Why email, why not call?

"Probably the car is for you, but, since the car is out of state and the seller has perhaps "cherry picked" the list of things wrong I wonder if a trip to inspect it, OR, hire an appraiser to look at it is an solution. If you go look take the $ and rent a trailer to take the car home if you're satisfied. There are too many major components on any car that can cost you dearly it's better to know before the sale. Just my 2 cents. Good luck."

Re-read my original post above.
But, due diligence is your responsibility. The seller didn't tell you about the brake issue, you asked for confirmation of some information and got a copy of the registration and suddenly the brake issue appeared. I'd say there is still more information to know about this car. I hope you take this in the spirit of trying to help. Good luck.
Steve

Agreed. I sometimes forget that when looking at the above pictures, for the most part, we're seeing the "state of the art.... then"....

Probably the car is for you, but, since the car is out of state and the seller has perhaps "cherry picked" the list of things wrong I wonder if a trip to inspect it, OR, hire an appraiser to look at it is an solution. If you go look take the $ and rent a trailer to take the car home if you're satisfied. There are too many major components on any car that can cost you dearly it's better to know before the sale. Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

Bless your heart Brenda, (Jim too) you made my day.
best regards
Steve

Use a 50/50 mixture of coolant and water. If the car does not run it's going to be hard getting the solution into the engine and heater core (if it has a heater core). Take the thermostat outlet off remove thermostat and pour the coolant into the top of the block then replace everything, also now might be the time to change all the cooling hoses and the thermostat and gasket so you don't need to add more coolant if you need to change any of these items later. Hope this helps.....that's what this forum is all about. Welcome.
Your service and other factory literature are available here on this site. Look at the left margin and see all the offerings.

PortlandDon, I see some more Henney parts that you'll probably need

Link to 1954 Packard Henney listed on Ebay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1954-Packard-Henney/323820377113?hash=item4b6532d419:g:ecIAAOSwHUVdOTRA

OH Man!!! I can't help you but I'm sure sorry to see that.