Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I received Bob's unit from GA today and began cleaning it up. It appears to have beenpainted the metallic green color like one I did for a Clipper. I have seen ('56 senior) bronze units, "natural" units with no paint, no evidence of there ever having been paint and I've seen green ones. Has anyone ever found a Green painted actuator on a senior car with a bronze trans?

Mine is au naturale, just like God made her. I'm thinking of polishing the case of my aluminum T/U and all the accessories including the p/b actuator, then covering them in high temp clear..... Might put me a plexiglass cover over the trans tunnel, too! (JK!)

I would think the actuator would be painted the same color as the tranny/engine whether bronze or green or silver. Mine looks natural now but there is enough bronze on it to determine it was originally that way.

I have a 56 Caribbean with an unmolested driveline. The actuator is painted engine bronze, with the stamped cover plate black. As i remember the trans # is C-526.

I should have recorded my tranny number. It is Bxxxx right after the "star". Next time I'm up on the rack, I'll use the mirror I normally admire myself in.

Color variances could be something as simple as a supplier screw up, perhaps they ran out of the paint they'd normally use, maybe the painter drank the last of the correct color and grabbed whatever was handy etc.

Could also be that the "service" parts were painted differently to identify themselves as being replacements (warranty issues ets). Sometimes parts that are run off at different times end up being painted differently...especially if they were made years after the original.

I have been seeing more units that were just natural, the pot metal gear body is just pot metal, the motor is cad plated (or was, to be more accurate) and the stamped cover plate is/was plated. I have seen far more of this than bronze or green.