Re: 1951 Packard 200

Posted by HH56 On 2015/7/12 11:56:54

IMO, particularly in your part of the country, rust. Rockers, trunk rear floor and inside floor at the bottom of the angle around where the feet would be are common spots. If you drive it and it has an Ultra then a smooth quiet and since it starts and stays in high range, leisurely acceleration. A barely felt "shift" or small senstation should happen as it goes to direct drive starting at around 20mph or so depending on throttle. The engine shouldn't race excessively trying to get the car to move and at direct drive the engine should slow down appreciably and you might hear the engine sound change. If the DD clutch has dried there may be a small groan or "moo" as it goes in but that is somewhat common and can be alleviated by letting off the gas as it makes the transition.

If it is a standard shift then smoothness and no grinding of gears as you shift. If it has OD then if you engage it, by letting your foot off accelerator momentarily at around 20 should let it go into OD.

Wiring condition can be an issue on those fabric wire type cars. If it has the war chrome, that is another expensive item in that era cars.