That's interesting Don. Do you know how wide the rims on the Patrician are?

I presume your Packard wire wheels have centres which fit the senior cars (ie 5 1/2" stud spacing). Do you plan to use them?

Where are you now? Still up in Oregon?

Cheers

Brian

I have just discovered that the standard 1956 Clipper actually had 5.5" rims. Recommended tire was 7.60x15 tubeless.

The tires on my steel wheels are 215x75x15 B F Goodrich ribbon whitewall radials, on what appear to be 6" Packard rims. The tires on my wire wheels (which are the same dimensions) are 235x75x15 ribbon whitewall radials. These are very difficult to fit on the rear wheels, even with the covers removed. The car has to be jacked up very high. And no doubt the larger tires will make the non-power steering even heavier at parking speeds.

I'll take a leaf out of Don's book, and find some narrower radials to minimise both these problems.

Brian

An alternative is to fit a USB port in your car. You can get them now to run off 6V. They are also very cheap to buy. Presumably Chinese!

I use my smartphone maps to navigate in 6V cars, but only when I'm really lost because of limited battery life. I have a USB port in my 12V Clipper, which solves the problem nicely. My Garmin GPS will run off the cigar lighter.

Brian

This dialogue prompted a little more digging. Discovered some interesting things:

1 The wheel covers are Packard rather than Clipper. They are exactly the same design, but the Clipper covers had a ships wheel emblem in the centre.

2 There is no evidence of different rims being grafted to the centres. If they were, it's a masterpiece of welding skill! Most likely they are Packard wheels. But off what?

3 The rim width is more like 6" than the standard Clipper 5". Hard to believe cars this size would have run on rims that narrow, but that's what the book says. Specified tire size was 7.60x15 tubeless for 1956, which would also have fit a 6" rim.

4 The dimensions and offset of the wire wheels are exactly the same as the steel wheels.

Brian

Hello Don

That's interesting. I didn't think to look in the parts book. I'm not sure what the wheel is in Mal Harris' pic is off, but it sure looks the same - even the rim.

I'll take a closer look at the back of my steel wheels to see if there are any signs of the rims being grafted on to the centres. The rims sure look the same as Mal's picture, but maybe there are subtle differences. According to my Owners' Handbook, the1956 Clipper was fitted with tubeless tyres. This might account for some differences in the rims vs 1955 and maybe a different part number. I'll have a go at measuring the rim width. Not easy with the tires on! The correct width for the junior cars is stated to be five inches. Mine look a bit wider than that, but I have not tried to measure.

Cheers

Brian

Hello Mal

Yes, that's the same wheel alright. What is it off?

The wheel covers on my Clipper look to be original and clip on around the rim. Guess that wheel was the same, judging by the marks on the rim paint.

Sounds like I was misinformed about the origin of the steel wheels on my car.

My steel wheels and covers are actually in pretty good condition.

Maybe Packard continued to fit these standard steel wheels to some of the V8 models in 1955/56, but with no locating pegs on the hubs/drums. Junior cars only, perhaps?

Cheers

Brian

Hello Mal

Yes, the steel wheel centres could be Packard (maybe the originals?). Noel Watson told me they are Ford wheels, but I think it was Warren Jones who fitted the wheels so that might not be correct.

I don't know what Packard or Ford wheels of that period are supposed to look like. There are no locating pegs on the drums - just studs protruding through the wheel. The wheel covers are correct for the Clipper and fit the steel rims suspiciously well.

Perhaps somebody else knows if the red wheel in the picture is a 1955/56 Packard item?

Cheers

Brian

Hello Don

Thanks for your comments. The chap who owned this car (and restored it) was a race car designer/builder so I would guess you're right that he most likely measured it up fairly carefully. But I don't know for sure, so will double check.

There are quite a few other things about the car which suggest he was a pretty good engineer. I don't know why he went that way with the wheels. I suppose there was a plentiful supply of Ford wheel centres around in Australia then, so it may just have been easier than sourcing Packard senior drums. I know he bought the wire wheels from somebody in the US, so perhaps could have sourced drums etc then.

This same guy was the one who changed the paint colour. Some people quite like the original yellow/white roof, but not him or me. The paint job was done thoroughly then (body off), so I don't need to worry now about the engine bay, door frames etc. The cost of a full repaint in another colour would be eye-watering, and easily exceed the value of the car. Not that I'm thinking of selling it. I enjoy driving it too much!

I do have quite a bit of spare trim items, which came off another Clipper which was converted to a Ute (pickup), then scrapped.

I also don't want to dismantle it too much for painting, for fear I'll never get it back together and all working properly again!

Cheers

Brian

Good point.

I had taken comfort from the fact that the car ran with these wheels for about 15 years. They seem to fit into the guards in pretty much the same way as the others (which are also not standard!). It appears - from the number of spokes - that they were aftermarket wheels fitted to a senior Packard in the US, but I don't know whether the geometry changed when the hubs were replaced here.

The suspension on this car was overhauled about ten years ago - and the Torsion Level more recently - but I don't know what shape it was in when it was done. Before my time.

I'll get the tape measure out and check the geometry as you suggest.

This is a daily driver and will never be a concours or show car, so I'm not concerned about originality. It has a few other small mods which I like but which would probably lose points with a concours judge. I do like these wheels on the car. I can see why the previous owner went to quite a lot of trouble and expense to fit them.

With these wheels, it's much less frequently mistaken for a Chevrolet! On balance, quite a good thing but usually leads to the inevitable question "What is it?"

Thanks

Brian

Another episode in the saga of the 1956 Clipper Deluxe.

The first photo in this blog shows the car when the paint was still respectable and it had wire wheels.That was 35 years ago!

I'm about to start on getting the paintwork tidied up. I tracked down the wire wheels when I purchased the car. They look like Packard items but are not what they seem. The Packard wires were available only on the senior cars, which I believe had 5 1/2" stud spacing. The junior cars had 5" stud spacing then, so these are custom built wheels with Ford centres (F100 - see pics).

Since I'm in self isolation for the coronavirus problem - and of an age when I'm not supposed to venture out - I had developed a severe case of cabin fever. Decided the cure was to put the wire wheels on the car.

Easier said than done. Wheeled out my trusty Chinese 2.5 ton floor jack, then began to wonder if it would support the weight of the car which is not inconsiderable. Not sure what 2.5 Chinese tons translates to on our scale.

Anyway, pressed on regardless. Used the magic Torsion Level adjustment switch to raise the rear of the car, then switched the battery off. Gingerly raised the front right hand side of the car, accompanied by ominous groans from the jack and suspension. Kept pumping the jack every few minutes to keep the wheel off the ground, then quickly put the wire wheel on. Noticed something in the process about the Treadle Vac unit. Having the wheel off makes very little difference to access to the Treadle Vac. It's sitting up amongst the chassis rails and quite a long way back from the front wheel. Oh, well. Looks like Plan B to disconnect the lines and get the unit out for its overhaul.

The solid wheels which came off the car are apparently also Ford rims (see pic), but the Packard wheel covers clip onto them nicely. Can't decide whether to keep these wheels or move them on. Sure as eggs I'll need one if I sell them, although the spare is also a wire wheel so I do have a backup.

Cheers Brian

Attach file:

---

  (239.50 KB)


  (235.48 KB)


  (254.29 KB)