Thanks Howard, for guiding me through what appears to be a very comprehensive and complicated system of engaging Overdrive (probably why they went to the R-11 version afterwards). I will get back out in the garage and see what I can find -- when I tested the relay last week both relays activated as I pulled the coil closest to the carburetor (but not the other way around), but did not hear the solenoid on the governor make a noise, nor did I check to see if the dash light came on. On the list now. Cheers!

The OD unit in my '47 Super 8 has always worked since I've owned the car, but the other day it just stopped. No dash light, no engaging at speed, no clicking, no nothing. I had pulled off the highway and stopped at a shop to get my new tires balanced and that was the last time I could get into overdrive, with a major trip coming up in a few weeks so I'm a little baffled (and irritated, because something seems to break or fail every year about this time). I did take the cover off the firewall-mounted relay and made sure all six wire connections were clean and put back on tight, but I've not checked any other connections. While the cover was off I tripped the far coil and the other one clicked shut on its own so hopefully this was a sign that there is power to the box (or is it?). Am planning on getting underneath the car tomorrow morning before I go to work to see if any of the wires leading to the governor/solenoid are loose, although those wires were replaced about a year ago or so and new connectors crimped on them. The fuse under the hood was replaced also and is the correct one for the car. Anything else I should check while I'm under there? Thanks.

I bought a set of bias ply tires from Coker years ago and had to send two of them back, due to the fact that they were warped and I could not get them balanced correctly. On my next car I went with radials from Diamondback and was very satisfied with their customer service, along with the tires themselves. I also could choose the width of the whitewall, all the way up to 4 inches so I recommend this company over Coker.

Thanks -- I will check them out!

Does anyone have an idea where to find fender skirts for a '47 Custom Super Clipper? I've looked on the usual sites and none can be found. At a concours I attended back in September a man came up to me and we started talking about my car, when he said he had owned about a dozen and that fender skirts were standard equipment on the Customs, so if mine had them they have been lost over the years. I personally think they look good on some but not on others so no big deal if they don't exist any longer, but it would add some authenticity to my already original Clipper sedan. Thanks.

Auggie

I lost the same hubcap four separate times over the course of a week, thanks to our smooth-as-glass (snicker) roads here that are still full of potholes after a very mild winter. The service letter from 1948 described bending the tabs holding the hubcaps on and after I followed the instructions, no more lost caps! Went to a local hardware store and bought a length of 3/8 metal dowel (ended up using a two-inch piece) and placed it in the curve of the clip, then hammered the end with a punch and hammer to where it rested no more than 1/8th inch away from the wheel rim....mine were almost a half-inch bent the wrong way. I will warn you that the caps can be almost impossible to mount back onto the wheel when all the clips are where they should be, but it's way better than losing a very expensive Super 8 hubcap. I try to take them on and off as little as possible, but our bad roads and streets are no match for these wheels now. Avoidance of potholes is still the best insurance but you can't slalom down the street in a '47 Packard very well, and you're going to hit one eventually. Hope this helps.

Dave over at The Packard Club forum said that 85-140 gear oil is good for the transmission, overdrive and differential. Another poster that had a '34 said he used it in substitution of the 600-weight that he cannot find any longer, with excellent results.

Thanks Tim! I got very lucky with this one; did a carburetor rebuild the other day (you don't want to know how much mud was in the bottom) and actually came across what looked like a strip of rolled-up paper with the engine number on it. Just about disintegrated in my hands, but no other information was visible so I guess that's the end of my quest. Plenty of other things to keep me occupied for sure.

I will do that, Owen. Yep, the original glove box is still in place, as evidenced by the amount of dirt and dust living in the bottom of it. May be a good sign though, if nothing else in the interior has been disturbed either.

Thanks for the feedback gents, as well as the compliments! I will take a tour inside the car and see if there is any evidence of a build sheet from the factory -- none in the glove compartment, as I've already checked there, but have not looked under the seats yet.