To be fair, I wanted to update this post with the resolution I reached with Jim at Smiths Classic Clocks. I did not hear back from him after informing them that my clock did not work following the second go-round with his repair shop and so I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. A couple of days after that, I received an email from Jim who openly admitted that he had 'dropped the ball' with this transaction and said he was sorry and would refund my money. He has since done this and I feel he has acted reasonably and taken responsibility for failing to repair my clock.

He DID maintain that the clock worked fine at his end both times and cited possible 'amperage issues' with my power source. I had hooked it up in the car the first time and the battery was starting the engine fine and so I presumed it would run the clock. The second time I checked it with a 6 volt battery on my bench that I had just charged. The result was the same both times: it ticked for a few seconds and then quit. Can anybody shed any light on this!?!?!?

irrespective, it is on the way back from Clock Works in Wisconsin and I will test it immediately upon receipt. I guess that will tell 'the final story'.

Hi David,

Can't contribute any actual 'experience knowledge' on this as I haven't compared the brackets between the years and the models, but there IS a posting on E-bay for bumper brackets that they're calling '36-39 Junior front bumper brackets. The photo shows the bracket bends and shapes pretty well - attached below.

Best of the season to you David!
Chris

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Not surprised to hear of 'similar experiences'. I have always wondered about those testimonial pages on business websites - always full of glowing accolades; but they obviously don't post the 'bad ones'!!! It really isn't that accurate of a dipstick on customer satisfaction, but it does give one a 'false sense of security' when deciding on who to deal with!?!?!

Re the quartz conversion, yes, it is an option and Clock Works does them - apparently one can go with a 6/12 volt power option, or a battery operated version. I think it significantly changes the look of the back of the clock and, in as much as that is very visible when the glove box door is opened on the '39, I thought I would try and keep it original. And, not that I ever plan on showing my car, as it is a daily driver, but I have read that quartz conversions warrant demerit points when a car is judged. Just sayin'.

It is with some compunction that I post this as I am not in the habit of bad-mouthing companies, but my experience with the subject business has left me much less than happy and I thought I should make public my experience to see if anyone else has had dealings with them and to warn those who may be considering their services.

When I bought my car early in 2016, the glass face on the clock was broken and the clock did not work. After considerable investigation online, I found that a replacement glass was not that easy to come by, as the clock numbers are 'painted' on the inside of the glass. I was able to track down an identical unit on Ebay (non functioning, but with a good glass) and, after emailing back and forth with Jim at Smiths Classic Clocks, I was assured that he would be able to make one whole clock out of mine and the donor piece I had rounded up online. I did send them in, paid for 'a repair' and 'a shipping' through his online order page and soon received the clock(s) back. I was doing a lot of rewiring and other work on the car and it ended up being several months before I actually reinstalled the clock and when I twisted the fuse holder together, the clock started ticking and I thought I was in business. Unfortunately, that only lasted a few seconds and then nothing. I of course checked all the obvious things, power, ground, wires etc., and everything checked out.

I then emailed Smiths and was told to return the unit(s) back to them and I went through the whole process over again. Because it was past the 90 day warranty, I was billed a second time. When I got the clock back I decided to check it out right away, on a 6 volt battery I had in my shop: identical result; it ticked for a few seconds and then nothing. On top of this, the hands were way out of sync; when the minute hand was on 12, the hour hand was halfway between two numbers.

I emailed them back almost 2 weeks ago and have not even received a reply. Frustrated, I started checking with other repair facilities and landed on Clock Works in Wisconsin. I mailed the clock(s) to them and once received, they called and informed me that virtually nothing had been done to the internal workings of the clock. The guy said it looked like Smiths might have sprayed a bit of lubricant into the movement, but nothing else. Apparently, the unit had been reassembled incorrectly too. He also said that, like me, he didn't want to badmouth any of his competition, but that Smiths Classic Clocks was very well known to him, and not in a good way. He advised me that they will be able to repair my clock and Clock Works guarantees their work for a year (vs. 90 days) and while their fee is a bit more, it is still, very reasonable. (certainly less than the two bills combined from Smiths AND the double shipping!)

Don't know if anybody else out there has had dealings with Smiths, but hope this will be a red flag that at least one customer of theirs is utterly dissatisfied.

Here it is 12 days till Christmas and yet another year is coming to a close. I would like to take this opportunity to say Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2018, to all the Packard folks out there. I would also like to say 'Thank You' to the kind and generous members for all their help, advice and passed-on knowledge that is so willingly offered.
I've had my car for a little over a year and a half and have sorted through so many problems and issues that simply would not have been possible without the Packard Info Forum.
Hat's off and sincere 'Thanks' to all who have responded to my queries.
Best of the season to 'Packard Nation'

Kind regards,
Chris Goodfellow.

OOOPS! My error... I should have caught that at 6 1/4"

Hey Chevmn56,

Realize you may have already seen these - but... just in case, and cheap enough on initial bid too.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Packard-Stainless-Steel-Hubcaps-Set-of-4-Item-No-VWS01-6-25-Diameter/352201142451?hash=item5200d2f0b3:g:IYgAAOSw~HBZ~SuD&vxp=mtr

They look pretty similar to your picture

A lot of interesting and informative stuff here! Before I purchased my Packard, my wife asked the question on unleaded fuel - would it be okay in a car that old? I gave her kudos for the insight and have to admit, that had not occurred to me! I did do a ton of online research and, although I am the first to realize you can't believe everything you read online, the vast majority of what I found, seemed to concur that the absence of lead did not harm an engine. The much bigger threat seemed to come from ethanol. Apparently fuels with this additive attacked much of the 'old rubber' in pre-70's engines. To that end, I have used only premium 94 octane fuel in my '39 as it says it contains 'no ethanol'. I know when I purchased a rebuilt carb from the 'Carburetor Exchange' in Del Monte, they seemed to make a big deal out of certifying that their rebuilds were all re-manufactured with 'ethanol-compliant' rubber components. This seemed to reinforce the risk of exposing 'old rubber' to ethanol.
The bulk of the owners who responded here say 'no lead additive'; yet there does seem to be that issue with valve faces and seats. Does adding lead do any harm?? i.e. over time, could I end up with a bunch of muck in the bottom of my gas tank?? I have to say, I'm betwixt 'n between on this one.
I do intend on using my car as a near-daily driver when I get it all sorted out and want to do the right thing for the 'long haul'.

Chevmn56,

The link I referred to that has to be taken apart is 15.200 in Howard's post. (the inside end)

Hi Chevmn56,

Haven't been 'in here' in a couple of days and just noticed your post. Like Howard stated, I have had my steering box out twice and this last time, I took it to a steering rebuild specialist and they redid it properly. Now, when I move the steering wheel an inch, I can see the wheels move. First off, I don't know how similar the '41 box is to the '39 version, but on mine, I was able to take an inspection cover off the top of the steering box. If yours has a similar cover, that will probably tell the story. The sector shaft wheel that interfaces with the worm gear has open-face, ball, thrust bearings on either side. In my case, these were disintegrated and with the balls floating around in the box lube, a ball would get jammed in between the sector wheel and the worm gear, locking the steering altogether, so I certainly know what you are talking about, re 'scary first drives'!!

One thing to consider, if you remove the steering box (again, speaking only of my '39) it will come out the bottom if you take the steering link off on the inside end. It then provides just enough clearance to pull the whole assembly out the front of the car. I made up a little custom press with 4 bolts and a small piece of 1/4" plate steel to pop the steering link apart. I could get very close to 'feeding' it through the steering linkage without disassembling it, but not 'quite enough'. Once the link was disconnected, it was a piece of cake. For what it's worth, I am up here in Canada and the steering house charged me $400, all-in for the rebuild. I did search all ends of the earth to try and find the original bearings (I was able to get the numbers off the races and broken cages) but came to the conclusion that they are simply no longer available. The steering house guy agreed and apparently customized a set of '39/'40 Chevy bearings that ARE still around. PM me if you want any additional info or photos of the press I made, etc. Good luck! (and you won't believe the difference in handling once you get this resolved!!)