Re: what to check out when buying a 110?

Posted by 39SixSedanMan On 2017/7/20 12:11:16

Hey, Megamotor!
I own a 39 six now restored after having been disassembled pretty much to the final nut and bolt. in a few days I will have had the car for 20 years and I love it. For the record:
1937: "115C" to match the third year of the 120C (120 began in 35)
1938-39: "Six"
1940 on: "110"; however, in aftermarket parts books and the online data from many of our vendors (Merritt, Kanter, etc), all these junior sixes are often called "110"

The 39's had an R6/7 overdrive optional and for that year only. I've added an R9 BorgWarner Overdrive that would have been proper for the 40-48 Packards. Joy to drive; very nimble.

As mentioned, any column shift if not correctly adjusted, can be an issue. When Packard introduced it in 39, the cranks on the transmission had rubber inserts intended for vibration and noise isoloation, but they quickly deteriorated and fell out. Very quickly, Packard moved to solid cranks and offered them on future vehicles and as a service part for the 39's.

In general, I would advise that the biggest thing to be aware of is that cars of the 30's are different from those you may be use to:

Driving:
- Higher center of gravity means more body movement during accel, decel and turns.
- Non power steering and larger steering angle ratios
- Of course, unboosted brakes means the pedal force/travel/decel is not your modern car, and will be different from a mid 50's car

Maintenance:
- lever action shocks that need to be maintained with shock oil (Motorcycle fork oil)
- drum brake adjustment from time to time
- voltage regulators that may need point cleaning and adjustment in order to properly charge the battery...like the distributor
- Fluids, Fluids, Fluids: the old WW2 vet who helped me with my car long ago said any old car may have a leak, but not like the issue our friends in England have (aint oil under it, there aint oil in it).

The punchline here is that the simplicity of these machines makes them extremely reliable.

I hope this helps!
Pat