While we are on drivetrain: i discovered that the rear u-joint companion flange bolt pattern of a 1985 Jag w/automatic is extremely close to that of the 56 Executive prop shaft Detroit joint bolt pattern. It is only about 1/64 inch off.
Perhaps useless information but something to keep in mind for future retro fit projects.

BigKev,

As someone who came from a rodding/dragster background, some 35/40 years ago, until the simmering Packard bug infected me of recent time I support your concept.

However the only drawback I see is with using a so called unrestorable body and then bringing it back to a usable state. The purists will be saying why didn't you go all the way amd restore it, so you can't win with them whatever you do.

Meanwhile the more broadminded amongst us will be applauding your inventiveness while retaining "All-Packardness".

Concerning late 30's Coupes, I think from 38 on Packards are all steel.

It's up to you BigKev.

Hi guys I'm trying to get some info.
My 1940 120 has always ran warm since I got her. Now that summer is here the problem is a lot worse. I can only drive her about 3 miles till she pegged out full hot. I've flushed the radiator but it didn't do much good. I blew out the radiator from the engine side and got a lot of dust out. My next step is to pull the lower radiator hose and try to take a look see in the bottom of the radiator and into the water pump.
I had a guy tell me I might have to change out the "Water Distribution Tube" behind the water pump. I see Kanter has them for $171.00. Can anyone here give me some insight into the problem and a possible solution?
Once hot it seems like theres not enough air getting thru the radiator. While driving it tends to cool slightly but if I have to stop at a stop light it pegs again. The fan belt is not slipping and there are no leaks. Has a standard 4 bladed fan.
Replacing that water distribution tube sounds like a real pain. I guess its long and would have to come out through the grill. Im not looking forward to removing the front half of the car.

Or -- you could put your left foot on the brake, put it in low, wind it up and floor the, "exhiliarator," when you release the brake --- Oh! Oh! Excuse me. A little regression took me there for a second ---- but you could tell from the tire marks during acceleration and the whisper marks when you let off the throttle.

Well now that I am finally back at home after almost 2 weeks on the road, I was finally able to get some work done on the '54.

First I alternator mounted on it's new bracket and also bolted the ground strap the the same bracket.

Also I pulled the valve covers to inspect everything. Everything looks good. When I pulled the oil pan last summer I had found 4 value keepers in the down in the muck. So I was worried I might have had a couple free values. But as you can see everything appears to fine. I guess the last time the valves were worked on, someone must have dropped a few keepers. I also rotate the crankshaft and verified that all the values are free and nothing is sticking. Fresh gaskets and a little gasket sealer, and I buttoned the covers back up.

I also started to reinstall the engine accessories back on to the engine. The transcooler was reinstalled, as was the fuel pump. You can see that the top hose has two different style hose clamps on it. This is acutally correct. All the hoses use spring-style wire clamps, except the hose end that hooks to the water pump. It uses a screw-style wire clamp. This is called for in the PI engine judging guide, and also there are a couple of pictures in some some of the service manuals that verify this.

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does anyone have a scrap of the blue color used in 55-56 that they could spare?

John -

Rear axles for the 56th Series were of an all-new design that was supplied by Dana/Spicer. The rear axle was smartly designed with interchangeability in mind; that is, the only difference between a conventional rear axle and a Twin Traction unit is the differential carrier.

Yet, implementation of the Twin Traction (aka - "Power Lock") differential in production was delayed several times. An STB seems to indicate that cars with T-T units did not begin reaching dealers until sometime in February 1956. In fact, it was so late in coming that servicing the Twin Traction differential isn't covered in the 56th Series supplement to the shop manual, but only in the April 1956 edition of the Service Counselor.

So, there probably weren't a lot of Packards built with that option - certainly none with early/low serial numbers in the 56th Series run.

A couple of things make identification tough. While the factory installed a tell-tale tag on T-T units, I have to wonder how many of those got tossed over the years (during an axle drain and refill). Then, for a variety of reasons, I've heard that some Packards with Twin Traction were converted to conventional diff. On the other hand, while it's hard to say if many people shelled out the $$$ to have a conventional rear axle converted to T-T, but it is possible.

While I've done Turbo's test with later designs of limited-slip differentials, I'm not sure how valid that test is with the T-T units. The production order for my Carib shows it was built this option (code PL), but I have never tested it and am so backed up with work that I won't be able get out to offsite storage until late this fall. My dad's Exec had it, but the car is sitting in a field, which doesn't lend itself to testing. I believe Randy Berger's Carib was built with T-T as well, but while he told me it has the tag IDing it as a Twin Traction unit, the rear wheels spin in opposite directions when he when spins one by hand.

The definitive way to check is by pulling the rear axle cover and examining the differential carrier. A Twin Traction unit will have TWO pinion pins, which have "cammed" ends - each resting in a V-groove in the carrier (which serves as a ramp to engage the clutch pack). This is illustrated in the Service Counsleor article.

An afterthought after installing the rear sway bar backwards. It would be easy to mark the rear-facing side of each bar with a file notch to remind you how to install them with the new bushings.

Joel,

Thanks for your hospitality the other day, it was appreciated, you really went out of your way.

To all you other guys, thanks for your offers but because I haven't been able to log on for a while I missed the chance to co-ordinate the opportunities you presented and because I not going near Nashville that too is passed up with regret.

As to the driving, as was said it just takes care and concentration and certainly being in a car designed for LHD puts you in the right position to start with. Saying that there have been about 1/2 dozen "incidents" and these have happened turning at intersections mostly when I've been distracted turning on the wipers instead of the binkers and all without mayhem occurring. Also you're right about the pedestrian thing, as I learned very quickly when I arrived in San Francisco. My rental cars have all been autos to help in the driving process.

The '41 I've bought I am going to leave as LHD so the aspect that Loyd mentioned when the car arrives in Australia in a couple of months will come into play.

I'll cetainly post some pic's. Including those of a guy in Idaho with 10 Packards for sale, being '39 Convertible(only 7 known), '40 Supr 8 - 7 seater Henney conversion, '41 110 Coupe, '51 Patrician, '52 Coupe & parts car, 52 Auto w/- Conny kit & 25000 original miles, '53 300 - Looks nice, '55 Patrician w/- Air Con in trunk & '56 hardtop clipper.

John, are you talking about Willamport Pa. If you are that kind of close to home for me. I wonder if we know the same guy. Do the cars in the pics look familiar?

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