Re: Ken's 1953 Packard Clipper Deluxe Touring Sedan

Posted by kens53clip On 2009/7/31 16:48:36

My first purchase after buying the car was a 1951-1954 Packard Service Manual from Johnson's Auto Literature in Framingham, Massachusetts (508-872-9173) through eBay. It has been indispensable. The same manual is available here for download at PackardInfo and can also be purchased from the Packard Club (800-478-0012) and maybe from Packards International (714-541-8431).
Also, I have recently downloaded the 1948-1954 Packard Parts Book available here on PackardInfo (Thanks, BigKev and PackardInfo!). Also can be purchased from the Packard Club (800-478-0012) and maybe Packards International (714-541-8431. It should be useful.

Here's what has been done to the car:
2/08-4/08 Wiring to coil and starter repaired, after which one of the keys would start the car. Carburetor cleaned out. Work was done by first mechanic.

2/08-8/08 Fuel tank removed, cleaned, and resealed, and reinstalled with rebuilt fuel tank sending unit. Fuel tank removed by first mechanic. I reinstalled the fuel tank. I used a mechanic's creeper with boards on top of it to hold up the fuel tank while I worked on reinstallation. Learned the merits of using PB Blaster in loosening rusted nuts and bolts on gas tank straps. Had previously used WD-40, which is also a good product. In reattaching fuel line to fuel tank I used NAPA Permatex High Performance Automotive Grade Thread Sealant. It worked better for me than plumber's tape. Now engine would run off gas from the fuel tank. Regretfully I had to reinstall the fuel tank twice, as the first sealing of the fuel tank was not enough to keep a gas leak from occurring. Apparently only the inside of the fuel tank had been sealed, and in my case that was not enough. The local radiator shop, Sims Radiator Service, Inc., stood by their work and resealed both the inside and the outside of the fuel tank at no additional charge. So if any of you have your gas tanks sealed, sometimes an outside sealing may be required in addition to an inside sealing to prevent a leak.
Parts:
Rebuilt fuel tank sending unit and gas tank strap insulator bought from Max Merritt Auto Parts in Franklin, Indiana. (800-472-2573)(hereafter "Max Merritt")
Fuel tank cleaned and resealed by local radiator shop, Sims Radiator Service, Inc. in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Brass fitting used for drain plug (for fuel tank) and thread sealant bought from NAPA Auto Parts. (All NAPA parts bought at Lawrenceville, Georgia NAPA Auto Parts store.)

6/08 Changed oil. First oil change used 30W non detergent. Second oil change, after engine had run awhile pretty regularly used 30W HD. 30W HD is what I used in my first Packard. I did the oil change as I do in all of my cars.
Parts:
Oil Filter--NAPA part number FIL 1080 (replacing AC part number PF-316).

8/08 Upper radiator hose was leaking. Decided to replace both lower and upper radiator hoses and change antifreeze. This is work that I did.
Parts:
Upper Radiator Hose: Used NAPA part number NBH FM44 flexible hose.
Lower Radiator Hose: Used portion of NAPA part number NBH 7369 (cut to fit).

First mechanic I hired was taking way too long, and had cut 5 bolts on every axle to do brakes. I know there was rust, corrosion, and perhaps metal fatigue and that some of the bolts may have needed to be cut, but felt his cutting of 5 bolts on every axle was a bit too much. I paid him for what he had done, pulled the car from him and sought another mechanic. To do the brakes now I was afraid bolts would have to be re-welded on so I went to Stephens Garage and Muffler of Loganville, Georgia who were recommended as having excellent welding skills. I had previously done a brake job on my first Packard and considered doing it myself but did not have welding skills that might now be needed.

8/08-Four wheel brake job. Wheel cylinders rebuilt. New brake shoes and springs installed. New brake hoses installed. Portion of steel brake lines replaced. Had hoped Easamatic Bendix TreadleVac unit could be rebuilt but mechanic advised to get a replacement unit, so that is what we did. DOT 3 (glycol) brake fluid was installed and brakes were bled. Brake drums were turned and were reattached to the axle. Wheel bearings were repacked. Front wheel seals were installed. Work was done by Stephens Garage and Muffler of Loganville, Georgia. Now the Packard had brakes.
Parts:
Deluxe Brake Overhaul Kit from Kanter Auto Products of Boonton, N.J. (800-526-1096)(hereafter "Kanter").
Rebuilt Bendix TreadleVac Unit and front wheel seals from Max Merritt.

8/08-Tuneup. New spark plugs, new spark plug wires, new condenser, new distributor cap, new rotor, new breaker points. Carburetor rebuilt and adjusted. Electrical system checked over and new wiring harness recommended by mechanic because wire insulation was in bad shape in places. I decided to try to wait on the new wiring harness and try to do what I could with electrical tape. Work was done by Stephens Garage and Muffler of Loganville, Georgia. (I had previously rebuilt the carburetor on my first Packard but was so impressed with their work so far that I decided to let them do it and the tuneup.) Now the Packard would run decent.
Parts:
Spark plugs (Champion RJ12C) obtained locally.
Plug wires, rotor, distributor cap, breaker points, condenser and carburetor rebuild kit from Terrill Machine, Inc. in DeLeon Texas (254-893-2610)

My original plan was to use a mechanic to get the car back running again and try to maintain it and repair it myself thereafter, using mechanics where work was beyond me.
When I bought the Packard it had a 12 volt battery installed with a negative ground and from the beginning was running off of that 12 volt battery. As a previous owner of a similar Packard, I knew that it originally came with a 6 volt positive ground battery. It was difficult to determine what if anything had been done to convert the car to a 12 volt system. The starter had no identification plate identifying it as to make, model, or voltage. The generator had no identification plate identifying it as to make, model, or voltage. The voltage regulator was not clearly identified as to whether it was 6 or 12 volt. It did not appear that either the starter, generator, or voltage regulator had been changed recently. The Packard also had 6 volt bulbs throughout the car, most of which had burned out, either earlier or because of the 12 volt battery. I told Stephens Garage and Muffler that I was not adverse to continuing with the 12 volt battery if they felt it was best with the current equipment and circumstances. For whatever reason, Stephens Garage and Muffler left the 12 volt battery negative ground system alone.
I did some exploration on my own on 12 versus 6 volt. I got "The Official 12 Volt Conversion Guide" by Randy Rundle from Fifth Avenue Antique Auto Parts (785-632-3450) and it indicated that to do a proper 12 volt conversion on a car of this type and keep a voltage regulator and generator system you should change the ground from positive to negative and put in (1) a 12 volt battery, (2) 12 volt bulbs, (3) a 12 volt thermal flasher, (4) a 12 volt coil with built in ballast resistor, (4) a 12 volt voltage regulator, (5) a 12 volt generator, (6) voltage reducers for dash gauges, (7) voltage reducer for heater motor, and (7) convert radio to 12 volt unit (most radios not being polarity sensitive). Also understand you need to put in a 12 volt cigar lighter. Mr. Rundle of Fifth Avenue Antique Auto Parts has information and parts to assist you in any 12 volt conversion if you should desire to undertake it for whatever reason.
I also consulted with a local auto electrical shop, Lawrenceville Auto Electric, in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and the gentleman there told me that a 12 volt battery could simply be put into a 6 volt Packard and the car would continue to run fine at least in the short term, with only the burning of breaker points. (Of course, the six volt bulbs would burn out and sooner or later damage could be done to the 6 volt equipment.) The gentleman at Lawrenceville Auto Electric said that it if it had been properly converted, the generator should have been converted to a 12 volt and that he could test it and determine if it was a 12 volt or a 6 volt.
The Packard was now running good but was burning breaker points regularly so that after a few starts, you had to clean the points with a fine metal file to get it started. Did some research in the Packard Service Manual and it appeared that the problem was too high a voltage and the voltage regulator appeared to be the problem. Before I was able to resolve the problem the electrical system stopped working (the starter would turn over but the car would not start) and I figured the misbehaving voltage regulator had finally played out.

3/09-4/09-Upon taking out the voltage regulator, it appeared the voltage regulator in the car was a 6 volt. It thus appeared to me that the only thing in the Packard that was clearly a 12 volt was the battery. I therefore decided to buy a new 6 volt battery and a new 6 volt voltage regulator and installed them in the Packard. Since the voltage regulator would take either positive ground or negative ground, I decided to keep the negative ground, having previously suffered a reversed polarity problem and a ruined voltage regulator because of an ignorant service person. The only feature on my particular car that I figured might affected by the polarity change is the radio but as it was not working and my understanding was that most but not all postwar 6 volt radios are not affected by polarity change, I went ahead and stayed with the negative ground. However, I would recommend each person investigate his own car's equipment before making any polarity change. As directed by the instructions coming with the voltage regulator I polarized the voltage regulator by briefly (no longer than 2 seconds) touching a wire to both the armature terminal and the battery terminal. Regretfully, my problem was not just the voltage regulator, so I decided to replace the coil, having read that performance in this type of coil naturally declined over time, even if not in use. Unfortunately, the new coil did not solve the problem either. Then I decided to replace the breaker points, which had burned several times. In the meantime I discovered that the rotor I had installed had broken. The bakelite holding the metal strip in place had broken so I got a new rotor. When I put in the new breaker points, I used a feeler gauge and set them at the Service Manual recommended .016" only to find that that setting did not work in this car, so I manually set the breaker point gap a little greater (I probably should have used a 6 volt dwell meter) to find that that worked. I suppose that the distributor cam's wear made the old breaker point setting unworkable in my car, requiring a bit greater gap. So after replacing the voltage regulator, the coil, the rotor, and the breaker points, and putting in a 6 volt battery the Packard was once again drivable, only this time on 6 volts instead of 12. Also replaced Thermal Flasher for turn signal, put in 6 volt headlights and put in 6 volt bulbs in the parking light turn signals.
Parts:
6 Volt Commercial Battery--NAPA part number BAT 7244
6 Volt Voltage Regulator--NAPA part number ECH VR1071 (Echlin)
(Original Voltage Regulator was Delco-Remy part number 1118726)
6 Volt Coil--NAPA part number ECH IC7 (Echlin)
(Replacing Standard Plus part number UC-14. Original Coil was Delco-Remy part number 1115376)
Breaker Points--NAPA part number ECH CS777A (Echlin)
Rotor--Delco-Remy NOS from Max Merritt.
6 Volt Thermal Flasher--NAPA part number NF 535 (replacing Tungsol Flasher P229D)
6 Volt Headlights--NAPA part number LMP 6006 (two)
6 Volt Stop Light Bulbs-NAPA part number LMP 1154 (two for Parking Light Turn Signals)

6/09 Radiator began to leak. Took radiator out and took it to local radiator shop, Sims Radiator Service of Lawrenceville, Georgia (hereafter Sims). Sims fixed leak and tried to straighten bent fins to improve cooling, but every time they tried to straighten the fins it tore a leak in tubing in the core. Sims recommended that I install a specially built flat fin core. After some checking on the availability of new radiators I went ahead and had Sims put in the specially built flat fin core in and recondition the old radiator. Reinstalled reconditioned radiator. Used two metal jack stands with a board on top to help hold up radiator while I screwed in the three bolts on each side of the radiator. After all six bolts had been tightened I reattached the upper and lower hoses to radiator.

6/09-7/09 After radiator reinstalled tried to start car. Starter would not turn over and the only sound upon turning the key was a single click. Did some looking at the electrical troubleshooting section in the 1951-1954 Packard Service Manual and it suggested the problem was the starter or the transmission neutral safety switch. Then I consulted the friendly folks at Packard Info. Armed with the helpful advice of my friends at Packard Info, I undertook testing and repair. The 6/12 volt circuit tester light appeared to indicate a problem with the starter so I took the starter and the solenoid out to take them to the local auto electric rebuild shop. Before and as I took out the starter and solenoid I drew a little diagram of all the parts and where they fit together. I also number the wires on the diagram and put a masking tape flag indicating the number on the wires themselves. I have found that making such diagrams as this is of great help when I have to put the parts back together as I may forget how they came apart. I try to do this anytime I think I may forget how to reassemble the parts. I took the starter and the solenoid to Lawrenceville Auto Electric and they were kind enough to test them without charge, the result of which was that both starter and solenoid were working fine. I then reinstalled the starter and solenoid, putting a small cardboard box on top of the transmission cooling lines in the engine compartment to help hold up the starter while I bolted in the starter. After the starter was bolted in, I then reattached the electrical wires according to the diagram I had done when taking it out. I put a bit of electrical tape on a spot or two where I thought the wiring might be grounding out. Thinking that more tests would be necessary, my Father (who owned and bought two ones new) assisted me by starting the car while I sought to test the circuits on other areas of the electrical system. To my surprise the car started, making further testing unnecessary. Apparently a connection was not tight or one of the electrical wires was shorting out. Thanks to all at Packard Info who helped!
kens53clip
Ken Dunning