Have used Optima batteries in race cars for some time, until I found that they tended to self-destruct with no warning. One minute good. Next minute boat anchor. Seems like an internal short (brought on by vibration?). And they're not cheap.

Bottom line. I don't use them any more. I use Deka AGM now, but of course they are 12 volt.

Maybe you have no choice because of the dimensions and 6 volt option with Optima. Perhaps keeping them charged up individually on something like a CTEK 6 volt charger would prolong their life and warn you of impending problems. What HH describes as the potential problem with them wired as a dual setup is all too true, unfortunately.

The small lithium starter batteries work really well, even on modern high compression engines. Sounds like you already have one. I suspect they are only available in 12 volt, but doubt that would harm your starter setup if used sparingly. One more thing to carry around in your trunk (in addition to a jack that is up to the job).

I don't know about you, but I'm finding Packard-sized cars a bit hard to push these days!

Brian

Hello Leeedy

You're a veritable fountain of information on these things. Something that makes this site so interesting.

As the owner of a 1956 Clipper which has proved surprisingly reliable, I have ample time to contemplate these things. I have to admit I'm not a bicycle person - more of a motorcycle/old race car nut - hence my ignorance on these matters.

I'm not surprised that someone in the bicycle world had a tilt at "Torsion Level". Nor am I surprised that the subject bicycle you described did not see production. I have a pretty good idea what it costs to build things with magnesium.

It seems people today will fork out something like $8-10k for a featherweight bicycle made mostly of carbon fibre. Probably cheaper for them to lose the weight themselves! But it seems tyres (tires) aren't getting better at the same rate. When I'm out cruising in my Packard (yes, I know it's officially a Clipper) I still see an awful lot of bicycle riders huddled beside the road wrestling with damaged tyres.

Now, if I can just find someone in these coronavirus-riddled times to tidy up the paintwork on my Clipper I'll be a happy man.

Best wishes

Brian

PS Is there somewhere in the US you can safely stash your collection of material for posterity? There is something like that happening here now for vintage race car material. A far better option than the alternatives. BW

Hello Reedman

Re your avatar. Ordinarily, you can reduce the size of any picture you want to use as an avatar by opening and editing it in the "Preview" window on an Apple Mac (or equivalent in Windows). You can adjust the size of the picture downwards to suit (supposed to be less than 1MB, I think, or maybe less than 100KB to be on the safe side) then save the smaller pic under a different name to upload in your profile. Click there on Avatar.

I noticed that the lovely picture of your car in your post is already quite small. That is probably why it pixillates when loaded up to the site. Not a problem for avatars, which only display as thumbnails.

Cheers

Brian

Hello Leeedy

Very interesting, as usual.

This is the first I heard of somebody else "appropriating" any of Packard's trade names (other than the name "Packard" itself). That may just be my ignorance. Did anybody else pick up things like "Torsion Level"?

I guess Packard turned a blind eye to this. Maybe even saw it as a back-handed compliment.

Cheers

Brian

Don

You're note brings up lots of memories!

My father's first car was a 1937 Nash (Lasalle). We shared many family trips in that thing, but never got to our destination without some mechanical drama.

After he died, I set out in a fit of nostalgia to find/restore one the same. Not easy, but I found one languishing in a shed in New Zealand. Even I could see it was beyond redemption. And of course if you wanted to restore and use a car from that period, you would not start with one of those.

You'd start with a Packard. But of course I'm preaching to the converted here.

My first Packard was a lovely 1941 120 Club Coupe, which came shortly after the above diversion. It was well built and a joy to drive.

And now I have my 1956 RHD Ultramatic Clipper Deluxe, which gets a lot of use and even my wife might drive.

Cheers

Brian

Thanks Gerry and O-D

Yes, I had heard that the Dana rear axle units were different between the Clippers and Packards in 1956. Mine may have had tags on at some time but it doesn't now. But it does have a "T" on the flange of the differential case. My differential unit is actually fairly clean - slight weep from the cover gasket - which makes me think it might have been apart somewhere along the way. But the rear wheels do both turn in the same direction when it's up in the air, so I'm convinced it's a Twin Traction.

The obvious question is why Packard offered the Twin Traction option on both Clippers and Packards, given it involved a different Dana axle unit. Perhaps it was just the novelty. It was something very new then.

The original parts and service documentation doesn't really provide answers. Only to say that the Twin Traction assembly must be replaced as a unit, since the components were not available individually. Presumably, that applied to both rear axle units.

As I mentioned earlier, the Twin Traction rear end on mine doesn't feel like it does vey much. At least compared to race cars with Weismann "lockers", where the most notable effect was for the car to continue straight on at a corner!

Brian

I just spotted a 1956 dash (or parts of one) on eBay. Lo and behold, it has the pad attached and is showing a stitched seam at the "front".

Hardly had I digested this than I wandered down to fire up the old Clipper. Was busy admiring the reflection of the brake lights in my wife's car, when I noticed that the right hand turn signal was not working at the front and both tell-tale lights on the dash illuminate faintly together when I turn the indicator lever that way. The other direction is working fine. Oh, how I love electrics. Not.

So tomorrow's job is to check out the leads to that front turn signal unit, which holds a combined parking light and turn signal lamp. The old lamp was well and truly fried. I fitted a spare which did not fix the problem so now I'm resigned to checking for an errant ground in the wires or maybe the bulb holder itself. I'm assuming the problem lies somewhere there. If it were the flasher unit, the other direction signals and rears presumably would also not work. While ferreting around under the dash - to find the flasher can - I noticed that a couple of the instrument lights are also not working. Hoping it's the globes. I have some small replacement LEDs with the same #57 bayonet fitting. Hopefully, I'll find a trained monkey to get in there to change them. Hoping the LED replacements work ok so I won't have to do it again anytime soon. I presume that the clock is lit by a similar globe, which is also not working. Come to think of it, neither is the clock so I had better check the power to that while I'm there.

Brian

Yes O-D

I think mine is about the same age as yours - mid-1956. If it ever had a tag, it's no longer there. But given the disruptions of the time - and it being an export model - I wonder how the rear axle units were sourced and allocated. And whether the Clippers got the same units as the senior cars. Mine otherwise looks identical to the Dana units pictured on this site.

There are quite a few casting symbols and numbers on the differential flanges, none of which I understand.

Cheers

Brian

Thanks Mal

Yes, after you set me on the correct path I did the same thing using the advanced search and got the same result as you. I wonder how many people on the site have twigged to that. Seems like a lot of people - including me! - post questions which have been answered before.

Incidentally, I crawled under the car to check and found the "T" on the diff cover - confirming it's a Twin Traction - but no sign of the final drive ratio. Not that it matters. It purrs along happily in "H" at 60-70mph with the Twin Ultraglide, so I'm not motivated to change it. Around town, I use "D" for jackrabbit starts at the lights. The change up from low to high in "D" is noticeable but not uncomfortable. Just like other two speed automatics of the period.

Cheers

Brian

Thanks Mal

I did search the site before it wrote this, but did not turn up that thread.

I've been in touch with the Studebaker Museum in South Bend. Unfortunately, they don't have a production record for my car (probably because it was an export) so I'm none the wiser about the original spec. I do know the original exterior colours and the interior is pretty much original still.

Ross noticed that the body tag is riveted on, rather than being spot welded. It was apparently removed when the car was repainted (which I'm about to do again!).

The thread you pointed me to basically answers my question. The rear wheels do turn in the same direction when it's off the ground. It sounds like there should be some marks showing the "T" for Twin Traction and the diff ratio stamped on the rear cover. Just needs a scraper, a good light and a crawl under the car!

Cheers

Brian