Re: BigKev's 1954 Packard Clipper Deluxe Sedan

Posted by BigKev On 2011/3/12 21:47:06

Drove the Clipper twice today. Once to parts store to track down a new thermostat, and another time to drop my daughter off somewhere.

When I have let the car warmup in the garage to temp, and also when driving it, the temp hovers at about the 3/4 mark on the temp gauge. Jim had asked me what temp thermostat I was running when he came out in January. I said 180, as that is what the Stant catalog showed for my car. He suggested I run with a 160. After doing a little more checking, per the parts book, the Packard spec'd thermostat was 170. So it took looking at a few different part stores before I found a 160 thermostat in stock. (Packard 51-54, 160f Stant Super Stat p/n 45356). So after a swap out at home with the new one, she is running running dead center in the middle of the temp gauge. After driving my daughter a couple of miles to drop her off, it was still dead center in the middle of the gauge. So I think a 160 is perfect. Good suggestion Jim!

Also checking the back and front of the engine with the IR thermometer, it was showing the motor was always hovering right at the Thermostat temp, and the difference between the 1/2 and 3/4 mark on the dash gauge is 20 degrees.

My daughter at first didn't believe that I was going to drop her off in the Packard, as the last and one time she ever drove in it with me, it was still smoking really bad, and died on us. Also the holes in the floor were scary to her, and the rat-fested interior was still in the car. Now with floor mats down, my recovered seats in place, the nasty door panels removed, and a fuel tank free of crud, the trip was without incident. No choking smoke, or sudden stalls from fuel starvation. Though driving a car without any weather stripping in place makes for a drafty, creaky, shuddering ride.