Re: 56 Patrician Info

Posted by HH56 On 2014/11/20 9:59:06

IMO, by 56 almost all the early problems that earned the 55-6 bad reputation had been worked out. Styling is always in the eye of the owner but I believe the overall refinements to the 56 make it one of the most desirable post war Packards. You would need to check the same things you would if buying an earlier car with maybe a couple of additions.

Build problems with the body and facilities at Conner had been overcome but if a fender or door was really misaligned one might ask why..

Engine oiling on the V8, while not totally under control when production started, had been addressed. Later improvements by Stude and the work done by our own posters on fitting a modern oil pump (if desired) have made that situation minimal.

The TL system had been revised and components relocated to take care of the electrical corrosion issues.

The trans had been refined considerably so basic operation and reliability was improved. IMO, it still wasn't up to the power of the V8 so does need to be driven with finesse. One downside to the 56 was the addition of the pushbutton shift. It did bring back a few issues so that has to be considered. As a whole, it is a reliable unit that doesn't cause too many problems but can be an issue if not understood by anyone working on it.