I had similar issues with fumes from the road draft tube permeating the cabin at startup, when stuck in traffic, etc.

My solution was to extend the tube to the rear of the car, ending just past the differential.

I had my mechanic modify the road draft tube by creating an angled flange and welding it onto the tube's bottom end. He then fitted flexible aluminum conduit onto the flange and ran the conduit through the Packard's frame back to the rear axle. The conduit is secured in place with cable ties and there's a heatproof gasket where the conduit is hose-clamped to the flange.

I realize this is not an elegant solution. However, it resulted in noticeable fume reduction inside the car without affecting engine performance in any way.

Les, my 80-year-old auto electric guy worked with a parts supplier here in Seattle, who was able to dig through his cross reference books. Les says the belt is a truck belt. Cost to me today, through Acme Auto Electric in Seattle: $31.60.

The belt now in my 1950 with the 288 engine is a:

Gates TR24489

Thanks!

The old belt is apparently not the right belt, so replacing it would be a mistake. There was a very worn belt on the car when bought it 11 years ago. I replaced it after a few years because it literally snapped. The guy at the auto electric shop says the replacement belt that's on the car right now is too narrow and too long, so it would be be best to get a correct belt in the car.

Hello, all,

I have a '50 with a 288 engine that needs a new fan belt. The numbers on the old belt are illegible.

Can anyone help me with a modern part. I can't find one for the 1948-50 models in the parts X-reference.

Thanks!

Mark in Seattle

I'm probably going to catch a lot of flak over this, but here goes:

I had the same problem. I asked my mechanic to troubleshoot the issue and he couldn't find an obvious problem. He's a good mechanic--his daily driver is a 1939 Dodge--and his diagnoses are usually correct.

He asked me what type of motor oil I was using and I told him, Shell Rotella.

He told me that was the problem. He said that modern oils are manufactured to have small, short-chain molecules. These small molecules are inappropriate for older cars, he said, because they can get past and through seals. This causes the clutch to slip and shudder when you let up on the pedal while the car is standing still.

He suggested I replace the Rotella with Chevron Delo 100. The Chevron oil is still available in some markets where older Detroit Diesel engines are in use. Delo 100 is essentially an obsolete oil that only goes in obsolete engines.

I did as he suggested and was pleasantly surprised. It took about 4-5 months for the shuddering to stop, and it hasn't gone away completely, but the performance is WAY better today than it was when I was using the Rotella.

My 1950 is a daily driver and I'm guessing I had to put 2-3,000 miles on it for the shuddering to get to where it is now. I've put 5-6,000 miles on the car using the Delo 100 and have not noticed any negative effects.

For what it's worth, my 1950 Packard has been a daily driver for the past ten years. About nine years ago I purchased a set of 225/75/R15 wide white tires from Diamondback. These replaced an older set of bias ply tires that came with the car and were a significant upgrade in terms of handling.

Diamondback's owner, whom I spoke with on the phone, told me he drove a Packard. I believe he said it was a 1948. He convinced me to opt for what he called the "beauty ring," which was an additional layer of whitewall material about .75 inch wide around the outer perimeter of the whitewall. The tires I got had 3" whitewalls. The tires themselves were made by Hankook.

I liked the tires and put between 35 and 40,000 miles on them. I drove the car up & down the East Coast from Newfoundland to the North/South Carolina line and then up & down the West Coast from British Columbia to San Francisco, along with numerous shorter trips. I never experienced any unpleasant business from those tires.

My chief complaint was that when the car was stopped the front wheels were terribly hard to turn.

When my treads showed enough wear, I bought a second set of Diamondback 225/75/R15 tires, again with the "beauty ring" and again with 3" wide whites. This set was made by Cooper Tires. I am very happy with the Coopers. The handing is similar to the Hankooks but the great advantage is that the front wheels are WAY easier to turn when the car is stopped.

If I'm fortunate enough to put 40,000 miles on these Cooper Tires, I'll be back at Diamondback for a third set.

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Hi, I had a very similar question and posted it here:

https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=12666&forum=2&post_id=130656#forumpost130656

FYI: I own a 1950 23rd series that I use as a daily driver. I was curious about NAPA and Monroe shocks.

I followed up on my own question and I posted this response, below. The last paragraph may be useful to you.


The guy at my local Napa store says the only upgrade he can find for the 94080 shock is Napa's KYB shock, which is imported and metric and designed for import vehicles.

I was still curious about the possibility of upgrading my shocks and called the Monroe Shock Absorber company, where I spoke to a technical support guy. He informed me that Monroe does indeed make shocks for NAPA and that the Napa 94080 corresponds to the Monroe 31094.

He reported the shock is part of the "Monroe-Matic Plus" line, which is designed to replace OEM equipment at an economical price. He said Monroe had a comparable shock in its higher-end "Reflex" line, but in his opinion I would be wasting my money with the Reflex shock. He advised me to go with the Monroe 31904/Napa 94080 and save my money.

All the best,

Mark in Seattle

I just solved a charging puzzle that I thought I'd mention because it was an easy fix. I have a 1950 Standard Eight that I use as a daily driver. In it is a 6V battery I bought at the local CarQuest store in October, 2011. I usually get ~3 years with these batteries.

The other day I walked away from the car and left the fog lights burning for a couple hours. On my return I was pleased the engine fired right up and that the relatively short drive home seemed to be sufficient to bring the battery charge back to "full."

Yesterday, however, the ammeter needle swung hard over to the "charge" position and stayed there all day. I ran errands in Seattle and then headed 45 miles south to Tacoma to have dinner with a friend. The needle stayed hard over all the way down and all the way home--more than 90 miles at freeway speeds. I wondered if the battery was somehow having a delayed reaction to the "lights on" event of a few days ago (unlikely), if the battery wasn't charging because it was on its last legs (reasonable guess), or if some more expensive problem was lurking (heart-stopping terror).

Today I grabbed an almost-empty jug of distilled water I had lying around. I pried off the battery's three filler caps. The fluid levels looked a little low, but not terribly so. I topped off the battery chambers, using no more than a shot glass of water per chamber. I replaced the caps and fired up the car.

The ammeter needle swung over to the right and stayed there for a moment. But over the next few minutes it drifted back to its normal position: just a shade to the right of dead center. It stayed there while I took the car for a test drive to the liquor store and back.

Problem solved--with about six fluid ounces of water I already owned! And the best part was that I could now go back to using my shot glass for the purpose God intended it for!