The discrepancy on the body style number of the 1936 "120" convertible coupe can be traced back to at least the first edition on Turnquists book of 1965 and is repeated in Dr. Robert Marvin's "Packard Identification Guide", first edition, of 1988. No doubt it has also been accepted and copied into other sources as well.

Getting back to PI's suggestion that the VN should have an 891 prefix, I find no factory body style with that number, and the last digit being a "1" would suggest a phaeton, not a convertible coupe.

No, it's not the 2nd one built, the "I" is actually Packard's representation of a "1" so it's the 10,002 built, minus whatever they started at (100 or 1000).

But the "999" prefix is a bit confusing because all the standard reference sources say it should be "899" for a 1936 convertible coupe, yet that is the prefix for a 1935 "120" convertible coupe. So although 999 fits the pattern, it doesn't coincide with the refernces. Understand that except for this error or anomoly with certain 1936 120 bodies, the body style numbers advanced each year, so bodies with a 6XX are 1933, 7XX and 1934, 8XX are 1935, 9XX are 1936, 10XX are 1937, etc. Perhaps someone else can clarify, but let me ask, it the Patent Plate an original, or a reproduction which was stamped by someone to replace the factory original tag? If you can tell?

PS - went over to check my friend's 1936 120 convertible coupe, and it's VN is 999-XXXX, and the thief-proof number is in the 257XXX range.

First thing I'd do is to connect up a bourdon-tube type (mechanical) oil pressure gauge and verify the pressures. One point of evidence that your gauge is suspect is that a cold startup should never peg the gauge, the pressure relief valve should control it to about midpoint or a bit higher on the existing gauge. Perhaps the electrical sending unit is failing.

The factory oil pressure indicating system is based on an electrical resistance sender and these are typically slow to respond so I would disregard the observation that it takes 30 seconds or so to reach its maximum reading -- that lag is pretty typical of that system. A direct-reading gauge should respond immediately and if it doesn't, then I'd drop the pan and examine and clean the oip pickup screen - these can get choked with crud over time. Might as well clean the pan at the same time. And the fact that a warm engine at idle gives nearly the same pressure as a cold engine is a very positive indicator. If you want to shim the pressure relief valve to see if it's weakened, its accessed thru the large (7/8 or 1 inch) hex cap sticking out sideways from the pump. You should find the spring and a plunger. If indeed the pressure at road speed is 35 psi, I'd agree with the prior comments that it's not immediate cause for concern, it's adequate though not ideal.

According to Coker's catalog, The 225/75R15 has a slightly smaller diameter than a 7.60-15; if you calculate the circumferences the resultant speedometer error will be small, just over 1.1%.

I'm not sure I know what you mean when you say you don't know where to look to see if you have an Autolite IGP distributor? You look on the OEM's distributor tag, assuming it's still present. If the tag has been removed or can't be read, it will be pretty tough as they all look pretty much the same.

Have you checked for wear in the distributor shaft bushings? This is a common cause of mid- and highspeed missing and if not corrected, will give the same problem with Petronix. New bushings aren't all that hard to find and if you can't give me the dimensions and I'll see if I have them.

But "craping out" above 35 mph is more commonly a symptom of fuel starvation.

I've bought various rubber parts from Steele for decades for a very large variety of Packards and must say I've always been extremely satisfied with the precision of fit and appearance. But I can't say the same for the performance of the suspension parts, they don't seem to last very long at all.

I've tried buying urethane rod stock, freezing it and lathe turning it for some simple bushings, but this really is not all that rewarding. I've been thru PST's catalog a few times looking for pieces that will fit in various Packards, but w/o success. If you come up with any urethane substitutes, I think all of here would love to get the details.

Somewhere in this thread I saw what I thought was the belief by someone that shellac was a substitute for a gasket; not so. Under some conditions Permatex's "Form-a-Gasket" might do that, but shellac is just one of many types of gasket cements, like Permatex hardening and non-hardening varieties. On things like Ultramatic pans, engine oil pans, L-head valve covers, etc., I usually use shellac or the hardening variety of Permatex on the side to the pan, and nothing on the other side. Oft times removing things like valve covers later for a valve adjustment doesn't require a new gasket.

But one thing many people miss on stamped steel oil pans and automatic transmission pans is to correct the distortions in the steel that have been formed over the years by repetitive tightening of the bolts -- what then results is that you no longer have a flat surface to mate with the machined flat surface of the transmission or engine casting and the gasket may no longer be sufficient to make up for the differences. Lay the pan against some solid steel surface and using the rounded end of a ball pein hammer against the bolt hole, give a rap to flatten the stretched area around the bolt hole of the stamping.

As to the comments about no silicone on gasoline or automatic transmission pans, AMEN!

I believe the expression is "jury-rigged", not jerry-rigged. Its roots are nautical, as when temporary rigging was set on a sailing ship.

You may wish to insure that you have no other unwanted current drains other than the already identified ignition "hot wire" and the clock. Turn off all the electrical accessories, remove the fuse from the clock, close the doors to shut off the courtesy lights, and remove the bulb from the trunk light if you have one. The remove and touch one of the battery cables to it's post while observing the contact; any spark, no matter how small, will indicate an unwanted current drain.