Adventures with a 1955 Clipper
Posted by JWL On 2011/5/30 15:10:34
Hello All,
I have decided to share my adventures of working on my 1955 Clipper, and start project blog about it.
First, a little background on the car. It is a 1955 Clipper Super Touring Sedan (5542 4985). I bought it last March and took delivery in June. The car had been in the same family since 1970, and they bought it from the original owner who bought it from the Packard dealer in Baltimore, Maryland (Zell Motors). It spent most all of its life in Maryland.
I had been looking for a V-8 Clipper with standard coil and leaf spring suspension and a manual shift transmission for some time and was referred to the owner of this one. Some of the 1955 Clippers were equipped with Packard's new and innovative Torsion-Level suspension system. I wanted something more simple. It turns out this car was equipped with a Twin Ultramatic transmission. These transmissions are somewhat problem prone, and there is no one who I know of in the Austin, Texas, area who knows how to work on them. I initially decided not to buy the car because of the Twin Ultramatic.
A couple of months later the owner called and said that he could arrange to have the car converted to a manual shift transmission. The mechanic who would do this work would be Ross Miller, the go to guy for Packard maintenance and repair in the mid-Atlantic region. I agreed to this and bought the car. In addition to converting the Clipper to a manual transmission, Ross replaced the Easamatic power brake system with a conventional set-up, and did a brake system overhaul plus a few other minor jobs. This was in March and the car was delivered via a transporter on June 20, 2010.
I did nothing with the car for the first several months and had it in a storage space. I recently brought it home and started working on it. The first task was cleaning the engine compartment. This is where the story will begin.
A photo of the car on the day it was delivered and another one taken the day after it arrived at a local Fathers' Day Car Show are attached.
(o{I}o)
Attach file:
(58.25 KB)
(56.48 KB)
I have decided to share my adventures of working on my 1955 Clipper, and start project blog about it.
First, a little background on the car. It is a 1955 Clipper Super Touring Sedan (5542 4985). I bought it last March and took delivery in June. The car had been in the same family since 1970, and they bought it from the original owner who bought it from the Packard dealer in Baltimore, Maryland (Zell Motors). It spent most all of its life in Maryland.
I had been looking for a V-8 Clipper with standard coil and leaf spring suspension and a manual shift transmission for some time and was referred to the owner of this one. Some of the 1955 Clippers were equipped with Packard's new and innovative Torsion-Level suspension system. I wanted something more simple. It turns out this car was equipped with a Twin Ultramatic transmission. These transmissions are somewhat problem prone, and there is no one who I know of in the Austin, Texas, area who knows how to work on them. I initially decided not to buy the car because of the Twin Ultramatic.
A couple of months later the owner called and said that he could arrange to have the car converted to a manual shift transmission. The mechanic who would do this work would be Ross Miller, the go to guy for Packard maintenance and repair in the mid-Atlantic region. I agreed to this and bought the car. In addition to converting the Clipper to a manual transmission, Ross replaced the Easamatic power brake system with a conventional set-up, and did a brake system overhaul plus a few other minor jobs. This was in March and the car was delivered via a transporter on June 20, 2010.
I did nothing with the car for the first several months and had it in a storage space. I recently brought it home and started working on it. The first task was cleaning the engine compartment. This is where the story will begin.
A photo of the car on the day it was delivered and another one taken the day after it arrived at a local Fathers' Day Car Show are attached.
(o{I}o)
Attach file:
(58.25 KB)
(56.48 KB)
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