Thanks so much for the link to the accessories document. This is essentially what I need to look for accessories (except no pictures). I discover that I already have some of these items on the car!

I am getting interested in obtaining more optional accessories for my 1950 2301 Deluxe Touring Sedan. Does anyone know of a listing of all the factory options? Are there pictures?

I just want to offer my recent experience with my 1950 Packard over the 6 months I have owned it. When I first got the car it acted like my 1934 Nash and my 1935 Diamond T when starting. It would crank very slowly, turn quite a few revolutions, and eventually fire. It had me concerned and starting to think about 8 volt batteries, 12 volt conversions, etc.

Since that time I havbe cleaned off the battery cable terminals, verified the cables are thick ones designed for 6 volts, ground the valves, replaced the rings, and replaced everything in the ignition from the coil to the head with new parts. Now I turn on the key, pump the accelerator lightly a few strokes (only when cold) and push down to engage the starter under the gas pedal. It cranks one or 2 revolutions and fires instantly just like my 12 volt cars! from this experience I think a six volt system can work just fine if everything is in top shape.

Hi,
I got some prices on packing my 288 cylinder head for shipping. The bids range from $88 to $193. The head and spark plugs weight is 60 lbs without the crate. One shipper estimated the total weight including a wooden crate and dunnage at 100 lbs. The outside dimensions of the crate are 39" x 13" x 10". This size includes blocks on the bottom for easy handling with a forklift.
I looked at the UPS website and both the size and weight are well within their limits. Let me know if you wish to go ahead with this head purchase. You can contact me off line at:
(619)475-1155 (home)
Fred Puhn
425 Shell Ave.
National City, CA
fredpuhn@cox.net

I will look into the cost of packing and will let you know. It probably needs to go in a box made of wood. It may take till Monday before I get a business to respond.

I have an extra 288 head that I recently took off a running engine. However it is quite heavy and would be expensive to ship. If you are close to San Diego you could take a look and buy it if you like it. Otherwise you should try to find one closer to your home. I will sell the head for $100 including a set of almost brand new spark plugs and a set of OK used ones.
Fred Puhn, National City, CA (619)475-1155

Cortcomp seems to be describing exactly my problem. The big leak happened after I brought the car home from the transmission shop and it sat for a few days. There was a big puddle under the car. Then I drove it and no more big leaks while sitting. Maybe the shop overfilled it.

Now it runs like "crap" same as Cortcomp said his did. The transmission will not release when coming to a stop, and the engine stalls. It feels the same as a stick shift car when you do not push in the clutch coming to a stop. The idle speed seems fine. Is this a lock-up clutch remaining locked?

Are there any other suggestions? I priced out a full overhaul and it is >$4000 depending on what it needs. Wow!

I just serviced the Ultramatic automatic transmission in my 1950 Touring Sedan and now it leaks badly. It has a delay when taking off, particularly when cold, and the mechanic said it was probably bad seals. I guess it is time for an overhaul.
I live in the San Diego area. Does anyone know who can overhaul an Ultramatic in this Southern California area? I have a spare Ultramatic out of the car and maybe I can have this one gone through and then swap them out. I could go back to Valley Transmission in El Cajon, but they are not experts on this old transmission. They do know what a Packard is, which is way better than some other transmission shops! However I am not pleased with a transmission that leaks worse after servicing than it did before.

A couple months ago I replaced the rings on my 1950 Packard 288. I pulled the head and the oil pan. Pulling the head is easy but the pan is not. You have to disconnect the front motor mount brackets on the bottom and hoist up the engine to allow the pan to drop down far enough to pull it off. Having the car on a hoist was really handy, in fact probably necessary for access to the pan.
The "ring job" involves cutting the ridge on the top of each cylinder so the pistons can slide out. You need a ridge reamer tool to do this (which I borrowed). You need to measure the cylinder taper to make sure you do not need a rebore. My cylinders have a taper up up to 0.010", which is the upper limit according to the Packard manual. I bought the rings from Egge after giving them the ring dimensions.
The cylinders need to be honed to allow a good surface for the new rings. That requires a hone sized to the 3.500" bore (which my mechanic had). I paid a mechanic to hone the cylinders because I am too old to climb up on the engine and do it.
The piston ring gooves need to be cleaned carefully. I had a tool from my mechanic, but you can do it with a broken piece of an old ring. Just snap off a piece of ring and grind the end of the ring to make a scraper. Clean off all the carbon in the ring groove.
Installing the new rings requires a ring expander tool. They are way too stiff to use your fingers.
As long as the pan was off I checked the rod bearing clearance and they were fine.
The valves were ground and adjusted with the head off because it is a lot handier to know exactly where each piston is by looking.
After all that the car runs fine with no smoke or blowby.
A ring job is no small task, but it can be done without pulling the engine.
Good luck with your Packard.

I just completed installing a new repro exhaust system on my 1950 2301 Touring Sedan. The tail pipe is 2" diameter. The problems I ran into are:

1. The front exhaust hanger attached to the side of the engine flywheel housing interfered with the automatic transmission kickown rod. This jammed the throttle linkage. I corrected this unsafe condition by removing the exhaust pipe bracket. It didn't do anything anyhow because the rigidly clamped exhaust pipe was way stiffer than the flexible hanger strap with rubber in it.
2. The front pipe between the manifold and the muffler could only be installed through the frame with the oil pan removed. I solved this problem by cutting the pipe in a straight section and joining the two pieces back together with a slide-on sleeve from an auto parts store and two muffler clamps. I suspect the repro pipe was formed very slightly differently than the original pipe.
3. The repro system has an extra joint in the section over the rear axle. I doubt if you could install the new pipe without that extra joint. Perhaps Packard put the tail pipe in the car before they put in the axle or the fuel tank.
4. To improve things I put a pretty exhaust deflector tip on the end of the tail pipe. This deflects the exhaust downward away from the bumper. The chrome on the right side of the bumper has badly peeled off, I supect because of 60 years of living with exhaust gas.

I hopes this helps.