For those who like possible solutions to mysteries I give you this:

In an interview John Reinhart claimed to have wanted to sweeten the Clipper for 1948, but that George Christopher wanted "a whole new look" upon which John added "so I just threw blobs of clay on it".

I don't dislike the bathtub look, but it does look like the Clipper with a crinoline thrown over it. Crinolines are those hoop skirts worn in the old days when women's status was deonted by wholly impractical fashion. Sort of like preoccupation with sun tans.

I came across this shot of a styling proposal for 1948. It has the MacCauley grille, but the fenders blend into the doors. It does have some of the crinoline look, because the doors have been fattened somewhat but is pre-bathtub.

Maybe one of those people in the picture is John.

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  Reinhardt Proposal 200.JPG (37.27 KB)

Thanks everybody for all your help. I can't work on it in the garage where it sits, but I can back it out with the starter. Once it's out though I can't get it back in! So, it's one shot because I can't leave it out. They say this trans is basically a Ford unit, so should be pretty simple, Maybe put a clutch in while I'm at it. 2nd gear synchro is sluggish, too. But main job is the linkage!

I did it in my 1951 Patrician and it actually made the car seem quicker to pick-up and go. Don't listen to the naysayers, the worst thing it does (and it is NOT bad by any stretch at all!!) is it coats the parts!! Take the plunge!

Disclaimer - I actually supervised, my much more mobile and talented daughter did the swap!LOL

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I'm assuming because it completely screws up the toe-in on that wheel during acceleration (starting or stopping), right?

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Yes, they were mostly red primer before with a little black over spray.

It should definitely be better protected now.

Having a rare night of not being able to sleep last night, I got up, saw your post and went through your entire site reading all the captions and was quite impressed. I do want to go back and read the rest as it's a fascinating build and even interesting regulations about you may and may not do.

Very nice! I expect that the insides of your doors are now painted far better than they ever were.

I had a 1937 120C that developed a sharp pull to the left while braking. I checked the front brake system thoroughly and found no cause for the condition. It turned out to be worn kingpins. You might want to have yours checked for wear.

A little more esoteric stuff.

The door is just a shell now and a cutter is on the way to remove the caved-in outer skin so that I can see how the door-holder device works along with just getting access to it. I’ve never seen any door with so many screws holding panels on as my 1951 Combination and 1952 Nu-3-Way used standard upholstery clips for everything with only a few screws. On this door, the upper panel alone had 27 and that does not include the tiny ones that held on the aluminum trim pieces around the edges.



This angle shows just how hard a large oak limb being trimmed hit it years ago! Fortunately the glass was not harmed and good thing as they are almost impossible to find.



This depicts rather well the original USAF bluish-grey color. I would be curious to know if this color had a name but I’ve never been able to find any specific USAF paint records.



The seal around the door is nothing special but is very squished to nearly flat. I’m trying to hold it apart here in the photo in order to document which way it was attached. Steele also has by-the-foot rubber of the type used on the glass.

OMG are you talented! I didn't pay much attention when you posted wanting the overdrive solenoid spacer, and I vaguely recall some post about adapting the top cover to floorshift, but now I have clicked on the link to your project....!!!

I highly encourage others to check this out...sure there's not much "Packard" here, but keep in mind Engines really were Packard's forte'.

With high admiration,
DAF

PS - you are in safe territory - the founder/owner of this site has a Jag motor in one of his Packards!