BH-

You sir are a gentlemen & a scholar. Its the civil discussion such as yours and others here that makes me so glad to be on packardinfo.

I got a boost of energy and decided to rip out the carpet in the Packard. What a mess! The floors were good except right where the driver floorboard meets the rocker & the toe panel meet the floorboard. I but my screwdriver through it and kept pecking. It is a hole the size of my fist. The reason it was rotten I belive is a gap in the rubber about a 1/4 inch big near the driver corner of the windshild seal. This leaked down onto the kickpanel area, (which is rusty) and under the rug. Now I am chiseling off all the brittle sealant put on the floorboards. I need to get the seat out as well.

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Sorry to those who feel that such lists are a nuisance. I thought that is an interesting list compiled and emailed to me by one of the local packard club members ( I am not a member). It might have been presumptuous of me to throw it on here but I read it as a nice list of Packard accomplishments in automotive history.

Having read comments toward the list, they are all valid and correct. Those who choose to ignore the list can. Take it with a grain of salt. I did no research to see if the claims were true, or accurate. If there were a measure of Packard knowledge for members of this forum I would be at the bottom.

It seems to me that bringing up "Best of AACA online squabbles" keeps these old grudges fueled on to burn forever. I was not a member of AACA, their on line forum, or other sites that alot of the members of this form used to belong to. If I knew this MIGHT start a problem I would never have posted it.

This was a light hearted list that I thought was neat.

my 2cents. I know I'm going to regret this.....

LIST OF PACKARD INDUSTRY FIRSTS

? First to use selective gear shift with ?H? pattern

? First American car to use steering wheel instead of tiller handle

? First American twelve cylinder production engine (1915)

? First automobile engine with aluminum pistons (1915)

? First aluminum crankcase

? First automobile air conditioning (1940)

? First use of hypoid differential

? First power windows (1940)

? First thermostatic control of water circulation in a motor car


? First to patent automobile wheels interchangeable at the hub

? First to obtain patent on radiator with top and bottom reservoirs with tubes

? First package compartment in instrument panel (glove box)

? First sun visors

? First to include front and rear bumpers as standard equipment

? First to use a lockup mechanism with an automatic transmission - 1948.

? First to offer tubeless tires as standard equipment (1954)

? First application of interconnected torsion bar suspension in automobiles (1955)

? First electric load leveler (1955)

? First to use electric door locks (1956)

I saw these pistons on Ebay, are these any different/better than Kanter or Egge? Price sounds good if they are not garbage.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Packard-352-8-cyl-1955-56-pistons-new-set_W0QQitemZ380049956619QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p4506.m20.l1116

John-

Welcome to the forum! You have a great education ahead of you, learning from all the great Packard experts here on this forum. If anybody can help you get it running again, its people found on packardinfo.com It sounds like you are going to have alot of fun with GM! It must be an exciting time in your life to be heading off to Michigan and be part of the growing technology boom into Hybrid cars.

Be sure to put some pics up, and of course enter your Packard into the owner registry.

Great modifications! The roofline & body lines are classic, and you've done it well.

Is nothing sacred? I guess nothing over 50 years old is good enough to save for "progress". Next they'll be selling these:

Europe is full of buildings 500 years old,survived bombing during WWII,they are true monuments to the past. America is a young country, yet we bulldoze anything in the way of a new shopping mall. Can't we save some of these old buildings? Alot of these industrial buildings from the past get turned into lofts, businesses, & warehousing. I guess these buildings were to far gone. I think the detroit economic status kind of ends that possibility.

"The Packard plant on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit was designed by Albert Kahn, and included the first use of reinforced concrete for industrial construction in Detroit. When opened in 1903, it was considered the most modern automobile manufacturing facility in the world. The plant closed in 1957 ( although parts of it are still rented out ). The plant complex covers 35 acres ( 3.5 Million Square feet )"

I guess I won't be seeing the packard building after all

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yeah, I have seen a video of some people running around inside the buildings. It was an interesting video in 5 parts on youtube. They even got into the lobby, right behind the door that Kevin is standing in front of. The place is really run down badly. It was fun to watch the video of the kids walking the plant.

here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgVN3ILuKmk&feature=related

That's AWESOME BigKev!! Someday I will make the great pilgrimage to the Packard plant.