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whats up Packard Peoples!

copped a '51 Packard in South Central LA for short money, and drove it home in the dark , no headlites, tail lites, turn signals , etc...

2 breakdowns and a chat with LAPD, i made it all the way back to hollywood! rollin tough!!! rat rod style.

still aint figured out if she's a 300 or a 400, lookin into that .
has Ultramatic tranny which hasnt shifted out of low yet.
i think tranny fluid is low. i hope

is there a Packard sun visor that will fit on this car?
whats the part name? any ideas where i can find one?

i think i may chop the top. any experiences with Packard chops?

she's a beast ,...... purrs like a kitten.
i'll keep yall in the loop. started electrical today. brand new hotrod wiring kit and alternator

any advice or tipz welcome!
thanks - kojak

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Unless it has already had some work including a transplanted grill, looks to be a 52 200. Curved top windshield corners is 51 or 52. Appears to be vertical tail lights so 200 but hood had Packard spelled out in 51, plain in 52 and grill had the crest in 52.

That style Ultramatics do not shift. They start in high (or low) depending on what you select and stay there. The only change is at approx 20 mph & up depending on throttle, the torque converter goes into direct drive or essentially locks and the drive train can be thought of as one piece of metal from engine to differential. When coming to a stop at about 10 mph the direct drive drops out and you are back in torque converter so the engine does not stall. Properly adjusted, the change is somewhat subtle. It is very reliable but absolutely NOT a drag strip transmission. Treat it as such and you will be walking.

Unless they are both missing, the VN number on the A-Pillar door jam, or the Briggs Body number on the firewall will tell you exactly what model you have. If both are missing then we may be able to narrow it down with the Theft proof number and/or engine number assuming the engine is not from a different model/year.

yo! yep u guys nailed it -
shes a 1951 200 Deluxe Touring Sedan



still lookin for part name for external sun visor for the windshield, as pictured on this '51 Packard



whats the chance I can fit one to my '51 200 deluxe?

also what do u guys think about chops and other customizations?
i think a slight chop on this ride will enhance sleekness.

i need to get rid of the red wheel look, but for now i gotta get rollin

-kojeazy

Again, if a 51 has had front end surgery. The door pillar or Briggs number will be 24xx-xxxx for 51 and 25xx-xxxx for 52.

It is called an External Windshield Visor or Outside Visor. Unless you are extremely fortunate, finding an original one will not be easy. One forum poster looked for quite a while and don't know if he ever did find one. There might be some aftermarkets that will fit but won't look quite the same.

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kool... i'm on the hunt for the outside visor .

my car is a '51 - #2462 . just checked.

previous owner stripped most of the decals off, including lettering above the grille.


any other cool stock or aftermarket look enhancement suggestions?
much appreciated

check out these accessories allegedly available for Packards in showrooms :

rear window curtains, door clamp mirrors, radiator covers, bug screens, no-roll wheel shields, wheel trim rings; and later on push-button radios, rear compartment speakers, wire wheel trim set, chrome trim rings, windshield sun shades, wheel hub shell covers, spotlights with attached mirror, and seat belts.

Rear window curtains???????? wow

G'day koolkojak,
to PackardInfo and for including your '51 200 Deluxe Touring Sedan in the Packard Owner's Registry.

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say hey! you got some fine red wheels there !!!!!!!!!
amazing

my wheels are not stock, so the Packard hubcaps do not fit, so im stuck with the rat rod look .

not mad at it, but the Packard deserve a touch of class ... i think we all agree on that here.

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The 200 was a fairly stripped down model (by Packard standards) so lots of those items were standard equipment on the 300 and 400. No question there were some interesting ones--and some of dubious use--but was not exclusive to Packard. Gimmicks were the norm in the 50's.

IIRC, the rear window curtain was essentially a venetian blind slit type thing that was fixed over the inside of glass above the package shelf to keep the sun from shining in yet allow the driver to see thru with the rear view mirror. The windshield sun shade (not visor) was a strip of plastic that stuck to the inside top edge of windshield and darkened it slightly--like the solex glass does. Had one in the 51 I drove thru HS and never found it did much good. The car got just as hot and glared as much as ones without. Remember a friend with a Chevy also had something called a solar shield. That was a spring loaded thing on a roller that pulled down over the door windows like a pull down shade. A metal screen with the tiny slits you see now commonly used on buildings with direct facing windows. Allowed air thru when all you had was the 4-40 AC system but not practical or convenient when you stopped at the drive in for a coke and socializing after school. The traffic light viewer was another interesting one. A glass or plastic prism that attached to windshield area to allow you to look straight ahead and yet see the overhead traffic lights. Had one of those too --but no traffic lights in the town I was in so again, a gimmick. Some say those were more useful on cars with the outside visor you are looking for since you can't really look up to see a traffic light with one of those hanging above the windshield.

Another interesting 50's fad was the minute you bought the car, you installed cheezy nylon or other questionable seatcovers over the factory upholstery. Guess that was practical in families with messy children (as my brother and I were) so maybe not too impractical. Does account for lots of cars found with decent upholstery today, I guess.