Any progress been made on this old girl yet? From what I'm seeing, it doesn't look like the wood wheels are going to be much good and will likely need to be replaced anyway.

I also don't really understand everybody telling you to jack it up - the thing is sitting on the ground - how are you going to get a jack underneath it?

As has been previously stated, probably not economically feasible to do a full-bore restoration on this one, it would cost more than the car is worth, but, would make a fantastic driver-quality and all-around fun car if the initial cost of buying it was reasonable. Personally, I think $13K is a bit on the high side for her given the amount of very expensive work that lies ahead.

Good luck, definitely needs saving.

I agree, adjust them cold, it's not worth the aggitation or the burns and losing your faith in God to do it while the car's running or the manifold is hot.

That really doesn't make any sense, they shouldn't lock up just because they're being turned. It would likely be that the shoes are cranked too far out.

I have a '29 633 and the brakes are a constant source of irritation. That Bendix brake suppiment they put out looks nice but it doesn't solve the problems real world. With my car, I've found that having the car jacked up and adjusting the brakes doesn't do a whole lot of good, because when she goes back on the ground the trajectory of the brake rods changes and everything you just adjusted goes right out the window.

I've gotten now to where I just adjust them with the car sitting on the ground and use trial and error to get them about right. They are FAR from synchronized with each other and the back two do a lot more work than the front two on my car, but, they work a lot better now than when I got it.

Following the manual to the tee, I adjusted mine about a year ago with all four wheels off the ground, set her back down, and both rear wheels wouldn't roll forwards - the brakes locked instantly going forward, but going backwards, they were fine. I gave up using the suppliment after that! Back off the rods a bit, that should solve the problem, but, it's a rather unusual one. Good luck!

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Another vote for these guys. If I ever tear into my '29's rear axle, I will definitely be giving them a call. They did a ring & pinion set for a man not far away with a '30 Cadillac, dropped it down to a 3.55 gear I believe, and what a difference! That thing flies now! Much less notable than putting an aftermarket overdrive on our old cars. If I had that gearing in my car, it would be wonderful!

Give these guys a call, they make some excellent gears!

Not a fan of base/clearcoats on these cars either. I live in Louisiana, lacquer isn't a good idea down here due to our extremely hot weather, it blows apart like old potato chips in about five or six years. My 633 was redone in lacquer back in 2000 in Minnesota, the paint is blistering on the front fenders now and I'm gonna' have to strip them down. Planning to repaint the whole car, but, I'm a huge fan of expoxy primer and using just straight enamels on the older cars like this. You can put on a straight enamel, buff it, and it will last forever and you'll never have to worry about clearcoat cracking or fogging up with age - I've seen quite a lot of that happen as well. As far as painting the hood, last ones I painted were back in the 1980s, we removed the hoods from the cars, put them on pallets on saw horses and painted them flat, completely assembled. Let them dry really good, a week or more, before we put them back on the car - never really had a problem with paint chipping along the center hinges. Good luck!

Maybe a dumb question, but have you tested the starter? If you're using 00 cables, most 6 volt batteries shouldn't give you much trouble. Maybe the starter itself is going bad? Just a thought.

That's gonna' be a remarkable sale. He had some amazingly rare stuff. It's a great conversation piece, but without knowing what it fits or what kind of shape it's in, really just a good conversation starter.

I think it's the same situation that we've had with old tires in the last few years - the manufacturer may be out, but stock is sitting in distributors warehouses, so different stores may be able to get them whereas others cannot. I couldn't get a tube for my car from Coker about a year ago, Lucas had them, and Lucas gets the tubes from Coker!

I'm still running a conventional battery but would like to switch to an Optima, ran them in most of my muscle cars and liked them a lot. Question is, does the 6 volt red top Optima fit inside the smallish battery box of a '27 - '29 Packard? There's not a lot of room in there.

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Thanks! Found it! Excellent article, answers all the questions. Talked to a nice lady at LaVine Restorations yesterday, she said someone would call me back about making a plate - hopefully they will. Max Merritt has been a big dud for me - I talk to them and ask about parts, they tell me they're going to go hunt for the parts, and never call me back - FOUR times now that's happened with them in the last two years. Not crazy stuff either, just stuff like oil pan gaskets, a brake rod, things like that. Very frustrating. Anyway, mystery solved, the "1" was used up until 1933, when it was replaced with the "I". So, that's that. Thanks everybody!

From that photo, difficult to say. Definitely aftermarket, I don't believe Packard ever offered anything as exotic as a finned aluminum head. Very cool looking.