Godfather movie.

Ted Kavenagh bought a pair on Long Island for something like a grand. When he was driving one of them home he got caught in a rainstorm and pulled off the highway under a bridge. The power windows were beyond him and he sold both of them, forever holding a grudge against 1941 Packards in any form.

The production cars can be converted to electric motors by installing manual regulators with motors. The one LeBaron I worked had regulators with nothing in common with production cars and I didn't see an easy path in that direction. Without a better pump that system is pretty rotten. The pistons were big enough to generate lots of force, but the pumps didn't hold up worth a darn.

If you go back and look at the historical recordings of Packard employees, it was not the high priced LeBaron but the Clipper that was a response to Cadillac.

In the words of one Packard Exec "They were scared to death of Cadillac".

A modern efficient 5.0 litre V-8 is ingesting 31.5 pounds of air and burning one gallon of fuel in around 2.83 hours at 711 rpm idle.

So the rich idling Packard motor should burn a gallon at idle every 1.5-2 hours. However, that kind of idling is not good for the motor.

Packard was having cooling problems with that engine from the introduction. The project was on a rush schedule. Higher compression ratios increase the burn rate which reduces the heat load on the cooling system.

A lot of those - probably most - of those cast iron heads are aftermarket.

A competent welder can put that back together again.

It wont be perfect anymore and will require some hand fitting, but it is not in the "dazzle" zone so nobody will see much of it.

However, unless something is missing the unit should slide flush with the crankcase and not require tightening to close any gaps so when you put it back together run the nuts in by hand and do not use them to seat the housing.

I had Caddy V-12 castings fall apart on me and was able to put them back together again, so fixing your part is certainly possible.