My car is a '39 1700 4-DR touring sedan VIN series 1282. The car has a factory heater unit, but I cannot find any evidence of a fan motor, or any switch controls. I have liaised with other owners and have been advised that the switch (or switches, if the 'deluxe' version is installed) is/are located underneath the dash on either side the steering column. I don't have any evidence of wires or switches there and wonder if it is possible Packard produced an 'ambient air' version?? There is a petcock on the head where the heater hoses go through the firewall, so the heat can be turned off in summer and there are ducts leading to the defrost ports. I can't imagine wafting air being sufficient to defog windows. My 90 year old Dad says there absolutely would have been a forced air fan motor as his '39 Ford had one, and 'Packard was far superior to Ford' (his quote) yet nothing seems obvious to me - can anyone shed some light on this??? Thanks.

In going through the instrumentation on my '39 Six, I have been trying to get everything back to original and functioning. My last hurdle is the ammeter gauge. The one in the car when I bought it, is 'pinned' in the overcharge position regardless of key on/off. I found a cluster (gas/ammeter)for a 1940 online and, although the face is ever-so-slightly different than the '39, the internal gauges themselves look the same. The 'new' ammeter centers nicely on zero charge and seems to move freely if the gauge is gently shaken. My question is: how can I test it to see if it is functioning before going to all the trouble of installing it?? I am somewhat 'DC challenged' but I have a 6 volt battery and a 10 amp 6-volt charger on my work bench. Is it possible to wire this up to show the charger's input on the gauge without hurting it? I am PRESUMING (dangerously) that the cluster itself must be positively grounded to the battery and then possibly a loop from negative to both terminals on the gauge, with the charger in the circuit??? Also, one of the terminals has a red '6' on it. Am I correct in assuming that would be the negative (hot side)??? I know there are some electrical geniuses out there who might chuckle at the simplicity of this, but I'd sure appreciate a 'how-to'. Many thanks

Thanks for the replies and advice. Re the comment 'if you don't need the tubes, why run the tubes?' that is a good point. I was just thinking that the bias-ply tires on there now, have tubes and was reasoning that they might add a 'second line of defense' against leakage with the very old rims. I'll get the tire guy to go over them with a wire wheel, etc., and check them carefully for leaks, sans the tubes.
Thanks again for the help.

Thanks Owen - what a load that is off my mind! I thought I'd bought the radial tires and wasn't going to be able to use them!! Is there any issue actually using the tubes with radial tires, as long as they are all balanced properly?? Kind of a 'belt and suspenders' approach??

When I purchased my 1939 Six, it had bias-ply tires. They are very old and in having the various mechanics and car guys look at them in the year or so that I have had the car, numerous comments have been made of cracks in the sidewalls. I concur that they are not a good thing, even though the tires have tubes, and wanted to replace them with radial replicas, ala the Coker Tire series. I have had constant mechanical problems with this car and, as such, it has not yet seen the highway, but hoping to have that behind me this spring, I bought a set of used Michelin radials off a car-buff friend. They are 'tubed' tires and the same size (6.50 X 16/ 6.50R 16) as came with the vehicle, and I am told there could be problems switching to radials on this car. Can anybody give me some guidance?? I have never liked the way bias-ply tires 'lead' and pull and thought radials would be better; from the information I received, sounds like that may not be the case. Anybody have any experience on this?? Thanks for any & all.

Further to Howard's question(s) and Joe's comments, I wanted to wait until I had some pics of the mechanism, as they say 'a picture is worth a 1000 words' (especially MY words!!LOL) The '39 Six, or I should probably say MY '39 Six, as later or earlier production may have changed things up, has a single arm raising apparatus as opposed to the 'scissor' version that seems more common in other vehicles. 3 screws and the vent window comes easily out; the forward roll-up window track drops down (and can be removed via the large hole in the inner door panel) and the big window can tilt and come up (with some coordinated help from the window crank) and once at the top, it can be pulled to the end of the guide track (see photo) and 'popped off' the fixed clip on the raising arm (see 2nd photo)
Reversing the procedure is finicky to try and get everything lined up, but once secure and the screws back in, it wasn't too scary. I coated the track and the 'crank gear quadrant' with waterproof white grease, as well as oiling any other pivot points and moving parts, and the window cranks remarkably smoothly. Overall, a success, I think, and no harm to paint or panels, to say nothing of how good it looks without the ugly crack!! Onward!

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To Brian's51... I was at a standstill with trying to figure out how to get mine apart, and I noticed that someone, at some point in time, had cut the entire inner door skin out, and then welded it back together. A first-rate welding job, I must say; after being painted, it was almost indiscernible. For a while I thought, 'oh no!, is this the only way to get at it?', and then went the vent window removal route. Would that be an option on your car? Nowadays with plasma cutters and arc welders, etc., it can sure be done with a minimal amount of heat.

I just wanted to update this post with my findings in case anyone else is, or will be, removing a roll-up window from a '39 junior car. I approached it thinking I could get the window out without removing the vent window/frame. This is not the case, although there are only 3 screws to free it up, and once removed, the side channel drops out the bottom. I had been told that, on some cars, the pivot arm is held in place with a removable clip or pin, but in this case, it is fixed, with a keyhole opening in the opposite end of the guide slot. As the window is lifted up through the door sill opening, the glass can be turned and the window bottom slides to the opposite end of it's slot travel and the pin on the raising arm pops out the keyhole, thus freeing the window. I know it is sometimes hard to visualize instructions like this (or at least, it is for me!) but I guess the main thing here is knowing the vent window (frame, window and crank-drive assembly) all come out as one piece, and the rest becomes obvious as things start 'coming loose' after that.

The replacement window was $30 and the guy did a beautiful job of grinding the edges, as well as matching the corner-arcs perfectly. Now I just have to get it all back together without hurting anything and move on to the cracked window in the driver's side rear door!!!

Many thanks for the instructions and the sage advice on 'door slamming'. I must admit that I don't like pulling on the inner door handles and usually open the window and close the door with a hand over the window sill - obviously this comes with some downsides I wasn't aware of. The Packard setup is lacking, in my opinion, in this regard as there is no real designated door 'pull' to draw the door inward, other than the pot metal handles. I noticed one picture where someone had installed pull straps under the arm rests. I have even thought of redesigning the armrests to incorporate a 'pull' but want to keep things as original as possible. Definitely a conundrum.
One last question on the window removal: when pulling the glass up, how does it come out of the track, once it is all the way up?? Is there some way to undo the vent window side track, open the vent window and tilt the guide forward at the top so the glass 'runs out of track' as it comes up?
I have a local glass guy who says he will cut the safety glass for about $35 ($22USD) which seems pretty reasonable and he also said the new glass is a lot less brittle and not as prone to cracking??? Let's hope.
Again, thanks for the help!!

Very nice pic of Sammy Seagull!! I notice that is from the interior of a '39 - maybe YOU can give me some info and advice on the glass removal of my driver's roll-up.... nobody else is volunteering. SMOEBODY must have taken one out!!