Re: 1954 Packard Patrician

Posted by HH56 On 2023/10/2 19:15:38

And a few more comments. If no paint and trim code is on the door jamb, believe in 54 paint and trim codes were on a paper label affixed to one side of the glove drawer.

You asked about specific things to look for and one would be the transmission. With late 54 production Packard introduced their upgraded Ultramatic called the Gear Start Ultramatic. That transmission was the first Ultramatic with an actual gear shifting action done by the unit. The GS could either work the same way as the original which was essentially a one speed and torque converter no shift transmission or by choosing a different selector position, start in low, automatically shift to high and then have the converter go into direct drive. I don't know if there is an estimate of how many cars might have had the GS Ultra but to identify whether one is in that car look at the selector quadrant. The original Ultras had 5 positions, P N D L R while the upgraded units had 6 positions with a dot in the quadrant denoting the extra position.

The 54 one year only 359 engines had an aluminum head. If yours is still on the car that is probably a good thing because due to issues over the years many were replaced by cast iron heads. If the original is still on the engine, hopefully poor storage conditions has not cause any problems. The aluminum head has slightly rounded corners and edges while the cast iron head has fairly sharp square corners and edges. Good used aluminum heads are somewhat hard to find today.