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An Introduction to Packard Service Information
by Brian Harpst
As a supplement to shop manuals and parts books, the Packard Motor Car Company communicated updates, additions, and corrections to its dealer body through a variety of publications. Technical Letters, printed on general letterhead, were sent out on an as-needed basis, with each covering a single topic. In 1927, the factory began publishing a periodic newsletter, the Packard Service Letter, with a variety of articles on service, parts, and administrative matters in each issue. In 1944, that newsletter was rechristened as the Packard Service Counselor. While Technical Letters continued to address important matters that arose between issues of those newsletters, they were eventually supplanted by the Service Technical Bulletin series, with its own dedicated letterhead.
It was business as usual, following the formation of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation in 1954, and these publications continued under the offices of the Packard (and, later, the Packard-Clipper) Division - even for several months after the end of Detroit production in 1956. Yet, the story didn't end there, as Studebaker's South Bend offices and their remaining dealer network assumed service responsibilities for Packard vehicles. Articles on Packard equipment would appear in the Studebaker Service Bulletin through 1961.
Whether you're repairing, restoring, or improving your Packard, these documents contain a wealth of excellent information that can't be found in any other book. However, sorting through all this material to find an answer can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. While annual indices were published for many (though not all) years, styles varied greatly, and none were issued for the 1956 calendar year.
To better reference this material, we set out to prepare a master index to the publications for each related Series that is linked to material at this website. Topics have been edited to improve clarity, sorting, and grouping, yet permit recognition of the title in the original document. While model application information was drawn from the original text, it has been edited for uniformity, using a convention similar to that found in the factory-issued shop manuals and parts books.
Enjoy!
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