Re: 55 newbie Questions

Posted by HH56 On 2017/10/18 20:59:01

I'll give two cents worth on a few of the questions.

There is no easy answer to the ign key.. Doors and ign used the same round head key and trunk and glovebox the octagonal key. Without original paperwork showing the key numbers, to get a proper key made you would need to go to an old time locksmith that could pick one of the locks to remove the cylinder and then make a key. In the short term you could pick up a universal ign switch and mount that in the dash. Just be careful removing the original switch as the switch is supported by small hooks in the pot metal bezel which break easily. Bezels are starting to be hard to come by and expensive.

Ross answered the wheel question but one thing to watch out for is the center hole diameter. Packard used a fairly large hole compared to other cars.

On the transmission adapter, Bendtsenhttp://www.transmissionadapters.com/PackardV8.htm has the best and probably least expensive solution -- but still not exactly cheap and you still need to make your own shift linkage, rear crossmember and, IIRC the throttle cable hookup. You can look at the components in the prototype install done by Bendtsen here or check out some of the earlier pages in Stewart's 55 Packard 400 blog. By the time Stewart did his the decision had been made to drop the crossmember out of the kit.

To the best of my knowledge there are no direct fit aftermarket radiators. There is a Ford truck radiator that will work with some bracket revisions and I think a hose realignment. To get a proper fitting drop in item you will need to find used with decent tanks and then probably have it recored. Not cheap there either.

On finding a manual trans, those are becoming scarce because many have wanted to go that way. Except for the low end Clippers, production was predominately built with the Ultras. The bell housing is probably the hardest part and you might even need to find a parts car. Ross might have a complete setup but in addition to the trans and bellhousing you would need all the clutch and shift linkage. There are a lot of small pieces and you almost need a reference car to see how they fit together.

The vehicle number is 8 or 9 digits. The first 4 digits denotes the series (year) and model, second batch is the sequence number indicating about where the car was built in the total production of that model. I believe the sequence starting number was 1001 in 55 but someone will correct me if I guessed wrong. If the engine is the original the same number will be stamped on the flat part of the block at the front just behind the water pump and between the oil fill pipe and oil filter. Stamping could be faint and covered in grease.

Kanter Autohttps://www.kanter.com/packard/ or Max Merritthttp://www.maxmerrittauto.com would be the source for TL parts. The TL is generally very reliable but after sitting a long time the contacts in the switches could be oxidized and cause some problems. On a 55 with everything electrical under the car, water and corrosion or road debris hitting and bending the limit switch and solenoid bracket were the main reliability issues. Rubber bushings and shocks are very important components and will be the most likely items needing replacement.

Kanter and a couple of others sell front disc brake kits and a few have been installed. There are some who have made their own conversions but doing it yourself there would be a difference in parts to watch out for because of spindle size. Clipper had generally smaller components than those on a Packard.