Re: Looking for Info without much luck

Posted by HH56 On 2024/3/27 15:41:11

Primary parts vendors for NOS are Kanter Auto, Max Merritt and Tucson Packards. All have websites and probably used parts too. Joel Ray sells some NOS items on his ebay store and several used parts dealers such as Packards Southwest and Seattle Packards sell via ebay listings as well as phone sales.

6v light bulbs are usually available at NAPA and are also sold by vendors such as YnZ Yesterdays Parts and several others. YnZ also carries new wire that looks like the old style cloth covered wire. If you order from them there may be a minimum charge so if you need more than one item try to get other things to have a decent size order.. The owners manuals which are in the literature archive typically have a chart with numbers and specifics of most bulbs used. There are a couple of manual versions for the 23rd series depending on whether car was early or late production.

Packard did not use fuse blocks until 55 so most fuses are inline. The owners manuals usually have a chart with an approximate location where the inline fuse holder might be found. They did use some circuit breakers and the occasional fuse mounted directly on the switch or another electrical item or on the back of the instrument cluster. Note that Packard used SFE type fuses which require holders that are physically sized specifically for the amperage of the fuse called for. In other words a frequently used 3, 9, 14, or 30 amp SFE fuse will not work in a holder sized for a 20 amp and most modern commonly found AGC type glass automotive fuses will not work in any older SFE holders other than the 20 amp holder.

A surprising number of old Packard items can still be found at Napa and occasionally other parts stores but it takes some sleuthing and sometimes a counterperson willing to look in old printed catalogs rather than try to pull an item up on a computer. It also helps to have a counterperson old enough to know Packard was the mfg not some model built by Ford or GM. Even tho Packard has been gone for nearly 70 years there are still a few people working counters that have heard of them.