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Ok moving my Packard over to the project section now and I thought I'd start off with a few pictures before I outline what has been done since I purchased him in January 2017.

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So a brief recap:

I purchased this Packard in January 2017 from Fred Kanter himself. It had been in storage for many, MANY years as part of his private collection. Fred reached out to me on this forum when he saw I was searching for a Packard. I know it's a little silly but it felt very serendipitous since as a teen and young adult I used to drive by Kanter Packard on 287 in NJ and just stare and wonder what was inside and when I could get my Packard....turns out my Packard was sitting in there all this time. Ok enough of that, on to the work, in order performed:

Fred & his guys did the following:
1. New gas tank
2. Rebuilt carb
3. Rebuilt original brake system
4. Installed 4 new tires
5. Stripped & repainted the passenger side front fender to correct a long ago repair - that Fred had nothing to do with - which wasn't holding up

I am know there is more I'm forgetting that Fred & his guys did, but I didn't write it all down to begin with (lesson learned) so that's all I can remember.

I did...sort of:

1. Hired someone to extend my garage the necessary 6 inches to fit the car lol It was the best birthday present ever.

My local mechanic did the following:

1. Replaced points (which I "burnt" out)
2. Replaced accelerator pump, failure was assumed caused by EOTH (picture below)
3. Found a bad splice on coil wire, soldered & heat shrunk connection
4. Corrected timing as it was 5 degrees retarded
5. Replaced primary floats which were partially filled with gasoline
6. Tested bouncing speedometer to confirm it works properly, it does
7. Flushed speedo cable, lubricated core and reconnected cable, which turned out to be bad.
8. Ordered a new cable but it wasn't the exact right one, however bouncing is much reduced. Wasn't able to locate a NEW cable only used, which he didn't feel comfortable using without my OK
9. Replaced condenser
10. Rewired coil which was found to be wired backwards
11. Added oil supplement to quiet ticking lifter
12. Replaced missing bolt in shift linkage and adjusted
13. Gave me orders to drive the car as frequently as I can

So what's next for the car (which I've dubbed Vincent Price)?

1. Work on the throttle linkage for the transmission to get the direct drive to "kick in" at the right time. Currently it's waiting until 40-50 MPH. But I will also say that as the car warms up it gets harder to tell when it kicks in so I need to go on a drive in an open area where I can really listen and "feel" it.

2. Install new weather stripping, I'm ok with not keeping this original lol

3. EVENTUALLY have the weather stripping for the windshield replaced, it is hard as a rock and whistles as I go down the road. But I also don't want to risk breaking the windshield. So this is pretty low on the list.

4. Figure out how to get the Mag-Nu-Matic working. Right now the reservoir is empty but I would think even if it were when I pushed the button in the wipers should activate. Maybe not?

5. Get the ATF changed out again after I put a few hundred miles on it.

6. Hit up all the lube points that I found on a lube chart


Oh and I did get the car detailed to bring about the shine you see in those pictures. The storage Fred had it under really kept it in great condition.

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I have to be amused by the statement where you hired someone to add 6 inches to your garage. I was in a similar situation. The Packard fit just fine in my early 70s built condo garage but when I moved to the current house built in the early 50s, not only was the car too long, the garage was too narrow. The only way to get the car in was hug the right side wall, drive till the front was against that wall and then try to squeeze out the door. The garage door came down and missed the rear bumper by an inch. That was with a 56 Patrician. Probably never would have got out of a long door hardtop.

My solution was to build a 3 car garage which I thought would have enough space to last a lifetime. Wrong! With the sizes of our garages, kind of makes you wonder what others did when buying a large 50s car back in the day.

In all probability the diaphragms in the co-ordinator valve section of the washer have deteriorated for starts -- probably the piston rings are not in great shape either. There needs to be water flowing past the diaphragms in the valve to apply and stop the vacuum to the co-ordinator so the wiper motor will start and stop..

Kev wrote an excellent how to on rebuilding the unit. Kits should still be available from McVey Cadillac parts or IIRC, Tucson Packard had them too and may still do rebuilds if you don't want to tackle it yourself.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/Rebuilding%20a%20Trico%20Washer.pdf

If you can't find a good NOS or used speedo cable many have used the universal kits. Just a matter of cutting the cable to length and installing the correct tip out of several that comes with the kit on the end before sliding the new cable back in the original housing.

I don't understand why you'd want to drive it several hundred miles and THEN get the lube chart out and see to the lubrication needs? Why take the chance on doing some harm?

Trevor,

Thanks for keeping the Patrician in good hands. We installed the accel pump from our stock, looks mlike your replacement is identical (from us??) We will be testing ours. If it's the same it will suffer the same fate.

I would think even if it were when I pushed the button in the wipers should activate. Maybe not?

IF I understand the mag-nu-matic wiper,when the button is pushed; the pump places fluid in the lines, and that activates the vacuum co-ordinate on the wiper motor which turns on the wipers until the fluid is emptied from the lines.

So, no pushing the button will not turn on the wipers. Turning the nob will.

packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/servicemanual5556/Sect3_Accessories.pdf

Thanks everyone!

HH56: I didn't think about a universal kit and cutting to length...neither did my mechanic....clearly we were both distracted with other things because that seems like such an obvious answer! Our neighborhood was built out in 1926 so the fact that I have a garage at all surprises me, but apparently many people have done the same extension to their garage back in the day. One neighbor showed me two big rectangular cut outs in their garage wall to fit an Imperial.

Owen: I should clarify, driving a few hundred miles and draining/refilling the ultramatic is what I meant. It currently has new fluid in it, but I saw a suggestion on here on replacing the fluid a few times after a few hundred miles on a slow to engage direct drive ultramatic. I will be getting to the lube points on the rest of the car. I only need to obtain the proper materials.

Fred: my mechanic thinks (that's the important point) that adding carb defender or something similar to combat the ETOH would help. But I think (again that word) that it is equally possible that sometimes you just get a bad part out of a batch.

Let The Ride: Thanks for that info, that's a huge help. I already had the car out today and now the wipers aren't working at all (there was some rain). So I need to check out the fuse first and then under the hood to see if something got knocked loose.

I forgot to say, I need to get a set of headlights too. My high beam burnt out on one. All in all, knock on wood, praise whatever you praise - it's a great, solid car.

If your wipers are stock they are vacuum so no fuse. There is a fuse for the washer. Check that there is vacuum at the hose inlet on top of the motor and the cable is operating the slide valve on top. When you twist the knob to turn the wipers on, the slide valve on top should move to the right about 3/8 to half an inch. The black cylinder of the washer co-ordinator should slide on its bracket along with the valve.

If you have vacuum at the hose and the valve is moving the motor needs a rebuild. Very common problem and Ficken Wiper service does a great job rebuilding them..wiperman.com

I will attest to Ficken's expertise also.
AND what a great looking 55 - Congratulations!

I heard a click when I tried to engage the washer, so I'm hopeful that maybe some fluid will kick it on. However, I noticed a broken host going to the wiper control. I'll have to snap a picture to get some guidance on where it actually goes.

Unfortunately this means a short trip (just 200 miles round trip) is off next weekend because I don't think it's wise to get caught out without operable wipers.

Ah well, already had it out today and have been working on the throttle linkage to try and get the direct drive shift down into the right range.

OH! and one more thing: the cap on my tri co washer unit is black, which means it should be six volt not 12....but my car is 12 volt...what the heck?