I have a ‘54 Convertible that I bought in 2006 and restored over the next 12 or so years. It was an upstate New York car, and when I bought it I was told that it was the daily driver of the dealership owner’s wife - didn’t say which dealer.

Well, sifting through spare parts that came with it, we found a little pot metal piece of trim with “Osterdorf” on it - turns out it was Bufflo’s Ostendorf dealership, a building now on the national register of historic places.https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/dealer/View.php?ID=384

So recently I decided to get the old piece re-plated, and you can see the difference before and after. I understand it was found on the passenger side of the trunk lid, roughly opposite the “Packard” script on the driver’s side, although I don’t know the exact spot, so I suppose I’ll just attach it where I think it looks nice (unless somebody knows exactly where such a thing goes). Fun thing to be able to do given the car’s history.

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Thanks John, my 443 has the same system so that makes sense. I probably should’ve thought of that.

Hey thanks TxGoat, I appreciate all the advice you give here. And yeah, the oil pressure drops when I pull out the choke, even while the engine is running the exact same speed. Once warm, it does seem to run a little better with the choke pushed all the way in but seeing it nearing the top of the gauge on oil pressure always has made me nervous - it sounds like you’re telling me I don’t need to be.

And yes, I have been reading the materials - they don’t have the owner’s manual for the 443, but they do for the ‘28 6 cylinder models, and the commonalities are enough that it’s pretty useful (the instruction manual partly what inspired the question). But still on climbing the learning curve…slowly. :)

When I first start my 443, the oil pressure at idle is around 22 lbs and it quickly goes all the way to 50 lbs (highest indicated level on the guage) if I apply the throttle. Even after getting warm it seems high-ish, with the pressure at idle between 15 and 20 lbs, regularly getting to 40 lbs or above at speed.

However if I pull the choke out (say between 1/3 and 1/2) it instantly drops to much lower levels. However when I do so it feels like I’m running excessively rich, even though I probably do need a slightly richer mix because I live at altitude (in Denver).

I wonder if people think this seems like a problem and if so if there are any suggestions on how to address it?

Also, just for fun, I’m including a pic of my car with the post. :)

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I just did the same - the small amount I donated doesn’t come close to how valuable the site has been for me, but at least I want bigkev to know I appreciate everything he’s done here.

Thanks everyone for the recommendations. I have a very small job I’m hoping to get done - replating the original dealer tag for my ‘54 - so I’ll have to see if any will be willing. It’d be a cool original item to have attached as my car was purportedly the daily driver of the wife of the dealership owner. Although I have no way of positively verifying that.

Who did you use and did they do a good job? I have a couple of small pieces I could use re-chromed and am looking for someplace that might be willing to take the job.

Merry Christmas!

I know the owner. Sent you a message.

Spencer

So, I’m hoping this will be the final update needed on this. I’ve replaced the gaskets in the float chamber and under the nozzle, and seem to have stemmed the leaking at the bolt under the float chamber. However there is still a small leak from the bolt below the carburetor nozzle. While elsewhere in the carburetor the gaskets are made from what seems like a cork (or maybe just cardboard), this gasket (so-called in the parts list) is a metal washer. And I’m not able to get a perfect seal here, thus the leak.

I’m wondering if there are suggestions for how I can get a better seal on this bolt - e.g., a thread sealant product such as these:https://www.permatex.com/product-category/thread-compounds/thread-sealants/

I want to be able to remove this bolt again in the future if I need to access the carburetor nozzle, so I definitely don’t want anything that will create some sort of permanent seal. Thanks again.

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Yes, thanks for the reminder re: the fire hazard. I’ve shut off the fuel supply from the vacuum tank to the carburetor until I can get the drip fixed - hopefully the new gasket will do the trick.

Before I found the drip I’d refilled the vacuum tank and it ran nicely for a couple of minutes before I spotted the drip, at which point I obviously shut things off immediately.