I personally like the 1957 Packards because they incorporated so many of the Packard hallmarks, the oxbow grille, the beautiful 56 Clipper taillights, the chrome side strips, a miniature 56 dashboard. Only wish they had used the hexagons on the hubcaps. The Studebaker V-8 was pretty good. Plus it was supercharged. No, it wasn't a luxury car, but to be truthful, most of the cars Packard made postwar were not. May be one of the best cars built in South Bend. We've got a 58 Studebaker Champion (minus engine) for sale near by. Like the looks. Same basic body as the Packards. Wish I could buy it. But I've got enough on my plate as is.
kens53clip
Ken Dunning

My first purchase after buying the car was a 1951-1954 Packard Service Manual from Johnson's Auto Literature in Framingham, Massachusetts (508-872-9173) through eBay. It has been indispensable. The same manual is available here for download at PackardInfo and can also be purchased from the Packard Club (800-478-0012) and maybe from Packards International (714-541-8431).
Also, I have recently downloaded the 1948-1954 Packard Parts Book available here on PackardInfo (Thanks, BigKev and PackardInfo!). Also can be purchased from the Packard Club (800-478-0012) and maybe Packards International (714-541-8431. It should be useful.

Here's what has been done to the car:
2/08-4/08 Wiring to coil and starter repaired, after which one of the keys would start the car. Carburetor cleaned out. Work was done by first mechanic.

2/08-8/08 Fuel tank removed, cleaned, and resealed, and reinstalled with rebuilt fuel tank sending unit. Fuel tank removed by first mechanic. I reinstalled the fuel tank. I used a mechanic's creeper with boards on top of it to hold up the fuel tank while I worked on reinstallation. Learned the merits of using PB Blaster in loosening rusted nuts and bolts on gas tank straps. Had previously used WD-40, which is also a good product. In reattaching fuel line to fuel tank I used NAPA Permatex High Performance Automotive Grade Thread Sealant. It worked better for me than plumber's tape. Now engine would run off gas from the fuel tank. Regretfully I had to reinstall the fuel tank twice, as the first sealing of the fuel tank was not enough to keep a gas leak from occurring. Apparently only the inside of the fuel tank had been sealed, and in my case that was not enough. The local radiator shop, Sims Radiator Service, Inc., stood by their work and resealed both the inside and the outside of the fuel tank at no additional charge. So if any of you have your gas tanks sealed, sometimes an outside sealing may be required in addition to an inside sealing to prevent a leak.
Parts:
Rebuilt fuel tank sending unit and gas tank strap insulator bought from Max Merritt Auto Parts in Franklin, Indiana. (800-472-2573)(hereafter "Max Merritt")
Fuel tank cleaned and resealed by local radiator shop, Sims Radiator Service, Inc. in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Brass fitting used for drain plug (for fuel tank) and thread sealant bought from NAPA Auto Parts. (All NAPA parts bought at Lawrenceville, Georgia NAPA Auto Parts store.)

6/08 Changed oil. First oil change used 30W non detergent. Second oil change, after engine had run awhile pretty regularly used 30W HD. 30W HD is what I used in my first Packard. I did the oil change as I do in all of my cars.
Parts:
Oil Filter--NAPA part number FIL 1080 (replacing AC part number PF-316).

8/08 Upper radiator hose was leaking. Decided to replace both lower and upper radiator hoses and change antifreeze. This is work that I did.
Parts:
Upper Radiator Hose: Used NAPA part number NBH FM44 flexible hose.
Lower Radiator Hose: Used portion of NAPA part number NBH 7369 (cut to fit).

First mechanic I hired was taking way too long, and had cut 5 bolts on every axle to do brakes. I know there was rust, corrosion, and perhaps metal fatigue and that some of the bolts may have needed to be cut, but felt his cutting of 5 bolts on every axle was a bit too much. I paid him for what he had done, pulled the car from him and sought another mechanic. To do the brakes now I was afraid bolts would have to be re-welded on so I went to Stephens Garage and Muffler of Loganville, Georgia who were recommended as having excellent welding skills. I had previously done a brake job on my first Packard and considered doing it myself but did not have welding skills that might now be needed.

8/08-Four wheel brake job. Wheel cylinders rebuilt. New brake shoes and springs installed. New brake hoses installed. Portion of steel brake lines replaced. Had hoped Easamatic Bendix TreadleVac unit could be rebuilt but mechanic advised to get a replacement unit, so that is what we did. DOT 3 (glycol) brake fluid was installed and brakes were bled. Brake drums were turned and were reattached to the axle. Wheel bearings were repacked. Front wheel seals were installed. Work was done by Stephens Garage and Muffler of Loganville, Georgia. Now the Packard had brakes.
Parts:
Deluxe Brake Overhaul Kit from Kanter Auto Products of Boonton, N.J. (800-526-1096)(hereafter "Kanter").
Rebuilt Bendix TreadleVac Unit and front wheel seals from Max Merritt.

8/08-Tuneup. New spark plugs, new spark plug wires, new condenser, new distributor cap, new rotor, new breaker points. Carburetor rebuilt and adjusted. Electrical system checked over and new wiring harness recommended by mechanic because wire insulation was in bad shape in places. I decided to try to wait on the new wiring harness and try to do what I could with electrical tape. Work was done by Stephens Garage and Muffler of Loganville, Georgia. (I had previously rebuilt the carburetor on my first Packard but was so impressed with their work so far that I decided to let them do it and the tuneup.) Now the Packard would run decent.
Parts:
Spark plugs (Champion RJ12C) obtained locally.
Plug wires, rotor, distributor cap, breaker points, condenser and carburetor rebuild kit from Terrill Machine, Inc. in DeLeon Texas (254-893-2610)

My original plan was to use a mechanic to get the car back running again and try to maintain it and repair it myself thereafter, using mechanics where work was beyond me.
When I bought the Packard it had a 12 volt battery installed with a negative ground and from the beginning was running off of that 12 volt battery. As a previous owner of a similar Packard, I knew that it originally came with a 6 volt positive ground battery. It was difficult to determine what if anything had been done to convert the car to a 12 volt system. The starter had no identification plate identifying it as to make, model, or voltage. The generator had no identification plate identifying it as to make, model, or voltage. The voltage regulator was not clearly identified as to whether it was 6 or 12 volt. It did not appear that either the starter, generator, or voltage regulator had been changed recently. The Packard also had 6 volt bulbs throughout the car, most of which had burned out, either earlier or because of the 12 volt battery. I told Stephens Garage and Muffler that I was not adverse to continuing with the 12 volt battery if they felt it was best with the current equipment and circumstances. For whatever reason, Stephens Garage and Muffler left the 12 volt battery negative ground system alone.
I did some exploration on my own on 12 versus 6 volt. I got "The Official 12 Volt Conversion Guide" by Randy Rundle from Fifth Avenue Antique Auto Parts (785-632-3450) and it indicated that to do a proper 12 volt conversion on a car of this type and keep a voltage regulator and generator system you should change the ground from positive to negative and put in (1) a 12 volt battery, (2) 12 volt bulbs, (3) a 12 volt thermal flasher, (4) a 12 volt coil with built in ballast resistor, (4) a 12 volt voltage regulator, (5) a 12 volt generator, (6) voltage reducers for dash gauges, (7) voltage reducer for heater motor, and (7) convert radio to 12 volt unit (most radios not being polarity sensitive). Also understand you need to put in a 12 volt cigar lighter. Mr. Rundle of Fifth Avenue Antique Auto Parts has information and parts to assist you in any 12 volt conversion if you should desire to undertake it for whatever reason.
I also consulted with a local auto electrical shop, Lawrenceville Auto Electric, in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and the gentleman there told me that a 12 volt battery could simply be put into a 6 volt Packard and the car would continue to run fine at least in the short term, with only the burning of breaker points. (Of course, the six volt bulbs would burn out and sooner or later damage could be done to the 6 volt equipment.) The gentleman at Lawrenceville Auto Electric said that it if it had been properly converted, the generator should have been converted to a 12 volt and that he could test it and determine if it was a 12 volt or a 6 volt.
The Packard was now running good but was burning breaker points regularly so that after a few starts, you had to clean the points with a fine metal file to get it started. Did some research in the Packard Service Manual and it appeared that the problem was too high a voltage and the voltage regulator appeared to be the problem. Before I was able to resolve the problem the electrical system stopped working (the starter would turn over but the car would not start) and I figured the misbehaving voltage regulator had finally played out.

3/09-4/09-Upon taking out the voltage regulator, it appeared the voltage regulator in the car was a 6 volt. It thus appeared to me that the only thing in the Packard that was clearly a 12 volt was the battery. I therefore decided to buy a new 6 volt battery and a new 6 volt voltage regulator and installed them in the Packard. Since the voltage regulator would take either positive ground or negative ground, I decided to keep the negative ground, having previously suffered a reversed polarity problem and a ruined voltage regulator because of an ignorant service person. The only feature on my particular car that I figured might affected by the polarity change is the radio but as it was not working and my understanding was that most but not all postwar 6 volt radios are not affected by polarity change, I went ahead and stayed with the negative ground. However, I would recommend each person investigate his own car's equipment before making any polarity change. As directed by the instructions coming with the voltage regulator I polarized the voltage regulator by briefly (no longer than 2 seconds) touching a wire to both the armature terminal and the battery terminal. Regretfully, my problem was not just the voltage regulator, so I decided to replace the coil, having read that performance in this type of coil naturally declined over time, even if not in use. Unfortunately, the new coil did not solve the problem either. Then I decided to replace the breaker points, which had burned several times. In the meantime I discovered that the rotor I had installed had broken. The bakelite holding the metal strip in place had broken so I got a new rotor. When I put in the new breaker points, I used a feeler gauge and set them at the Service Manual recommended .016" only to find that that setting did not work in this car, so I manually set the breaker point gap a little greater (I probably should have used a 6 volt dwell meter) to find that that worked. I suppose that the distributor cam's wear made the old breaker point setting unworkable in my car, requiring a bit greater gap. So after replacing the voltage regulator, the coil, the rotor, and the breaker points, and putting in a 6 volt battery the Packard was once again drivable, only this time on 6 volts instead of 12. Also replaced Thermal Flasher for turn signal, put in 6 volt headlights and put in 6 volt bulbs in the parking light turn signals.
Parts:
6 Volt Commercial Battery--NAPA part number BAT 7244
6 Volt Voltage Regulator--NAPA part number ECH VR1071 (Echlin)
(Original Voltage Regulator was Delco-Remy part number 1118726)
6 Volt Coil--NAPA part number ECH IC7 (Echlin)
(Replacing Standard Plus part number UC-14. Original Coil was Delco-Remy part number 1115376)
Breaker Points--NAPA part number ECH CS777A (Echlin)
Rotor--Delco-Remy NOS from Max Merritt.
6 Volt Thermal Flasher--NAPA part number NF 535 (replacing Tungsol Flasher P229D)
6 Volt Headlights--NAPA part number LMP 6006 (two)
6 Volt Stop Light Bulbs-NAPA part number LMP 1154 (two for Parking Light Turn Signals)

6/09 Radiator began to leak. Took radiator out and took it to local radiator shop, Sims Radiator Service of Lawrenceville, Georgia (hereafter Sims). Sims fixed leak and tried to straighten bent fins to improve cooling, but every time they tried to straighten the fins it tore a leak in tubing in the core. Sims recommended that I install a specially built flat fin core. After some checking on the availability of new radiators I went ahead and had Sims put in the specially built flat fin core in and recondition the old radiator. Reinstalled reconditioned radiator. Used two metal jack stands with a board on top to help hold up radiator while I screwed in the three bolts on each side of the radiator. After all six bolts had been tightened I reattached the upper and lower hoses to radiator.

6/09-7/09 After radiator reinstalled tried to start car. Starter would not turn over and the only sound upon turning the key was a single click. Did some looking at the electrical troubleshooting section in the 1951-1954 Packard Service Manual and it suggested the problem was the starter or the transmission neutral safety switch. Then I consulted the friendly folks at Packard Info. Armed with the helpful advice of my friends at Packard Info, I undertook testing and repair. The 6/12 volt circuit tester light appeared to indicate a problem with the starter so I took the starter and the solenoid out to take them to the local auto electric rebuild shop. Before and as I took out the starter and solenoid I drew a little diagram of all the parts and where they fit together. I also number the wires on the diagram and put a masking tape flag indicating the number on the wires themselves. I have found that making such diagrams as this is of great help when I have to put the parts back together as I may forget how they came apart. I try to do this anytime I think I may forget how to reassemble the parts. I took the starter and the solenoid to Lawrenceville Auto Electric and they were kind enough to test them without charge, the result of which was that both starter and solenoid were working fine. I then reinstalled the starter and solenoid, putting a small cardboard box on top of the transmission cooling lines in the engine compartment to help hold up the starter while I bolted in the starter. After the starter was bolted in, I then reattached the electrical wires according to the diagram I had done when taking it out. I put a bit of electrical tape on a spot or two where I thought the wiring might be grounding out. Thinking that more tests would be necessary, my Father (who owned and bought two ones new) assisted me by starting the car while I sought to test the circuits on other areas of the electrical system. To my surprise the car started, making further testing unnecessary. Apparently a connection was not tight or one of the electrical wires was shorting out. Thanks to all at Packard Info who helped!
kens53clip
Ken Dunning

I grew up with a Packard as my family's car. When I was born in 1955 my parents had a two tone 1953 Packard Clipper Touring Sedan with an Orchard Green bottom and Galahad Green Metallic top. It came with the 288 c.i. straight 8 and an Ultramatic transmission. My parents bought the car new and traded it in 1962 on an Oldsmobile Super 88 four-door sedan. Shortly before the Packard was traded in, I persuaded my Father to let me keep the plastic Packard crest which had broken off the front grille, which I still have to this day.

Speed forward to the early 1970's. Like most teenage boys I was interested in cars, in my case, particularly old cars. And being familiar with Packards from childhood it was only natural that I was interested in Packards. I happened to meet Charlie Hebb, who then owned a 1952 Packard. Charlie Hebb was President of Peachstate Packards, the Georgia chapter of Packard Automobile Classics a/k/a the Packard Club. Charlie invited me to attend the next Peachstate Packard club meet. I took him up on his offer, saw a good number of nice Packards owned by the membership, and I was hooked from that point on. I did not own a car period at that time. Charlie is now Historian for Peachstate Packards. The word that I wanted a Packard like the one my parents had somehow got around to another Peachstate Packard member, Homer Forrer, now deceased, and it so happened that he had a 1953 Packard Clipper Deluxe touring sedan in a barn where he kept a number of his Packards. Homer had some really nice Packards. Every time you bring home a six pack of any beverage from the grocery store you ought to thank Homer Forrer, as it was he who invented the first six pack packaging for Mead Packaging, called the Bottlemaster. The 1953 Packard Clipper Deluxe Touring Sedan Homer had had a dark blue bottom and a white top, a 327 c.i. straight 8 engine and an Ultramatic transmission. Homer gave me a really good deal on the car because he wanted me to have it, and in November 1973, at age 18, I owned my first car, a 1953 Packard Clipper Deluxe Touring Sedan. I got a good deal on it to be sure, but it still needed a lot of work. At that point I had just started college and had no money, so to speak of, so I couldn't do much about restoring the car, but I did the best I could, doing much of the work on it myself. I was a struggling young college student, then a struggling young law student, then a struggling young lawyer trying to establish his own law practice. In 1989, the Packard stopped running. Believing it was the fuel pump, with limited funds, I bought and installed a fuel pump repair kit. It still didn't run. I was definitely frustrated. I didn't have proper storage, nor did I have the funds I needed to properly restore it. I was approached by someone who wanted to buy the Packard, as is, not running. He had the funds and wanted to restore it. I wanted it to be restored. So I sold it to him. Word came back to me shortly afterward that he got it running. All it needed was a new fuel pump! Shortly before I bought my second Packard I called the guy I sold it to to see if he still had it. He fixed it up, kept it for about 14 years, and sold it to a guy living in Buford, Georgia, whose name he had forgotten.

I joined Packard Automobile Classics, Inc., also known as the Packard Club in 1972 or 1973, not long before I bought my first Packard and have remained a member since that date. I considered joining Packards International at that time as well, but primarily because the Packard Club had a local Georgia Chapter, Peachstate Packards, I chose to join the Packard Club. With the purchase of my latest Packard I have recently joined Packards International as well, and I find they have unique things to offer a Packard owner that are not duplicated by the Packard Club. I would recommend that anyone owning a Packard join at least one national club, both if you can afford it.

I bought my second and current 1953 Packard Deluxe Clipper Touring Sedan (originally Orchard Green bottom and Galahad Green Metallic top like my parents' car) on eBay Motors on February 3, 2008 from a landlady in Brunswick, Georgia who got the car from a tenant who had lost his job and gave the landlady the car as payment for rent. The Packard's license tag was a 1999 Georgia tag so that was apparently the last time the car was legally on the road. The tenant gave the landlady such keys as he had that he thought were to the car but the landlady later tried them and none of them appeared to work. The tenant told the landlady there were some car parts in the trunk, but since there was no key to the trunk, the landlady was not able to confirm that. At some point someone had realized there was no key to the doors as someone had gotten into the car and removed the driver's doorhandle from the door, perhaps to take it to a locksmith to get a key. When the landlady got the car it was not running and she had never seen it running. She took it to her mechanic who was able to get it running by "hotwiring" the car and running the engine by running a hose from a gas can to the carburetor. The mechanic put in a 12 volt battery to get it to run, which battery was sold with the car. The landlady, to her credit, advertised the car's condition as truthfully as she could, and even gave me the phone number of her mechanic, who was able to confirm that he got the engine running.

So here is what I bought. A 1953 Packard Deluxe Clipper Touring Sedan without any brakes, with an engine that would run only if you ran a hose from the gas can to the carburetor and "hotwired" the car. There appeared to be no keys that would start the car. There was no key to the trunk or doors. One rocker panel was nearly rusted out. One dogleg was rusted through. One rear fender skirt was in the car because part of the rear fender to which it attached was rusted through. The passenger side rear fender had hit something hard, bending it, breaking the glass taillight, and bending the chrome metal part of the taillight. Part of the passenger side front fender was rusted through. Both the driver and the front passenger floor pans were rusted through. Much of the chrome plating was in such awful shape that the previous owner had painted it silver to try to make it look halfway decent. There was also surface rust on various areas of the car where the paint had worn through. The driver's exterior door handle was taken off of the door but came with the car. The original interior appeared to be there but was in bad shape. The only parts appearing to be entirely missing (other than keys) were the Packard crest on the front grille, the stainless steel harpoon trim piece on the driver's front fender, the glove compartment lock, the wheel trim rings, and one dog dish hubcap. Also, the parking light lenses had been broken out and the radio antenna had been broken off.

The pictures represent the car basically as bought, with a bit of cleanup, with new radiator hoses, with the brake job, carburetor rebuild, and the tune up. Not shown but coming with the car are a driver's exterior door handle, three dog dish hubcaps in bad shape needing chrome, and a passenger side windshield wiper.
kens53clip
Ken Dunning

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Guys,
I don't know anything about Katz and never claimed to know anything about Katz. I was and am talking NOW. Katz is no longer in charge. Try the Packard Forum NOW. See who is in charge NOW and how it is run NOW. Then give me your judgment, if you like. But by all means, continue to post here.
kens53clip
Ken Dunning

Perhaps this is not too far off the original post. I noted a negative comment about the PAC Forum some years back. The PAC Forum has been restarted recently with a new Forum Master who should be familiar to folks here. From what I have seen he is doing an excellent job. So, although I would encourage folks to post here, posting at the PAC Forum should be considered as well. The more, the merrier.
kens53clip
Ken Dunning

I bought my Packard on eBay but it was and is definitely a major fixer upper and the price was low enough I didn't feel there was that there was that much of a risk. Plus I had owned the model before and was familiar with the car. It came out OK for me but I would advise anyone to be very careful and have someone go out and look at the car, especially if they want a lot of money for it.
Ken Dunning
kens53clip

Rock,
Looks like you have an air filter, albeit a modern one. As long as you replace it when it gets dirty, you should be OK for awhile until you can get a good deal on original equipment. My 53 Packard Clipper is a bit later but it is probably similar to yours as it came with two types of air filter. The standard was a wire mesh filter which you were supposed to keep wet with oil. The optional air filter was the oil bath unit. Everything I have read on these types of filters say that the wire mesh type was better than nothing but not very good, perhaps in part because people did not keep it oiled religiously. The oil bath kind was better than the wire mesh filter at keeping out impurities. So I would get the oil bath filter if you can. Currently, I have the wire mesh filter in my Packard but eventually I hope to get the oil bath filter.
Ken Dunning
kens53clip

Having had to do most of these things on my car just to get it running halfway decent, I concur with Mr. Pushbutton. An excellent post!!
Ken Dunning
kens53clip

When I consider the fact that I bought the car in poor condition for bottom dollar on eBay I consider myself very fortunate that I have had as few problems with the car as I have had. I also attribute it to the fact that Packard made a quality car, even with their least expensive models.
Ken Dunning
kens53clip

After I re-installed the starter I asked my Father (the man who owned and bought two new, including a 53 Clipper) to try to start the car so I could check the carb switch and key ignition switch with the test light. It was a pleasant surprise when it started. Suddenly no other tests were required.
Ken Dunning
kens53clip