I really like the '50s prototype cars of any make. But the I like the '50s cars anyways.

1954 Packard Deluxe $3,500 327/auto 88k miles Ok interior. Runs & lot drives. Clear title.
I do my best to expose all the "warts" so that there are little to no surprises.
This car sat in storage for 20+years. Of course with a car this old, and having sat for a long time, the brake and fuel systems need work as one would expect.
Needs a complete brake system. Bendix booster and master cylinder either need rebuilt units, or install a modern system. Wheel cylinders, lines, brake shoes, need replacement.
Overall body is in great shape. No dents, or previous accidents. Minimal rust. Two small patches of floorboard need to be installed, 12" x 12" or less. A few small holes on the rear wheel well lips. The pic was taken some time ago before I bought the car. It does not show a rust spot on the hood that does not have paint on it. I think it sat in storage in a spot where the roof of the building leaked on the hood. No rust through, just no paint. Rest of body & frame rust free. Has had one repaint some time in the past, and I would consider it a "10 footer". The repaint is close to the original color.
Radiator has a small leak. A small amount of wiring needs to be replaced along with the voltage regulator.
Unstuck exhaust valves, replaced head gasket, and had the head resurfaced summer of 2016.
Fuel pump needs replacement, and gas tank needs to be gone thru, cleaned out, etc.
OVERALL this car is in good shape. Definitely not a junker. An easier restoration than many other 63 yr old cars out there.
Car is located in the Eau Claire Wi area. 715-559-7733

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It never made it into the newsletter cuz I forgot about it. I will be assembling my next news letter soon, and will try earnestly to include it in the publication. Thanks again for permission to do so. Fleet B.

I bought this light green car from Iowa this last April of 2016. The body is in decent shape, but the engine only turned over by hand. It was missing the radiator, and water pump.
We, as in my good friend who not only helped me to go down and get it, but has also let me work on it in his garage.
After we, got it home the first thing we did was try and start it. There was no compression, so we squirted oil down the spark plug holes, but still no compression.
After we took the head off, we found out why there was compression. All but one of the exhaust valves were stuck open. With a lot of work, and cussing we finally got the last stubborn two valves to work.
We were able to get it running for two short times as there wasn't any water in the engine. I just wanted to see if it would even fire up before I spent any more time or money on it.
I pulled 4 out 5 frost plugs out and air blew what I could out of the engine. Apparently I must've cleaned it out fairly well for when I took a pressure washer to it hardly anything came out.
Now I have put the engine back together, except for the radiator. When I fill it with water I expect the radiator to leak, I'm crossing my fingers on the water pump. Either way, it's on to doing the brakes.

WOW! 218 posts. It's gonna take me awhile even using the search feature. Guess I will be spending a lot of time looking thru your posts for info as I need it. Thanks for posting so much with pics too!

So what should the color of '54 engine be?

My Fleet's 54 327ci didn't come with a radiator installed, but there was one in the trunk. There is a stamped square on the top tank with the numbers 288 stamped inside this square. Am I to presume this means that it's for a 288 engine? If it is, I will be looking for a 327 radiator.
Also, I must have a support for the radiator missing as the 288 one I have has nothing to bolt to off the cross member radiator support. Hope I made that understandable.

My 54 clipper didn't come with a oil bath air cleaner. Instead, I found a paper type filter in the trunk. The filter size is 4"h x 8"dia. It sits on a assembly that goes over the 2 1/2" carb opening. Inside the filter base is a cone with holes all over it.(1/8in? or less)
At first I thought this was off some piece of farm equipment because the underside of the base is orange, like the International, or Case tractors, equipment, etc. Then I remembered that the Packard engines were painted orange. Therefore thinking this maybe a packard original. However, after reading this thread, I'm back to thinking it's from a piece of farm equipment, unless someone tells me other wise. The car came from Iowa.

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I've heard that using the engine no. as a vin no. became a problem if the engine had to be replaced, especially with a used one from a different car. I also know that car companies made engines with no ser. no. just for the purpose of being able to stamp in your old engine numbers on the new engine. Or something like that.

Thanks for the clarification.

"It also does not have a serial number, it's primary identifying number is a VN, or vehicle number, 5492-5406. The first 4 digits identify the year and model (1954 Clipper Deluxe 4 dr sedan) and the second set of digits represents it's sequential production starting at 2001."

This explains the vin no. on past registration cards I found.