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I found a Packard that has been sitting in a garage for 23 years under a blanket. I bought it for $1500 and trailered it home. I changed the plugs, the oil, the gas, the ign points, the coil, the cap & rotor. I figured out the starter is on the gas pedal, 6V system, positive ground. I have a new 6v battery, freshly charged, but I only get a quick engine fire, then nothing. My question, is how does the starter disengage, if the gas pedal is whats used to start it. Its confusing to me, as soon as the engine kicks or about to kick, I let off the pedal, as I would the key on the start position, to release the solenoid. I think this motor would run, if I knew the starting procedures. Thank you in advance, Im going to try posting some pics, as I believe I found the deal of a lifetime.

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G'day Sir(?) Lancealot57,
to PackardInfo but sorry I can't help with your problem. However, I invite you to include your '53 Clipper in the Packard Owner's Registry. Sort of like the Knights of the Round Table but for Packards!

Congratulations. Looks like a very nice car.

Here is a bit explaining the construction and operation of the starter switch. There is an owners manual on site you can download which might answer a lot of questions.

The starting procedure many use is with the key off, pump the acc pedal once to set the choke and squirt a bit of gas in the carb. Turn on the key and press the accelerator all the way to engage the switch. Once the engine starts let off the accelerator. Vacuum will pull the coupling ball that actuates the switch up into the carb passage to disable the switch and seal off the vacuum passage. It should not be necessary to pump more than once but on occasion maybe twice. You just don't want to pump enough to flood the car.. With modern gas many feel it "boils" off when the engine is hot. That can lead to flooding or if it happens and then the car sits for a few days the engine needs to turn over excessively to pump gas back up to the carb. Several have added an electric fuel pump for that occurrence.

With the car sitting all those years I would not be surprised if you didn't have or soon will have issues in the carb, filter or fuel pump or the short rubber line between the metal line on the frame and the pump. With the old rubber and new ethanol fuel it would be a good idea to plan on a rebuild using modern ethanol resistant rubber parts. Hopefully the tank was not full of rust sediment or you can expect problems from clogged filters too..

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Thanks HH56, That was quite a piece to read. Im onviously going to have to read it several more times, to fully understand it. I'll be back at it tomorrow. Thanks for the help

You may find it convenient to hook up a separate starter switch.

For example:

https://www.amazon.com/Moroso-74120-Button-Starter-Switch/dp/B000CON4MU

You don't need to eliminate the gas-pedal switch, wire it so that there are parallel paths - one through the switch on the carburetor and one through the starter switch.

The nice thing about the starter switch is that it allows you to start it with the throttle at idle, which I find is the ideal setting for the car to start in my case (1953 Cavalier). But you can still use the throttle while pushing the button.

The short answer to your question:

When dead cold press the gas once to set the choke, turn on the ignition and then press the gas just enough to make the starter engage.

At normal temperatures just turn the key and press the gas just enough to make the starter engage. When the engine catches, back off the gas just enough to keep it from racing just like you would on any carbureted car.

I like the system and have always left it operative on my cars. It was viewed as a convenience when new, but to be happy with it the car has to be in a decent state of tune and the carb's choke and fast idle circuits have to be in standard condition.

If there continues to be a problem, you might consider having the gas tank and gas lines cleaned.

" "My question, is how does the starter disengage"

I'm not sure I'll say this properly, but, when the engine starts to run, the bendix in the starter is kicked back automatically to disengage the ring-gear. Any changes or additions to this descriptions are welcome.
Hope this helps.
Steve

Good Morning...You might want to check the engine timing, condenser and compression. The distributor might be frozen in its current position.

Also after this much time sitting...low compression could come from stuck valves...

Often when purchasing a car that has been stored for a long time, the key is to figure out why it was stored! Frequently if the answer was not the death of the owner, it was a mechanical problem that the owner did not want to/could not/ deal with.

On the Packard Club site, on the left side is a red tool box about half way down the selections...if you click on it and look around there is a list of many, many items that will cause these old girls not to start. Print out the list and go one by one until you find the problem. A little holly water on the radiator can't hurt. Ernie

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That is correct. The conventional Bendix is an assembly which rides in a spiral groove on the motor shaft. When the motor starts turning, the Bendix not being attached to the shaft is stationary due to its heavy mass. Effectively when the shaft starts rotating it "screws" the Bendix assy out to the end of the groove to engage the flywheel. When the engine starts, the flywheel teeth start moving and begins turning the Bendix backwards faster than the motor which "unscrews" the assembly back in to the starting point of the groove. At the same time the engine starts, the driver lets off the starter so the motor stops turning and Bendix stays in the park position as everything winds down. A small detent helps to keep the Bendix from vibrating out.

The problem with the conventional Bendix was if the engine gave a false start it would tend to kick the Bendix and start to disengage the starter. On the times this happened it caused frustration and in some cases damage to the teeth as the flywheel and starter clashed. Packard started using an anti-kickback unit in the early 50s and made the assy available to several earlier years. That Bendix is like a conventional unit but with an extra spring loaded pin which drops into a hole at the end of the shaft groove when the Bendix reaches the end of travel and engages the flywheel. In order to disengage the pin the engine has to be running and able to consistently spin the Bendix backward. The centrifugal force of the spinning causes the pin to push against the spring and raise out of the hole. The backward rotation and disengagement is then like the conventional unit. If the engine made a false start the short burst of centrifugal force is generally not enough to disengage the pin so the pinion stayed engaged with the flywheel.

Downside to the anti-kickback is if you engage the starter and for some reason the engine does not start the pin can keep the Bendix engaged with the flywheel because there is no centrifugal force to release the pin. In some situations it is necessary to remove the starter and manually repark the Bendix to unjam things. During bench testing you also need to make sure to return the Bendix to the park position before mounting the starter on the car.