NOBODY is interested in these??????

John,

There is really no reason to be irritated. I am very grateful to you for taking the time to look things up for me. When I said;

"I am a renowned cheapskate and have my reputation to consider."

and

"Interestingly the book is going for $44 Canadian on amazon.ca, so if ILL fails me I shall just swallow the financial pain and buy it!"

I was trying to make a joke by poking fun at myself, it was not my intention to cause offence or upset, however it seems that I have so I shall bow out of this forum and ask you all to accept my sincere appologies.

Hello all,

For 26 years I have owned a ?55 Packard Clipper Custom sedan with twin ultramatic transmission.I needed to rebuilt it for 20 years ago and then many people told me I should not use it anymore or use some Ford or Chrysler auto trans.But I did rebuild the old one and it still runs perfect.Always so smooth

Bob, what you had happening was a new one for me. I put the motor back on the actuator to see what was wrong. I, like you had shifting in L,H & D, nothing in P,R,N on my test board, just like we talked about on the phone. I poked around with my test light and found that there was power going to the (+12V) bus on the console-keys (through your harness, just like we talked about on the phone) but no action. This had me puzzled for a moment. I checked each finger and when the corresponding button was pushed, I got power @ that finger, like there should be, but no action. I pushed on the finger with my test light probe and got action, it jumped to life. I tried the other two non-operational fingers and they too jumped into action. I removed the finger bridge and inspected it and found two things:
1)The left hand threaded hole that is meant to keep the fastener holding the bridge firmly in place was stripped, you could wiggle the bridge up and down at that end--this isn't supposed to be like this.

2) the fingers for P,R,N were badly distempered and not exerting forcce against the (moving) contact segment. At some time in the past a condition exsisted where those fingers came into contact with ground. When this happens they will glow orange, like a stove element and distemper.

The photos tell the rest of the story.

One thing I should mention is that when a unit is in this kind of condition, it's in everyone's best interest to take it off of the car, send it to either Kanter, Sandy Chirco or me, whomever you like best and get the full work up. I can service one on the car and make it as reliable as one I bench-service, but I can't give 25 years of experience over the phone.
After this full go through the car will never leave you stranded at Dairy Queen in Reverse.

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Got my curiousity up, I've just gone back to review the second article in "The Packard Cormorant" on the Esquires. Its in the Fall 1974 issue and is a result of an interview with Harry DuBois who owned the dealership that made them. In an earlier interview he had said they only did 8 cars, all hardtops. In this current interview he says they also did 4 door sedans, perhaps 20 cars in all. The article pictures an Esquire sedan based on a Patrician, Dover While/Danube Blue. The conversion of the Patricians was much more complex, and in them (but not in the 400s) the trunk script was also changed to say "Esquire" in addition to the script on the front fenders. This particular Esquire was then owned by Pete Grave of Penndel, PA who purchased it from Russell Didgion of Springfield, VA. The earlier 1972 article pictures a hardtop 400 "Esquire", apparently also in two-tone.

1/4 inch of fuel in the carb bowl is a positive sign of fuel starvation. Fuel levels varied quite a bit by carb and application, but generally it should be within 1/2 inch of the top flange. Also a bit confused by the comment that these cars came with the pump in the tank - I don't believe that is true, sounds like someone's "improvement", which generally are not improvements.

Nick: When you a asked for some reference sources about Packard and ask others questions. People like myself and others dug deep into their library of books which THEY PURCHASED to give you the answers to questions you have asked. Then when Pushbutton gives a reference sources on Packard and were they might be purchased, you come back with an answer that you are cheapskate and unwilling to make such a minor purchase realy angers me.

The information and history that I gave you about E.L. Cord came from a book that I PURCHASED cost me $50.00. Another book I have on the Classic Era written by Kimes
cost me over $100.00. So please don't complain about having to spend $44.00 for a book purchase. Sometimes when you want inforamtion you have to be willing to pay for it.


John F. Shireman

I'm diggin' the black and blue too. I think that the black will hide the window frames very well.

As for the seats, I was thinking of a pair of leather buckets, with a flow-thru console to the rear. In this console, I plan on running heater/AC vents, so the rear passengers get their share. Remember, this car is done in 2007 technology, with '56 style. This means power, agility, speed, and comfort of today's best luxury sedans. Oh, did I mention the woodgrained veneer dash?

That is a nice color combo....

It is a Carter carb, and you can remove the top portion while it is still on the car. When i remove the top, the fuel level is very low. Ive tried adjusting the float, but then it leaks everywhere.