I pulled the steering wheel yesterday, it came off easily with a puller my friend had. I checked underneath the wheel where it is covered by the shroud and there was peeling black/brown paint under which was ivory paint. I'm starting to wonder if the ivory color is some kind of primer. There are other spots on the wheel where i sanded lightly with 220 grit paper. The ivory is the last coat before you hit the hard rubber of the steering wheel, so it may be a primer coat. Would it be correct to repaint the wheel in Ivory? I like the look of a lighter wheel especially since the Limo front seats and door panels are upholstered in black leather.

My steering wheel shows traces of ivory paint on it and I was wondering if Packard just painted their steering wheels or if they used an Ivory colored type of plastic like Tenite? Also I see some steering wheels have a what looks to be a stainless steel garnish on the upper part of the spokes, is this an option of some sort? Thanks!
Kevin

Well, they delivered my 49 Limo yesterday and after fighting the beast off the trailer she is now safely ensconsed in my friends pole building. Spent a few hours today unpacking boxes of parts and pieces and looking things over and am now having a severe case of "what the heck did I do" syndrome!! My best guess is that it does not have its original engine. I knew the head said "Thunderbolt" on it and it appears to have a casting date of 10-28-53 on it, i just thought someone had replaced the head at one time. But, on further examination, the engine number is stamped on a boss on the rear left corner of the engine block. Doing some homework on this site, that is not where they had the numbers on the 49 blocks. Also the engine number does not mesh with the numbers listed in the tables on the site. the engine number does match the number listed on the old title I got which was issued in Feb. 1969, so if the engine was swapped it was done a long time ago. There also appears to be a casting date on the block below the starter which indicates 12-18-53. My question is, are there any major differences between the 49 series engine and a 1953 model. This engine is a 327 CU inch engine so at least that is correct. Any input would be greatly appreciated, Thank you!
Kevin

I'm a newbie Packard owner so sorry if this is a dumb question. Is the 327 engine in my 49 Super limo a nine bearing or 5 bearing type and how do you tell? thanks!
Kevin

I'm new to this site and I just wanted to say hi. I just bought my Packard last week. It's a 1949 Super 7 pas. limousine series 2276. I'm an old car nut and have wanted a Packard since my High school days. My dads first car was a 47 Clipper and I grew up hearing stories about it. I wish my dad could have lived to see me get my own Packard, but hopefully somewhere, he knows. I'm going to turn 50 this year and this was my present to myself. It came up on craigslist near me for $2500 bucks and I couldn't resist. It's a complete car but partially disassembled. The previous owner was going to "rod" it, but lost his job and couldn't keep it.

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