btw, If I remember my Dad's research 50 years ago, I think the business genius who drove Packard into the ground, Nance, sold the old year Packard body dies to the GAZ management for the Chaika as part of an Eisenhower "lets make nice" with the Soviets to show good will and throw some water on the Cold War tensions...look closely...

Imagine the poor Bolshevik who had to fix Stalin's Packards...needed a translator...

I will give the microprocessor one nod: electronic fuel injection on diesels is a godsend.

On the Extended Warranty thread: my father in law had to get a new snazzy LCD flatscreen TV...at age 95, he went for the 5-year warranty...now that's confidence that you'll be able to outlast it or B$&*h at the service representative who tries to get out of it before it expires.

cut some 1/2" wide very long strips of aluminum tin foil and wrap the knurl about 10-12 times...then (best to use a Knipex brand) gently grasp it with a channel lock (not vise grip) and the aluminum will be sacrificial and compress into the teeth of the knurl and those on the channel lock jaw. GENTLY, rotate...if your sensing it is slipping or going to damage the knurl, do a test grasp, then remove the wad of foil wrap and inspect to ensure no damage...add more layers...its supposed to take up the difference.

If someone has a better method...try theirs if its more safe...you could cut some small maple/oak hardwood horseshoe shapes and do the same thing in place of the foil layers

As long as we are in grumpy geezer mode:

all you get these days is a small glovebox manual with "take to authorized dealer" as the remedy, where they then proceed to "remove and replace entire foreign-sourced subassembly" at near-total-the-car cost so they can sell you a new vehicle; then make a killing on your trade-in.

Ive worked on Packards for 54 years as well as all the "modern" cars Ive owned in the same timeframe...nothing beats straightforward individual systems to isolate, diagnose and fix using US customary wrenches, a multimeter and old "machine sense" logic...same for my 1954, 1962, 1979, 1983 farm machinery...after that things got stupid...even toasters (a simple resistor/thermostat) now have microprocessors in them.

Working on Packards is parallel to working on Mechanical Sculpture...except for Bijur and Ultra-Magic transmissions.

...there, now I feel better

See private message for possible source

Don: Yes, that black sheet metal diffuser is the one...private message me and we can discuss.

Thanks. Dan

Don,

You have the correct heater. The one shown is labelled as a senior deluxe (those horizontal trim pieces that go on the doors are the giveaway), which is accurate for the "stepped up" 138CD...the 138CD falls upward of the standard 120 "junior" designation into the senior category...a truly unique beast that lives between the junior and senior worlds.

You have the auxiliary single (vs dual) defroster outlet on that defroster fan...again, a priced option for your vehicle. Dual defrost was a priced option for 1937 senior deluxe (typically Super8 or twelve) with two clamshell defroster deflectors up on the dash.

This full-up senior deluxe was offered as a priced option in model year 1937, but became more popular in 1938-1939, which corroborates your observations of its configuration.

So, in short, your heater configuration is correct for your model. If you want a credentialed discussion, Bob Supina has the backstory for 1937, but I wanted to give you the "Cliff Notes" (dated myself as a geezer) version.

I am restoring 3 full senior deluxe heaters with dual defrost currently...I will retain 1 for my vehicle, but the other two are emerging soon if you run into issues with yours.

Do you have the defrost duct underdash sheet metal adapter that connects the round flexible defrost duct pipe (coming from the defrost motor) to the bottom of the pot metal clamshell on the dash? If so, I'd like to get some photos/dimensions...no one has these and I am contemplating fabricating some faithful repros...should fit both junior and seniors.

Cheers...Dan M.

My '41 (back in the 70's) would lock up the transmission when the inner moving "pawl" was in an out of tolerance position. On mine I had to replace both of the receivers as they were worn on their inner surface AND replaced the moving pawl as it was worn sufficiently to stack up all the tolerances and allow the transmission sliders to move into its intermediate locked up position.

At the time Packard Farm (now Merritt) had NOS parts. Trust me...locking up at stop lights on busy streets was very frustrating as I had to get out, open the hood and jiggle it back to normal with a screwdriver...once I replaced those parts, it was smooth as silk and never locked up again.

I recommend disassembly and replacing the parts if you can get NOS ones.

My 2.125 cents.

Sounds like you have an intermittent on the backside terminals of the gauge, or its connection back to the generator/regulator. Go around all the generator and regulator contacts first, wiggle them by hand...look for degraded fiber insulator washers where they appear...see if you find the culprit...then do the same in an upside down contorted position under the dash for the gauge connections and any wires that emanate from the gauge...but on their "other end" for the same conditions.

The hard high ammeter transient reading right after starting is as you surmise...a hard current draw sourced from the generator as the battery does a quick trim up until the regulator kicks in and it regulates in a "bang/bang" lower current on/off pseudo-trickle charge to finish replenishing the battery.

I'm restoring my 37 1507 1036 which has an original interior/steering column. It was in storage for 55 years and there was no prior interior work done on it before then.

I researched the steering column for the same reasons. I am re-chroming mine for durability reasons to keep it original...generally, I personally dont like lots of reflective hardware in the drivers compartment, but it was about the same cost/effort to strip the chrome and repaint as just replating, so I stuck with "original".

My best research indicates that chrome on twelves was standard, except on chauffeured cockpits, where the driver (employee) didn't warrant chrome in their utilitarian driver's space, so the default was drivers space/dash/undertrim was painted on the cockpit trim. Generally, in that era the owner/boss had higher status and warranted special trim in THEIR rear space and kept things in the employee/chauffeurs space "plain" to reinforce the status quo of the era.

However, as with all senior Packards of the era, you could always request painted cockpit trimmings on any vehicle to match the solid interior accent color (typically satin-off gloss dark tan, brown, or maroon) to match the radio receiver box and heater shroud. Conversely, there were a few customers who requested chrome chauffeur quarters.

So, I discern that your friend's chromed column is correct.

I recommend that you message Bob Supina as he has the evidence and history for 37 senior cars of options, trim, default coatings, etc. His particulars are found at:https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/profile/userinfo.php?uid=441