Great thank you. The guy is not sure if it's a Packard or Studebaker. I am waiting for pictures.

I have a tankless 1955 400.
Got a lead on a tank but the owner does not know what it came off of. All he knows its a 55-56 Packard fuel tank. He is supposed to be sending me pics. Anybody know how many models may have shared the same tank in those years. Its a 4 hour drive so I want to make sure. Thanks

Is there a way to search the whole registry at once for say owners in my area or state.

I read Henry's blog as suggested and WOW was it informative and kinda scary.
I do not know of any photographers from that time period but I'll see what I can do. I'm not just saying that as you have me curious now about a Packard dealership in my area. My wife and I make a hobby of local history and I have a library card in Elizabethtown ( a very handy tool). Having said that 'E-town' is 40 miles from us so it take some time to do any research. It might help if you could email me some more information that you might have.

Hank
I recently started a project blog on my 1955 Packard 400 and one of the other members here suggested that I read about your project as it would be very similar to mine. After looking at a few of your most recent post I decided that the only way to take in your work properly was to go back to January of 2008 and take it from the top (or the bottom, I'm not sure).
I spent 5 days reading your project blog. Along the way I have both applauded your attention to detail and cursed your stubbornness. That boy of yours should be in school soon shouldn't he? Dang seems like he was born just a few days ago.
There were a number of times while reading that I wanted to comment but of course it made no since to comment on something that happened that long ago. You and your clipper have provided me with information that I didn't even know I needed, sometimes maybe a little too much information. After reading about your work on the transmission and engine block I laid awake thinking, "I should have bought that 72 Oldsmobile damn it, should have bought that olds".
Couldn't believe that after all the work you have done that you were not sure you could handle the body work because that's the one part of my project that I'm not afraid of and like you I have never done this. I've lost weight dreading the mechanical work that you have accomplished but you showed me that it can be done and I appreciate that. Great work
Thank You
Stewart

PackardV8 - Brandenburg is 150 miles north of Nashville. We are in the area of Fort Knox and the Ohio River.

patgreen - Black and white photography has it's place. Some pictures work in B&W and some don't.

I have "retired" from wedding and portrait photography though I am only 47. These days I work my own photography projects and with many of the fire departments in two counties. My soul sucking day job pays the bills.

Thanks guys, I've no illusions about what this project is going to take... well maybe a little. I've got plenty of time and soon will have plenty of room to work. My 400 looks really rough in pictures but it's pretty solid.
This Packard was, in part, my wife's choice. Her father owned numerous Packard including the 400 below. He's gone now but for her he'll live on in this car. Just for kicks we call it Bill after him. She wants to see this car completed as much as I. Maybe I'll get her to help me from time to time.

Once my new shop is built I can get started. On a side note, my wife wants to have a barn quilt put on my shop (they are real popular in this area). I suggested a Packard logo for it but that's not going happen I'm afraid.

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Here are some more pictures that I took yesterday. The odometer is showing 72706 miles and the brake pedal look like new so I'm thinking the miles are correct. Looking at the speedometer there is no needle and it's not laying on the bottom. How on earth does the needle break off and fall out?
I'm hoping some will tell me that it's actually behind that center spot and will appear when needed.

Was reading here about swap meets and wondered it there might be any in my area. I looked just in time. A couple more weeks and I might have missed this www.kyanaswapmeet.info/

The other pictures are of items found in the car.

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Starting my project blog now before I forget things. My 1955 Model 400 is currently inside my small garage. There isn't a lot of room in there but this location is only temporary. I have a new 30x40 building due to begin construction in April. For this reason I'm not going to jump into this project to fast or it would be harder to move the car later. Not sure yet what I'll do until April.

I found my Packard on Craigslist in Southhaven Mississippi. I'd been searching every city within 500 miles on craigslist for several weeks for a 400. I wanted a fixer upper and I got it. The car was actually parked about 20 feet from the MS/TN state line on HWY 51. That's about half mile south of Graceland. A buddy and I went down on February 2nd to bring it home to Kentucky.

The car appears to be all original. It's been sitting for a while and has some rust but so far it does not appear to be anything I can't handle. I'm not sure of the engines condition. The whole car does appear to be about 99% complete. All the chrome, trimmings, buttons and knobs are in place.

The floor and trunk pans do have some serious rust but I've not cleaned it all up yet so they are still unknown. The fuel tank is gone. At first I figured the straps had rusted and the tank was left were it was parked but I found the straps and the float device in the trunk so I am sure it was salvaged. The brake lines are rusted and broken in multiple places.

I am planning a complete frame off restoration for my Packard. I'm not sure there is any other way I could do it, having no idea how long it's been sitting or the engines condition. Frame off just seems the smartest way to go. I did pull the oil and transmission dip sticks today and both were showing good fluids levels and in good condition so that's another mystery. Below are some images I took today of some parts that I'll be eventually looking for.

By the way I am a photographer so you can expect many pictures once I actually begin restoration. I hope I can keep this blog up-to-date for both you and me. There are some blogs here (like BigKevs) that inspire. There are also many that got lost along the way. I hope I can rank up there among the former rather then the latter.

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Hello, I'm new to PackardInfo.com, new the Packards and mostly new to Auto Restoration. A trifecta of ignorance if you will.
There is so much fantastic information here that I can't seem to concentrate on any one area but I'll get the hang of it. I'll feel in the registry soon.
I've been wanting a project car for some time just never really knew what I wanted until my wife stumbled upon a picture of here dads car. We actually found several pics of him and various Packards but the 400 was our favorite. So here I am, I'll be in touch.

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