Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

I wouldn't be so sure about the AC. I don't think it was typical even for a general, and the European theater even less so.

Prewar AC parts, i can tell you, are extremely hard to find, and a more modern compressor is very obvious as it sits up high on the engine.

There was a service bulletin about switching the AC system from Freon to methylene chloride!

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Mcarthur's car had A/C, but I'm unaware of any other staff cars that had A/C.

On the Clippers, the compressor DID NOT sit up high on the engine. Like the Cadillac V-8, it was mounted lower and to the side. There would be NO WAY the compressor they used could possibly fit under the hood of a Clipper.

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The PAC online store has reprints of the 42 and the 46 and 47 Clipper owners manuals. They are all very very similar. Based on some items in other postwar Clipper literature I am not sure Packard did not just reprint the prewar info. They may have tried to update needed areas but failed in some places because some postwar info and illustrations is obviously prewar.

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This has been a long standing question of mine as to exactly how the original compressor did mount on Clippers. A supposed MacArthur car has photos in a magazine article (Special Interest Auto May-June 1976) but no details on the compressor mounting other than a photo showing just the rear of the compressor. The other Clipper with AC in TX owned by Terry Weiss has been changed to a modern compressor running an underdash aftermarket unit. In this photo taken by Archiveman it is hard to say if the bracket used with the Sanden is original because of the what I think is a portion of it being under a head bolt farther down in the center of the head. To me that part looks a bit thin to be a casting and original. If it is the original bracket then with its height and based on a parts book illustration the compressor would appear to still be rather high and maybe extend to about the level of the top of the radiator. If anyone has any other photos of a Clipper AC compressor and bracket I amongst many would sure like to see them.

I keep wondering what they did with the oil filter when a Clipper had a compressor since it appears to me they used those bolt holes and definitely the location for the bracket. There is an illustration which looked like a filter might have been placed farther back near where the Electromatic would mount. In this photo of the Clipper with a Sanden and Electromatic I don't see any sign of a filter. Wonder if it was eliminated or maybe moved to sheetmetal somewhere if the car had a 356 and was equipped with both AC and EC.

The condenser is also interesting in the Clipper as it appears to be more horizontal than the one in the conventional bodies.

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There are continued references to a supposed General MacArthur Packard. But in the 1970s, a member of SAH debunked so many claims about this car-including the mystery figure it supposedly came from. Yet the Packard continues to be labeled as Mac's car. I do know that MacArthur actually preferred Cadillacs and I also know that at least one of his cars during WW2 in the Pacific Theater was a Cadillac with license USA-1. His wife's car was also a Cadillac with license USA-2.

According to the SAH member, the ship that was claimed to have brought the "MacArthur Packard" back from the Philippines to the USA was actually sunk during WW2 off of Luzon! So that would have been a neat trick.

One photo I see recently shows MacArthur standing near a Packard, but that Packard has a front insignia for a 2-star General (on the bumper)... which obviously was not Mac. The fender flag has more stars, but this merely means that the car was assigned to a 2-star general, but was presently carrying a higher ranking general (this could have been just for that day).

Anyway, the "MacArthur Packard" still holds many questions that remain unresolved.

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Here you go. Don't ask me how it's supposed to mount, but based on what I have, it doesn't appear to mount to the side of the engine. I believe the green side is the bottom side.

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That bracket photo certainly brings up more questions than it answers. Probably the slots are for the compressor and allows for belt adjustment. Possibly the two holes near the edge in the second photo with the rounded clearance openings will fit over head bolts but that still leaves the other two holes which must attach to some kind of extra bracket. With the weight of the compressor extended far over the engine something would also need to mount somewhere lower to provide support and stability. At any rate it would seem doubtful the base of the compressor could be any lower than maybe 1/2" over the top of the engine so maybe only 1-2" lower than the conventional body bracket which raises the compressor high enough to clear the manifold.

Since it is a 42 bracket anyone know if there was a change between 41 and 42 or could anyone with an original 42 parts manual see if AC components are also included in the main parts manual or are in in a separate list like 40 and 41?

AC parts must have been shown in a separate list as there are none shown in the 20th Series parts list

Topic split and moved here to thwart hijacking. :)

Thanks for moving the AC posts.

Since it's been moved, I'll add two pictures of a ( I believe) 41 Clipper that had AC.
Maybe you can see something I can not.
Wes

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