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Board index » All Posts (mseanowen)




No more Packard for me...
#1
Not too shy to talk
Not too shy to talk

mseanowen
I have been an avid reader of this forum for several years.
I have returned at last from the Middle East. Unfortunately, due to serious injuries sustained in the army, I had to sell my Packard, along with my '43 Willys Jeep. I am now just a retired, disabled soldier instead of a proud Packard owner.
I wanted to say that this website is the best I have seen for collector cars. Well constructed and full of information from generous donations. I for one appreciate all of you and wish that I could have stayed around long enough to have been in some way beneficial instead of just soaking up everyone else's knowledge. Thanks to everyone who makes this site possible.

Posted on: 2012/9/5 20:37
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Re: Proper air cleaner for 352 V8?
#2
Not too shy to talk
Not too shy to talk

mseanowen
First, let me apologize for saying a Carter AFB. I guess the 14+ hours a day, seven days a week are taking their toll on me. It is a Carter WCFB.

I dug through my hard drive and found one rather poor picture taken just after I bought the it (the car is cleaned up and repainted now) showing the AC compressor and oil filter. As you can see, the filter mounts towards the curbside, just about in line with the valve cover. It has rubber lines instead of steel, very well made, with crimped fittings. They are showing their age and I intend to replace them someday if I ever get home. Everything looks as if it was made for the car and nothing about the installation seems pieced together.

I have never had the heads off the compressor and I don't know how many cylinders it has. I would assume 4, but I am not an authority. The compressor turns freely, but I am afraid to charge it up to see what happens. I didn't want to run the old thing and have it lock up. It looks better to me than a new Sanden, even if it doesn't have a charge in it.
I would agree that the dealer may have changed the air filter. Anybody else have a similar setup?

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Posted on: 2011/3/9 14:04
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Re: Proper air cleaner for 352 V8?
#3
Not too shy to talk
Not too shy to talk

mseanowen
It has the trunk-mounted (dealer installed?) AC with a Lehigh V compressor. Paperwork shows that the car was sold new in Arizona with AC. The compressor sits where the oil filter would on a non AC engine. The round air filter at a glance appears to be much smaller than the dual scoop, however the measurement from the front of the filter to the carburetor (Carter AFB 4 bbl) is less on the dual scoop filter than on the round one. If I were home I could take a picture of it, but unfortunately the situation doesn't allow.
It didn't matter how you indexed the round air filter it lacked enough clearance to drop onto the carb, about half an inch. I have seen various brackets for the Lehigh compressors, but I doubt that mine is unique. My Clipper was stored for most of its life and I have no real reason to believe that the filter has ever been changed. If it has, there must have been different sizes of round air filters. The one I tried to swap with was also a '56 but a non-AC car.

Posted on: 2011/3/9 0:32
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Re: Proper air cleaner for 352 V8?
#4
Not too shy to talk
Not too shy to talk

mseanowen
Hey, guys, I am in Baghdad right now and the network is so slow probably 20 more people will write in before mine gets to you, if it gets there at all.

I have a '56 Clipper Super and the car appears original in every way. Although it has a Carter carburetor it uses an air cleaner with dual scoops, which I thought was the wrong one. I had the opportunity once to swap with another '56 Clipper which had a cleaner exactly like the one in the picture posted by Owen_Dyneto. It wouldn't fit due to clearance problems with the Lehigh AC compressor. Wasn't much, but it interfered just enough I couldn't get it on.

Posted on: 2011/3/8 2:02
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Re: DO NOT TRUST BTV
#5
Not too shy to talk
Not too shy to talk

mseanowen
I have looked. I have yet to find one that I can do while stationed on an Army post far from home, and the cost of trying to find someone to do it for me that I could afford on my income is out of the question.
I have rebuilt my BTV system and have yet to experience any trouble with it. I have seen countless such systems work without trouble for years.
If someone designed and sold a kit that could be installed with minimal effort I am sure many of us would buy it. Until then, I am sure many TV systems will continue to roam the highways.

Posted on: 2009/11/14 20:13
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Re: DO NOT TRUST BTV
#6
Not too shy to talk
Not too shy to talk

mseanowen
I spent 20 years in the garage and auto parts business before coming back to the Army so I feel somewhat qualified to comment on this.
I agree with the points mikec brought up entirely; master cylinders, regardless of single or dual, fail suddenly; I don't have the facilities, time, or money to park my Packard and experiment with a difficult retrofit; and why not let the many years of experience that exist on this site work together to figure out either 1)a good retrofit that doesn't require rebuilding the whole car and 2) what actually fails in the BTV system.
Insulting other members and simply condemning the BTV won't solve anything. There is no point in even discussing it if all we are going to do is suggest people park cars when there is no real solution.

Posted on: 2009/11/14 20:00
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Re: Interesting 56
#7
Not too shy to talk
Not too shy to talk

mseanowen
Thanks 39Pickle for the link. I passed the information on to an Army buddy who liked my '56 Clipper and he bought it. We got it back to the post today. It didn't take me long to get it running. The motor sounds good, it has new exhaust, the body is super straight, all the chrome is there, and even the torsion level works. It will be a daily driver soon. Just a few small things to fix. Apparently, the '53 listed on the website was even better, but we were too late to buy it.
Hopefully, he will join Packardinfo soon!

Posted on: 2009/11/12 21:14
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Re: Packard in Afghanistan
#8
Not too shy to talk
Not too shy to talk

mseanowen
I wouldn't be surprised if your Checker wound up in a place like this. I accidently found this rather large collection of cars in Dubai, UAE while on leave. A rather rich member of the local community placed his cars on display in a elaborate building with marble floors and skylights highlighting the perfectly restored beauties. Fords, Chevrolets, old military trucks, and some makes I have never seen before were there for anyone to view for no admission. Such places are common in the Middle East. I wish we could have saved the cars Saddam had in his collection. Most of them were destroyed, including a couple of Packards.

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Posted on: 2009/9/28 21:15
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Re: Packard in Afghanistan
#9
Not too shy to talk
Not too shy to talk

mseanowen
The attached picture isn't of a Packard, but of the area where the car is located. I wanted to show it just because the sheer vastness of the vehicles is amazing. You would have to stand on that ridge to appreciate it; as far as the eye can see there are old Soviet tanks, aircraft, trucks, motorcycles and, of course, the 1948 Packard. Who knows how it got there.
I am currently e-mailing a buddy who is still there to see if he can make it over and check on things for us. I am in the Army and don't have the resources to restore the car as it deserves. If I can find a way to get it back I will simply put whoever really wants it in contact with someone in-country and let them get it out. I don't want to make any money on it, just save the car.

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Posted on: 2009/9/28 18:05
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Re: Packard in Afghanistan
#10
Not too shy to talk
Not too shy to talk

mseanowen
I do still have a buddy there who could arrange shipping so it is still possible. (In three years spent I spent there I made a lot of friends.) It does have floor pans and despite the rough appearance it is actually pretty solid; despite living through a severe air strike.
It is a right hand drive, and the running gear is fairly intact. I hate to call in favors if it isn't worth it, and was simply wondering if the real Packard experts on this forum could tell me if I should try to get it shipped home. I guess it isn't worth it; I hate to know it is rotting away over there. Thanks for the info.

Posted on: 2009/9/27 20:13
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