Here is a '55 STB that talks about engine colors on the '55 models and how some were mispainted. Not sure it applied in this case, but good for future reference.

https://www.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/STB/55T-33.pdf

51-53 Ignition Switches will all interchange as they are all "pedal starts". '54 was the first year for the "key start".

Is your switch missing, or what problem are you having with it?

Loyd,

Any pictures of what that looks like under the hood?

When I see the triangles with a number in the middle it really makes me think that the number was applied later, and the triangles were part of the alignment for the number stamping. If not that, then why would then bother to stamp the triangles if there was no number???

Bizzare. Somewhere there must be a scrap of documentation that explains it. Not sure if that would be in Packard historical information, or later in the Briggs historical information. I am curious if there are any pictures of the "naked" bodies leaving either Packard's own body shop, or Briggs that show if the number was already stamped or not. Basically if the number was stamped before body assemble on the firewall panel, or at some point after body cab assembly.

The Dual-Master cylinder setup is not just there for marketing reasons, it's a DOT (Department of Transportation) mandated safety item. I figure the year that went into affect. 1968? somewhere around there.

If is the same reason that commerical airplanes are required to have redundant backup hydraulic and electrical systems.

Well not that much got done today on the Clipper. Today was other car maintenance day. I day to replace to rear shoes on the Colorado. I must say that those shoes were almost twice the price of the ones on my Clipper. Plus when I pulled the drum off, I had to stare at it for a minute as it looked completely different. Only one spring, the adjuster. No primary and secondary spring. Just this horseshoe shaped piece of steel wire that binds them together and holds them in tension at the ends of it, and the middle clips into the backing plate on the bottom. Perhaps this is because of the ABS or something. First time for me. But I got it all done and adjust and saved $200 in the process over what the dealer would have charged me.

This is a quick tip to help folks out that have reported not seeing threads that have been updated. This usually happens when users access the Forum via the "Recent Forum Topics" block under the main menu of the left of your screen.





The Recent Forum Topics (RFT) simply show the 10 newest or updated threads in the forum, regardless of whether or not you have already read them. If 15 threads are new since the last time you looked, then you are only seeing the last 10 of them. This is why I do not recommend using the RFT block as your method for reading the forums. It should only serve as a visual cue that some type of forum activity has transpired, and then you should click on the "Packard Forums" link of the Main Menu to access the Forum Index.

This has numerous advantages. First it displays the list of all the Forums. This list is customized based upon your individual read/unread status. So any forums that have a "Bold" envelope icon, represent forums that contain new/updated posts that you have personally not read yet. If the Forum icon is "dimmed" that means there are no unread items in that forum. So that means you can simply skip that forum as nothing has changed since the last time you were in there.





If you click on a Forum that shows having unread item in it, then it displays the list of all the Forum Topic in that forum. Much like the Forum Index page, the topic list will show you what items have not been read by you using the envelope icon status.




Once you read an unread item, you will notice that the envelope icon now while show that it has been read.

The Recent Forum Topics block was added to the website to give you a visual alert that there has been activity in the forums if you happen to be in another part of the website, but I really recommend that you read the forum through the actual forum pages instead of simply clicking on the links in the RFT Block. This will keep you from missing any topics that could not be displayed in the RTF Block when there is a lot of forum activity.

Carl,

I don't believe that the rubber hose on the oil filter return is correct. That should be a hardline like the other oil lines.

The major cost of a paint job comes down to two parts:

Labor for body work and surface prep
Materials.

The actually spraying of the paint, and masking labor is the cheap part.

Rusty metal is going to have to be taken to bare metal and properly treated. Minor dings are going to look very obvious on with new shiny paint over it. All of this takes labor to correct.

A paint job longevity is only as good as the prep and materials. Don't cheap out on the materials. I watch the kids at the college that just spent 40 hours straightening dents, and smoothing out imperfections, and then they use rattle-can primer over it cause they don't want to spend the money on correct stuff. Then they wonder a year later why the paint is failing in that area, or the paint "alligatored" when they sprayed it over the rattle-can primer. If the materials you are using are not catalyzed (two-part), then dont use it.

To give you some perspective the DTM (direct to metal) primer I am using works out to be about $175 a gallon with reducer and activator. Expensive yes, but I know it is better than anything you will get out of a spray can, or that a national quickie chain would use. The DTM goes right down on bare metal. No chemical etch needed. It is a epoxy hybrid so it does not absorb moisture like other primers do. So I can leave the out in the elements if I needed to (unlike cheap primer). It provides superior coverage and bled-thru, and sands very well. Also you can over reduce it and it makes it's own sealer. So all that alone makes the $175 not that expensive in the long run.

Paint is going to run you about $150-$200 a gallon for a quality single stage urethane. To do an entire car of our size, you may need up to 2 gallons.

So right there you are up to about $500-600 in primer and paint alone. Not counting sandpaper, tools, masking supplies, etc.

I think you could find a good quality paint job for less than $2000 if you shop around. The more work you do yourself, the cheaper it will be. Also you local community college is a great place to learn how to do a lot of the work yourself, and learn something in the process.

I am doing all the body work, primer, and painting the jams myself, and then will take it to a friends shop where we will shoot the color. In the process I will save a few thousand dollars, but that savings is in sweat equity. But I have the pride that I did it myself, rather than just paid someone to do it. Teach a man to fish vs. give a man a fish.

Just my

If you are worried about the pressure then use buy the same type of hose they use for fuel injection. It usually has a higher pressure rating then regular heater hose. Any parts store should carry this.