Wanted 1949 series 2301 outside door handles. Oil bath air cleaner for a 288.

Don: Yes, that black sheet metal diffuser is the one...private message me and we can discuss.

Thanks. Dan

Apparently what I know as the 'crankcase breather tube' is regularly referred to in Packard-speak as the 'downdraft tube'. ...but yeah, I'm looking for the tube that mounts to the side of block on the passenger side right toward the back of the block and points downward. It looks like it would have a flange with one mounting hole to bolt it to the block.

I've spoken to Mike at Max Merrit and Jeff at Moose Motors so far. They both have the tube.

Thanks all for the suggestions.

The tires on my Series 526 are at least twenty years old - so are the tubes. I suspect the weak points are the valve stems for the tubes. They have developed small cracks in the rubber, similar to those in the tires. Like you, I am worried about a blowout, and I am saving for new tires this fall.

I find that, in my car, 35 psi makes the steering heavy, especially at low speeds. At 40 psi, the steering is acceptable, and the ride is still not a bit harsh. I am looking forward to see how the ride and handling will be with new tires this fall.

Dan - thanks for the background information on the heater. That’s very interesting. Learning the history of the car is a huge part of the fun for me. One thing I’m trying to find is a rumor that my car originally belonged to either Bryce B Smith or the city of Kansas City, MO. The guy my dad bought the car from had told him that he bought it from Bryce B Smith’s estate.

Bryce B Smith was the mayor of Kansas City, MO from 1930 to 1939. Dad was also approached back around 1961 by an older gentleman who started asking about the car. Dad says he claimed to have been Bryce B Smith’s chauffeur and that Dad’s car was the one he drove. Now, he also told Dad that he drove FDR in that car, but I have conclusively proven that part of the story to be false. FDR was in Kansas City, but he was there in 1936. This car wasn’t around quite yet. Anyway, it’s fun searching. I have confirmed that Bryce Smith did in fact have two chauffeurs. One who was a personal employee, and one who was employed by Kansas City.

It’s not a great photo, but before I contort myself more to gather more information, is this the part you are needing information for?

Don,

You have the correct heater. The one shown is labelled as a senior deluxe (those horizontal trim pieces that go on the doors are the giveaway), which is accurate for the "stepped up" 138CD...the 138CD falls upward of the standard 120 "junior" designation into the senior category...a truly unique beast that lives between the junior and senior worlds.

You have the auxiliary single (vs dual) defroster outlet on that defroster fan...again, a priced option for your vehicle. Dual defrost was a priced option for 1937 senior deluxe (typically Super8 or twelve) with two clamshell defroster deflectors up on the dash.

This full-up senior deluxe was offered as a priced option in model year 1937, but became more popular in 1938-1939, which corroborates your observations of its configuration.

So, in short, your heater configuration is correct for your model. If you want a credentialed discussion, Bob Supina has the backstory for 1937, but I wanted to give you the "Cliff Notes" (dated myself as a geezer) version.

I am restoring 3 full senior deluxe heaters with dual defrost currently...I will retain 1 for my vehicle, but the other two are emerging soon if you run into issues with yours.

Do you have the defrost duct underdash sheet metal adapter that connects the round flexible defrost duct pipe (coming from the defrost motor) to the bottom of the pot metal clamshell on the dash? If so, I'd like to get some photos/dimensions...no one has these and I am contemplating fabricating some faithful repros...should fit both junior and seniors.

Cheers...Dan M.

Last I looked, I don’t have the ability to delete but I see other duplicates too.

I decided to start on re-furbishing the heater/defroster. Both motors work well, but a lot of clean up and repainting is needed. For the core, there are definitely signs of leakage. Even though my car is a ‘37, it has had a ‘38=‘39 deluxe heater in it since at least 1960. It’s very possible that it is original as it may have been a dealer installed option and my car was delivered very late in the ‘37 model year. But, there is no way to know for sure. I will keep this heater as I want the car to still be “Dad’s car”.

It’s a bit pricy, but I decided to buy a new core from Brassworks. They sell the correct version for what I have (H-82). In the end, i decided that if I’m going to spend the money for a nice interior, the last thing I want to worry about is the heater springing a leak. For me, it’s a just a matter of piece-of-mind.

Starting point



The trim pieces are decent, but need some TLC



They cleaned up quite nicely




Progress on removing loose paint and rust.







These photos shows where there has clearly been a leak.

Clean 52 200, $9300

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