This past hot sunday was the Bosch Boxberg Classic. A rally I was working at one of the check points. Some fun, some impressive cars at the rally and show. Clipper cruised up on the Autobahn at a nice 120kmh no problem at about 2400rpm. On the way home I got stuck in 1/2 hour of hot traffic. My temperature was critical, but the car was fine.

Attach file:

---

  20250629_150745.jpg (4,282.62 KB)


  20250629_104826.jpg (4,198.48 KB)


  20250629_155739.jpg (5,452.57 KB)

Clipper is home this month and chugging along. She just turned 10,000 kilometers since the big restoration! Drive them babies!

The 53 Caribbean also had originally 8.00-15 Tires, so I went through a similar decision making process. Using the Engine rev/mile specs from the workshop manuals, I calculated that packard originally had a 358mm radius tire. The diamondback 8.20 spec is 371mm (3.6% difference) and coker 8.00 spec is 374mm (4,4% difference). The 8.20 name from Diamondback might better be 8.00.
I went with diamondbacks on the Carib and Cokers on the clipper, but like the diamondbacks better.

There is the handle on the windshield frame. First you need to turn that counterclockwise about 3 revolutions. Then open the zipper to open the back window, then open the Convertible top by using the hydraulic switch.
Before using the zipper, you might want to open the top a few cm, and put something soft between the top and the windshield. This will remove tension from the zipper.
Also, before using the hydraulic System, check that the hydraulic rams are not rusted.
Ciao!

These clippers have a lot of body roll. My 53 coupe has rebuilt stock suspension and original front bar and bushings. It rolls a lot. You could add a rear sway bar like Ross has done. It is an addco sway bar I believe. Another OEM option would be to get a rear panhard bar like used on some of the senior models. I dont know how hard they are to find.
My Carib has the rear panhard bar, and feels a lot more flat than my clipper in the curves.

Weather has been cold in the mornings ~40 degrees and 60s in the afternoon, so great packard weather. The adjusted points are performing well, and power feels good. Going up that hill that gave me trouble a while back was smooth sailing this week. My first fill-up this year with 13 gallons calculated to 14.6 mpg, which is pretty good! That is based on odometer reading, so it might be a little bit optimistic. -never trust a statistic you didn't fudge yourself
I understand that being 2 degrees off spec on my dwell will result in 4 degrees difference (advance) in my spark timing. I have 29 deg dwell instead of 31.....Maybe I will go back and try and get things perfect with dwell and timing, but it is all pretty close and driving well.

The weather was nice this weekend, so I filed and adjusted the points. I set the dwell at 29 degrees, which is a little bit less than the spec of 31 deg. As things wear out, the dwell can only increase, so sooner or later it will be right on spec. -close enough for me. Honestly, I don't enjoy adjusting points. Set/check with feeler gauge, start the car and measure with the dwell meter, shut off the engine, turn it by hand so that a lobe is opening the points and then set/check gap again. It took me about 6 iterations to adjust. A test drive of about 25 miles afterwards showed that acceleration was back to normal.
-I also added a little bit of Bosch distributor grease to the cam

Hi Kevin, what I have heard of being done on some old Jalopies was to bend over those 8 tubes that are bent/leaking. It is not pretty at all, but should work for a week or two untill you get a new radiator...Take some pliers and cut those 8 tubes, then fold/roll them over so they are sealed. It is real "rig this to get me home" automotive art, but since that core is toast anyway, you could seal off those tubes like that.
Oh, and my clipper has dot5 that is purple, and has stayed purple for a good 10 years now. wierd that you got yellow fluid coming out of your wheel cyl. I wonder if there is a litmus test or something you can check the fluid with?

I am still running the 6volt positive ground system with a good-old-fashioned mechanical voltage regulator. The system voltage was a little low for a while, and now it might be a tad high (7.7 when cold) but when warmed up is pretty much right on the 7.3 - 7.4 volt spec. (it is not 12 volt)
I also used Bosch distributor grease on the cam, but maybe I just used to little grease.

This evening I decided to take a look at the ignition points.....I rotated the engine by hand untill the points were open and they were barely opening. Looking at the spec, the point gap should be 0.016". My one quick check with a feeler gauge looked like it was .008 or less. it could even be .005.
I went through the distributor in october of 2022, and only about 2000 miles ago. That seems like not a long time for the point gap to close up.
I will take out the points and file them with a point file, then re-set the gap and adjust dwell and timing. I'll also apply some distributor grease to the 8 sided cam that opens the points...
2000 miles seems like a very short service interval for points. What can cause them to wear fast? I guess the rubbing block would have to be the main culprit right?

Oh, and we have a choice between 5% or 10% ethanol gas here in Germany. I use the 5%, and have not had any real problems with it.