You have a very beautiful Packard.
Personally I find it disgusting to put a distance piece and a sparewheel behind the trunk on any car.
But I am quite sure that the wheel will increase the sale value, at least the value will not decrease.
For some reason people seem to like them.

I have been corresponding lately withhttp://www.c5ignitions.com/c5-technology.html regarding ignition for my Mercedes 1973 SLC.
I have not ordered anything yet as the owner/producer of the system is not at home right now but he seems to be a helpful and skilled person. At this time I have the impression that it is impossible to install and keep the standard look but in my opinion this system seems more modern compared to Pertronix.

I will probably buy a system for the SLC this winter.
That might give a possibility to see if it could be applied to a 356 Packard without disturbing the original appearance.

I have very mixed feelings regarding upgrading of old vehicles.
On one hand if a car was made in a certain way and is modernized the feeling of a historic piece might be lost. On the other hand I am very happy with modern rubber in my tires or modern oil and grease that limits the need for oilchange several times a year and frequent engine overhauls.

Totally agree with all You said.

I just do not like loose bearing balls but in the future if somebody wants to have it the way it was from the beginning it would be handy to find the spring.

Too bad I did not take pictures.

The sleeve is hardened steel and has an outer diameter of 25 millimeters at a length of 17 millimeters where the needle cage fits. Then there is a short section with a bigger diameter of about 30 millimeters as a stop for the needle cage. The sleeve is a light shrink fit on the shaft with the bigger diameter section downwards/forward, under the needle cage to stop it from sliding down the steering shaft.

The needle cage moves freely up and down in the outer race. To remove the outer tube I just release it by the steering gearbox and lift, the outer race stays with the tube and the needle cage stays on the sleeve by gravity but it can be removed just by lifting off. When the body comes in place of course the tube most also be freed from the instrument board before removal.

The tension spring is not installed as there is no need for any axial force on the bearing but I may install it later with a plain washer instead of the concave ring just to make it look original when the steering wheel is removed.

I had about the same problem with my 2150 and after a whole life restoring old British motorcycles I do not like bearings with loose balls which are plentiful on most of them. So I took some measurements. My steering shaft is 7/8 and the tube around it is 1 7/16. The bearing is 7/16 thick so I needed a bearing 7/8 X 1 7/16 X 7/16 which equals 22,5 X 36,6 X 11 millimeters. I found a needlebearing of 25 X 37 X 17 millimeters called RNA 4904. I did some grinding in the tube to press in the outer race and made a stepped sleeve on the shaft to locate the needles which run directly on the sleeve, no inner race. Now when I want to remove the outer tube from the steering shaft the outer race stays in the tube, the needles stay on the shaft but can be lifted off and no loose balls on the floor. So far it works perfect but have not yet installed the mechanism for direction indicators or horn. You can see it used onhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsA2H-3Azes

Have tried to find an answer to this.

When was the last 356 engine produced an in which cars was the last 356es installed?
Were they ever equipped with Ultramatic?

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The oil I found is LIQUI MOLY LS75W-140 GL5.
It is made in Germany.

Thanks for information.

I have filled both gearbox and overdrive with 85W-140 oil and am confident it will work.

Another question.
What would be the most suitable oil for the gearbox and the overdrive of a 2150?
The old gearbox oils with viskosty about SAE80 seems unobtainable today.
There is also a question of additives, I know that some phosphor-bronze bearings are sensitive to certain additives f.ex sulfur.

Hello all.
I have a question regarding radiator installation. Have not found any pictures either in parts book or service manual.
I suppose there should be something between the cradle and the frame, what? A piece of rubber maybe?
I am also in the dark regarding what these parts look like: BRACE 11.0085 and BRACKET-CRADLE TO FENDER 11.0086 and BRACKET-CRADLE TO FRAME TIE ROD 11.0113. I am sure that I have them if I only knew how they look.
The car was disassembled about 25 years ago and not by me but so far all the parts I?ve been looking for have been found.

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