A friend of mine, who owns a small garage, had a 51 (2?) 4 door show up a while ago. I happened to be driving by while it was still on the trailer being estimated. The ca. registration claims it is a 52 but it has the wings up Cormorant. After 62 years, who knows? I was somewhat surprised to see vary Packard looking 16 inch wheels warring F 70 16 wide whitewall tires. The paint and interior are properly aged and faded enough to be original. The gas tank and radiator are missing. I have no clue as to its history. The relevant numbers are;
Theft proof; B 6506 I
VIN on the door jam ; 2562 27854
My 52 bodied, 53 Henny Jr has the standard 15" wheels that look very much like the 16's on this one. Does anyone know if any of the commercial chassis Packards used 16's in the 50's? I'm going to ask the Professional car group also. Their plan is to collect the missing pieces and try to start it sometime this week. I'm planning to be around to watch.

I shall return and report this momentous event, Tom

I am still employed by the company that I spent the last 15 years with although both my wife and are receiving our full SSI. A few months from now I will officially retire and lose my company car and cell phone. I now need to decide what I want for a daily driver and which of my toys will be sold to pay for it. My current semi-rolling stock inventory is
53 Henny Jr 3 door combination Ambulance / Hearse; This was hit when I got it. I have all the parts, just need time.
55 Clipper Deluxe 4dr 3spd OD; Just finished clutch, need to fix fuel starvation problem.
57 Cad Fleetwood 60 Special. Replaced brakes, Needs mufflers & Carb rework
62 Mercedes 220Sb 4dr 4spd; Just finished front brakes, needs backs, shift linkage bushings & motor mounts
65 Jag3.8S; Need to pull BW transmission tail shaft and replace gasket.
72 Jag XJ6; Pulled Trans and started converting to a Toyota 5speed. Didn't get far.
86 Jag XJS Eurowest 4pass convertible conversion: Very few made for very good reason. Was rescued from a Salvation Army Donation Center.
86 Chev 1ton flat bed w/ lift gate. Parked since 93 and DMV still wants $1500 + registration.
86 Ford F150; parked for being too thirsty.
94 Nisson PU; Son drives it.
94 Pontiac Grand Prix; Destined for Ca $1000 get junk off road program after I flunk Smog.
96 Nisson Sentra; Wife drives it.

I will probably thin out to the Henny, Cad, and Chevy. Wife & son keep theirs. I'm a convert. Addict so the XJS will be hard to part with but I'm getting old for masochisism. (besides, there's a74 Alfa for $500 that's tempting.) I'm torn between replacing the Company Caravan or finding a mid 2000's Toyota PU for regular use. I am backing away with crossed hands from the 94 BMW 750 12cyl, @750.00, the 80 Porsche 928 for $750.00 and I lost the 72 Mercedes 300sel 6.3 that left for $1000. The 92 BMW M-Technik Convert @ around $2000 is harder to resist. There's a 57 Golden Hawk in a garage about 5 miles away that deflects my car every time I pass it on the Fwy. If it ever comes up for sale..... I try not to think about the yard full of Citroen's down the street. Then there is always This one.
So many cars so practical wife.
Tom

Clean tank and dead sender.
Gas was drained and tank removed Sunday. Examination of the bottom revealed a fine grainy substance resembling beach sand. The pickup tube enters the tank at the lower left. It turns up then turns back down and stops very close to the bottom in well stamped into the tank. I suspect that right turns piled enough sand against the wall to block the tube while left turns moved it to the center of the tank. A trip to the car wash, 5 minutes of high pressure soap and high pressure rinse followed by towels stuffed through the sending unit hole left the inside sparkling clean. An examination of said sender found, along with the sunk float, an open element and ground strap. Auto Zone has a "universal" GM replacement for $20.00 that I'll try. There are no filters in the line; I wonder what fine grainy stuff that looks like beach sand does to fuel pumps and carburetors? I guess I'll have to look. That project has to wait for the 62 Mercedes brakes.

I shall report the success or failure of the Universal sending unit when I try it, Tom

Seeing the Bendix linkage mounted power steering cylinder recalled an incident with the 56 Executive 4 door I drove to high school in 1962. A worn bushing or poor repair pointed the hoses about 45 deg up. The return hose was constantly hitting the frame and I was constantly replacing it. This particular incident occurred as I was traveling East on the 10 fwy intending to exit Baldwin Av. I entered the ramp beside a yellow 57 Chevy 2 door HT driven by a man in a suit. His passenger window was down. As I turned, the hose let go and shot a finger size, red, stream directly through the open window dead center on the headliner. I continued departing the fwy and he continued East. We didn't stop to discuss it, although, I suspect nether one of us has forgotten it. The same car taught me about 1 speed push button transmissions and why there is no manual control for the load levelers.
I still miss it, Tom

The clutch transplant was a success so I took the Clipper on a celebratory drive. It ran nicely to various places where I showed it off a bit, ending at the local petrol emporium for a tank full of gas. Fifteen gallons later I was headed home. The trip home is North two blocks, East one block, North three blocks East to the end of the block. The trip went fine until the first right turn at which time it died and wouldn't start. Through the kindness of strangers we got it into the Stater Brothers parking lot. A quick check showed no fuel delivery so there it sat for two days. (An inconvenient emergency service call intervened.) I returned with my portable air tank and blew through the line from the pump to the tank. It started right up and drove up to the next right turn and stopped. More CPR got it back down my driveway where it remains now. I suspect the gas pump dislodged some debris in the tank that plugs the pickup tube on right turns. It would have been nice if it had showed up before I filled the tank. All I need now is ambition.
Progress is being made, Tom

It can be done

One person with two floor jacks can replace a Packard clutch. Observation; if you ask your wife for help, teach her how to drive a floor jack BEFORE it is holding up a 200lb transmission and OD. Tomorrow, the rear mount, shift linkage and driveshaft. 90wt gear lube was voted in and will be added. Is anyone making replacement rubber shift rod couplers? Mine work but don't look pretty. I plan to drive it to the American Legion stake dinner tomorrow.
It's still fun, Tom

All my pretty toys

For those who asked about U-joint part numbers; I used Carquest part # 210-0153 it fit fine. The Precision # is 369. They also fit lots of years of Chevy. I used matching rebuilt clutch parts, but most were from GM. The, now Carquest store, has decades of history and the manager salvaged all the old parts catalogs from the trash. The contemporary list of clutches showed that 10", 10.5" and 11" clutches were used in 54, but 55 only used 11". The one I removed the first time was 10.5" and those parts were rebuilt. It was never satisfactory so I replaced it with a heavy duty pressure plate. That one survived about two years. I did not notice, when I installed it I still had the 10.5" plate. I am now all 11" with heavy springs. The only thing missing now is the ambition to lay on my back on a 100 deg day and fight the transmission in.

Will report the results, Tom

Now comes the fun part with a question

Tomorrow I collect the pieces and reassemble the clutch. A trip to my local parts place, years in the same location, now Carquest, revealed that the U-joints are 50's - 60's Chevy at $12.00 ea. A note on the throw out bearing; it was replaced on the first go around. The original came out in pieces and no convenient replacement was available. A Toyota bearing with two mounting flanges had the same general dimensions but didn't have the perpendicular locating dogs. A couple of chunks of ?" plate and a welder solved it. It's been working fine since. Now the question; I've been running 90w gear lube in older sticks for years, now the world of synthetics seems to have taken over. Would any of them improve or hurt the O/D considering the sprag clutch? I'm also thinking about 140w with Ca's 112 deg summers. I marked the flywheel and crank so it will go back in the same position. Did Packard balance them as a unit, or is position irrelevant?

I should be driving this weekend, Tom

I was wondering if "Third member" was still relevant. It's a term I've used for years for differential. I changed it out about 10 years ago and I don't recall the exact ratios. The one I removed was around 3.90 and 3.54 sounds right for the replacement. At an indicated 65, the car is approaching 80. I'm not concerned about the speedometer error and I like the extra gas millage. Tomorrows shopping list is; 11" clutch kit with heavy springs, front and rear trans seals, rear U-joint and trans juice. Installing is going to be fun. Tom

We acquired this 55 Deluxe 4 door, 3speed OD, about 10 years ago. The original problem was a spinning driveshaft on a parked car. The third member was replaced with one from an Ultramatic and the car was a very nice freeway driver. The original clutch survived about two months and started slipping. The replacement was original equipment and lasted less than a year. The next one was "Heavy Duty" and survived about a year and a half. I have always suspected that the higher ratio imposed a heaver load on the clutch and increased slippage. In both cases, I duplicated the original specs. As I recall, the first and second set was 10" disk and 10" pressure plate. I have always assumed the "Heavy Duty" set was the same with heavier springs. I was a bit surprised, today, when I saw a half inch unused band on the pressure plate. What I removed was a 10" disk under an 11" plate. I don't know how I missed that the last time. I recall, years ago, hearing or reading that the small V8's used a 10" clutch and the 352's used an 11". It never occurred to me that the bolt circle was the same. I'm off to find an 11" set with heavy springs. How much difference will that extra 16.5sq" make? While the trans is out I'm replacing the seals. Anyone know what the current replacements are? Also the rubber shift fork couplers are a bit tired; I'm considering cutting new ones, any suggestions as to the best material?
I will report progress, Tom