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No idea what you have to work with for clearance or restrictions in your battery box but if it is anything like the prewar cars with the battery under the seat maybe a new support could be fabricated. John Ulrich has made new holders for the under seat location to fit the Optimas. Those holders drop the battery down slightly for height clearance and narrow the space for the battery width so it is closely confined and can not tip or slide. If your battery box is not a fixed enclosure maybe something like that could be done.

You can go to Restoration Specialties and download their pdf catalog. Find the wire clips section and print out the page(s) making sure the actual size setting or 100 percent is selected on your printer settings. You can then lay your old clips on their illustrations and find whatever they have that is closest.

Some of the wire clip sizes Packard used are obsolete but others can sometimes be used by turning them sideways. The second one you show is a universal stud type and should be readily available. As long as you can get to the back side and reach the nut it can often be substituted for the push in wire clips. https://www.restorationspecialties.com

30 seconds of Googling would've shown you the Optima 6-volt Red Top 8.13 inches high, 10.06" long, 3.63" wide.

Good idea to support companies that help our old cars so they can sell enough product to keep their prices low, since many rising due to supply chain issues, demand, inflation as it is.

Meanwhile, perhaps it's time for a note on PI's homepage to the effect of "Have a question? It's probably been answered. Enter yours first in our Search box in the upper right corner."

Some of the questions posted are so basic, generic, we wonder if the posers have any experience with any old internal combustion engine.

Of course, many knowledgeable gents here ready to help newbies and longtimers alike. But, "they help those who help themselves."

If people that lazy, how on earth are they to rejuvenate a well-wrought, refined old automobile?

I have no idea how these are measured. Need to order some but everything I see seems to be too small.

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Mike;

The process to R&R the axle seal is covered in the shop manual, but to answer your question, yep, the whole kit and caboodle needs to be removed to gain access to the seal. Actually, the seal replacement is somewhat an access convenience item to some larger job such as replacing the brakes or servicing the axle bearings. As long as you’re in there inspect both and replace as necessary.

dp

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Based on questions and comments in various forums, 12v Pertronix units are quite reliable and seem to work well with very few complaints. I believe you could attribute that to the fact that since the solid state logic used in the module needs a very stable voltage supply, when 12v is dropped down to the required level there is a lot of forgiveness for underlying voltage issues because you are starting with a much higher voltage supply than needed.

6v units are hit or miss. It seems that if the overall car is maintained and reported to run well and is quick to start then logically it must be that the car and particularly the 6v electrical system is kept in good condition. There is probably very little voltage drop to contend with and complaints on those Pertronix conversions seem to be few. If that is the case, it would also stand to reason that cars with varied reports of starting, running or driving issues might also have less well maintained electrical systems. When a Pertronix is put on those cars in trying to solve other issues they seem to have a fair number of complaint and failures to the point many of them are soon reverted back to points. Suspect voltage drop thru poor connections is a big part of those issues when you do not have much extra to start with.

The reader is invited to complete the following palindromic sentence (with all vowels except Y identified). The palindrome is clued by a rhymed couplet and capitalized words are labeled with an asterisk.

_E_* _I_O _O_ _O _O _I__E_.

Though Stalin's car must cost a lot,
it needs a fix--its engine's shot.

Hints available for a small contribution in favor of PackardInfo.

I have Pertronix in my 1954 Patrician and in several of my ‘60s cars and have never had any problem. Even when I used to take my cars in for underside and engine steam cleaning, the shop doing it was always surprised that they started right up when newer cars often had problems due to the moisture getting inside the distributor from the pressure!

The rebuilt wiper motor works like a charm. I am happy I will not have to worry about that anymore. On to the next challenges! Last time I topped off my fuel tank, there was gas coming out the top of the tank. The fuel level sender must not be sealing, so I will have to drop the tank and will then evaluate if I should also have the inside of the tank resurfaced....I started that job with a wire brush and penetrating oil. I'll soak the hanger bolts and fuel line connection to the tank for a few days before I try and remove any old rusty bolts.
While I was under the car, I saw that the left rear axle seal seems to be leaking. It's not brake fluid. It has the consistency and smell of hypoid oil....So that will be another project to line up for this winter. To replace the seals, do I need to remove the brake drum, axle, outer bearing ring and then get access to the seal? I looked in the cross ref, but couldn't find a number for rear axle seals. If I need bearings, I can get them locally, but it might also be possible to find the seals here in Germany with a part number.

I also checked the motor number on my block. It is M604522 from what I see. That makes it a 1954 359, and one of the last 500 motors. Hope she holds for a long time.
Went for a ride on sunday with my daughters....First time with the heat on. The valve or heater core did not leak onto my carpet! That made me happy

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I think I fixed it.

Either the rubbing block had worn down or the adjustment slipped, but by one way or another the ignition point gap had closed up significantly in just 400 miles. I reset it and now it runs fine.

That's weird. I lubricated the point cam. It should not have worn down the rubbing block that fast. I don't really like the whole locking screw method of setting these points. I might put a Pertronix unit in there if this will be an ongoing problem.