Really sorry for the bad news, and its a big surprise too since you did the right things. Is it solid locked or just real stiff? Small possibility that the Ultramatic locked. Very rare, but I have seen it once and heard of it twice. To check you would need to get the convertor nuts loose and see if the convertor will rock in the holes.

So great, now there is coffee sprayed all over my computer screen. Note to self: finish breakfast before reading Gerd's posts.

I think it looks smashing. Will have a surprise for you in about a month......

Loved the film. Nearly sprayed my morning coffee all over the screen. LOL. Very clever.

OH, and the car looks quite nice in white, as do 56 Patricians.

And yet more fun with used cars. Friends from Germany wanted to kayak the Gunpowder river and the pickup is still laid up, so the ever faithful 51 and 63 Daytona were pressed into service.

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Congrats. Long may she level.

BUT: The worm shaft should not screw out of the housing. It is (was) retained to a ball bearing by a c-clip. The ball bearing is to take the thrust of the shaft in both directions. That is probably why your motor would not run-- the armature was crammed up against the end cap by the thrust of the worm. The gearbox will have to come out so the shaft can be secured and the bearing checked.

As an aside to all TL owners, that little corner up there where the bearing is seems to be the location that collects all the condensation over the years. Units that jam or howl often have that bearing encased in rust--and yes the little c-clip will rust away and the shaft will jump out of the bearing. The good news is that all those parts are easily available and cheap to replace.

Oh, and while the box is out, just take a big hammer and beat the rods straight on a big rock. They are mild steel and it really doesn't have to be more complicated than that. A socket for your 1/2 inch ratchet that has a screwdriver made onto it will unscrew those rod ends. They were staked in position, but after the first turn they usually come out pretty well.

Anders, I wonder if the car is fitted with heavy duty bars; they would measure almost 27 mm in diameter instead of the stock 25,4. There is also a possibility that your car was given a set of 56 bars which I believe had the hexes rotated a bit and might make for the strange ride height when installed on a 55.

Your car should have a rather soft ride. I wonder what sort of shocks are fitted? I am sure you have checked for helper springs. You might want to loosen your control arm bushings and let them find their neutral position in case they are holding the car up as well.

She's a 160 alright--been in the same family since new but worked on by (apparently) MANY mechanics. And probably had parts switched around from other Packards in the family fleet.

Thanks guys for the photos and info. The firewall on this car does not have those holes, and the horn bracket also does not have the three hole pattern. I think I am going to have to play Kuenstschmied. Perhaps the Convertibles had them mounted differently because of the tubing for the top cylinders running across the cowl. O the things that can happen in 60 years of shade-tree diddling.

Interestingly, even the stiffening ribs on the Zis cowl are the same as the 160.

Could really use a picture as I don't find any holes or studs that match up with the bracket that holds the 3 horns. Thanks.

Assuming you have looked for odd pieces of metal dangling and banging, then I might check your flex plate to converter screws. There was a rattle documented in the service bulletins from the pump selector valve on early Ultras before the introduction of the spring steel check valves--but as far as I know that can come only when the car is accelerating and the transition from front to rear pump takes place. If I recall the fix for that was--explain to the customer its supposed to do that.