"Arguements about "reliability" of 6-volt cars is of course, just nonsense. Wanting to add other conveniences that are 12-volt has some merit if you must add modern features. My 34 is as reliable as my new Lincoln, is driven regularly on tours up to a couple of hundred miles, and has only seen a trailer once (for the long trip to the Warren Centennial)."

True!!! The problem here is that each individual car owner has varied resourses. As for myself and i'm guessing you too, we have plenty of 6v parts setting up on the shelf ready for installation on a moments notice, things like 6v bulbs, sealed beams, regulators, coils, generator brushes and so on. NOT everyone has that resource. It has taken me decades to build up the stock pile that quite frankly is beginning to wear thin.

The other problem is that one can not reasonably cary a spare of every maintenace part along with them on long trips. e.g. a sealed beam headlite. I can carry one thats true. A LOT EASIER to just stop at an auto parts store and buy a 12v bulb, beam, battery.

Note everyone has Kanter or other suppliers in their backdoor or a trailor on-call for towing.

Dave,

Well stated. I was approached by a new owner of a pre-war junior Packard, while at the 32nd Texas Packard Meet in Salado last month. He questioned me about converting his car to an 8-volt system because the starter turned the engine too slowly, in his estimation. I encouraged him not to do this as the 6-volt system is more than up to the task. I advised him to make sure the starter and battery were in good operating condition, and to make sure he had the right size of battery cables and they were properly connected.

I was saying this when my own starter was not behaving well. Upon my return I overhauled the starter and installed a new solenoid switch. The starter now turns the engine over with authority. My car will never be a concours winner, but I strive to keep modifications to a minimum and preserve its character.

Fred. I'm not familiar enuf with the pre-55 Packards to be able to advise u on what 12v starter will drop onto your engine or any other 12v parts readily avialable that will fit your particular car.

Hopefuly others that DO KNOW will advise u about 12v parts that will fit your car instead of trying to change your mind to keep it 6v.

PackardInfo is a wonderful experience, a valuable assist to the hobby, and is populated with some very knowledgeable and clever people. If I have one lament, it's that more of the younger generation and many of the regular correspondents seem to steer away from the roots of the hobby, that is, preserving and enjoying a piece of rolling history and experiencing owning, maintaining and driving cars as they were.

But my recent post on another 12-volt conversion garnered some positive comments, so let me repeat that post here and perhaps we can dedicate this post to the various viewpoints on the two divergent paths of the hobby.

Arguements about "reliability" of 6-volt cars is of course, just nonsense. Wanting to add other conveniences that are 12-volt has some merit if you must add modern features. My 34 is as reliable as my new Lincoln, is driven regularly on tours up to a couple of hundred miles, and has only seen a trailer once (for the long trip to the Warren Centennial).

OMIGOD, another 12-volt conversion. Oh for the good old days when folks wanted to save a piece of history and experience what it was like to own, maintain and drive cars of a prior era. When I started in this hobby longer ago than I want to remember, it was all about preservation of cars of an older era, learning to maintain them, and getting the driving skills needed which were often different that we had learned. And preservation meant authenticity. Sure there was some restoration, but not to the standards we see today, more often than not a "restoration" was a home paint job, some reupholstery done by a handy owner or wife, and some plating. If you didn't have the mechanical skills to do your own work, you probably weren't in the hobby in the first place. We felt like we were preserving a piece of automotive history for future generations.

Today it seems the goal of so many is to have a Packard skin covering as many of the modern features as we can cram into it, A/C, disc brakes, alternators, 12-volt conversions, replacement transmissions and engines in some cases, tilt steering columns, etc. And of course a rationale for all those things. Nothing historically significant in that kind of a vehicle, and in some cases it certainly detracts from future value, but it's your $, just don't call it "restoration" - (from Webster's Unabridged - bringing back into a former unimpaired state)

I don't mean to rub anyone's nose out of joint with this, just reminiscing about how the hobby has changed. And in some ways, not for the better.

What to do about the starter motor on a 12v conversion???? U can hit the 6v starter with 12v no problem FOR SHORT INTERVALS which means that hte engine has to be kept in good tune. Sooner or later need to find a 12v starter that will fit or rewind the 6v starter.

Bulbs, horn, alternator, regulators,ignition is the ez part of the 12v conversion . Research is needed for things like fuel tank sending unit/gauge, blower motors, will require a 12 v conversion or somekind of resistor or retro fit from other cars. These are the areas that need to be researched and that u will need help with. My preference is to always retro fit parts from other cars as late model as possible.

Keep us posted.

Glad to see someone else join the forum that DRIVES their car too.

Something else about Terry's car that we haven't talked about; those links with the right-angle attachments configured like tie rod ends would require that the shock arms and lower attachment points on the suspension also be different or modified.

Hi

I haven't any knowledge of the car's history to add or a source of the '34 Auto Show photo, but I must say:

WHAT A STUNNER!!!!!!!!

It's the prefect combination of designs and features into a penultimate elegant unity. I've never seen it before, thanks for posting it. I'm glad to know it's in good hands now, can't wait to see it restored.

I would be interested in reading more about your possible move into custom coachbuilding.

Steve

Wow, great find!

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Kev,

Can you please delete one of Petey's Owner Registry entries for his '38 V12?

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Pull the head, get some clay and put it on top of the valves. Turn the engine over several times, then pull the head. Measure the thickness of the clay to find out the clearance between the head and the valve. Simple as that.

Another solution, and one I approve, but if you go too far it will lower the c/r, and that is to polish the combustion chamber in the head. I plan on doing this on the head on the Speedster, as it will get rid of possible hot spots caused by casting flash. I'm not too worried about compression, as I plan on forced induction. (along with larger valves that will probably require clearance grinding anyway)