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Mr Pushbutton may have several comments after reading this. Those of us who have had to remove or work on Packard's 1956 pushbutton actuator have wondered why it should be so difficult? I have examined the tranny and actuator with the idea of moving it forward approximately six inches. This would allow room to remove it, if needed, simply and quickly.
By removing the spacer that the bracket is bolted to, we uncover a 1/2-20 threaded hole. There is another recessed 1/2-20 hole directly in a vertical line to the first one. This allows a 1/8 inch piece of plate steel to be bolted to the tranny. The actuator motor can then be positioned on the plate and holes marked for drilling. The diameter of the actuator motor is roughly three inches. Two three inch muffler clamps can then be mounted on the 1/8 inch plate and the actuator motor can be secured to the plate. A shaft equal to the diameter of the shift shaft can be installed in the actuator and held securely by the set screw which normally secures to the tranny shaft. A short lever, much like those used in floor shift conversions can then be attached to both shafts and then joined by a short rod incorporating a turnbuckle. It then only requires that the transmission shaft be placed in the PARK position and the actuator motor also be positioned via the P button. Adjust the turnbuckle to allow the ends to enter the two shift levers easily and lock the turnbuckle in that position. I have attached a crude picture of the idea.

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I have not had to remove the entire actuator assembly, but can empathize with some of the stories I've heard from other owners. Perhaps Mr. Pushbutton will enlighten us further on this matter.

Meanwhile, Randy mentioned this to me yesterday, but I couldn't fully visualize it - until he provided a mock-up in the pic above.

My initial concern would be for the use of the muffler clamps. I'm concerned that cinching them tightly enough to prevent assmebly from moving might have some negative effect upon operation of the motor. Could a more sophisticated mounting bracket be designed that would elminiate the need for such clamps?

The short answer is: I like it! I wouldn't worry too much about heat dissipation--the biggest source of heat is the exhaust system, and I think this mod moves the motor further away from the exhaust pipe. The "can" portion of the motor is a thick mo-fo, about 1/8" thick, so the muffler clamps aren't going to have a negative effect.
I'm wondering about the degree of adjustabililty available through the turnbuckle. The business of rotating the actuator to adjust per the shop manual (the stock installation/orientation) gives quite a wide range of adjustability--good and bad. Some folks remounting a PB actuator go through quite a lot getting the unit aligned with the detents in the tranny. Perhaps the boys at Conner had a gauge that allowed them to pop these on transmissions at (near) production line speeds and have them be close enough to allow the cars to be driven off of the line and on to car haulers, the dealer to fine adjust if necessary as part of new car prep. Heck, I think we ought to make a poll of PB equipped cars with (what we think are) well adjusted actuators--measure from the very back of the motor can (where the end-cap of the motor meets the "can") down to the bottom point on the trans housing--where the pan bolts on.
The PB actuator is located in an absolutely miserable place to service, it was obviously a marketing brain-fart, traceable in some part to Jim Nance's love for all things push button. There is a great book that examines the 1950s through the artifacts that remain, and the consumer goods that came and went entitled "Populuxe"

amazon.com/Populuxe-America-Tailfins-Dinners-Shelters/dp/0394545931

the author coined this word to connote the mass produced, modern designed consumer goods (and buildings) of the decade. There is an entire chapter devoted to "just a touch of a button", the decade's promise that all manual labor would be replaced by the touch of a button. I think JN bought into this all the way, first at Hotpoint, then at Packard.
Had the 1957 models been produced by Packard, for Packard, with the new body shell and chassis I would have bet that they would have done a better job of locating the PB actuator.
I say we get a beta-car going on this soon. No aspect of it is non-reversible, no mods that change anything in an irreversible way. I would engineer some sort of seal at the point where the short-shaft exits the actuator, if no more than a piece of rubber that is a tight fit to the shaft OD, packed with grease on the inner side of the seal and tightly spaced to the upward link-arm.

As far as removing the whole unit from the car, I don't like the shop manual business of removing the tail stock from the trans. I have my method, which I have outlined in previous posts, in short:
a)support trans, remove rear trans cross member
b)place small scissor jack between frame and trans
c) remove motor from actuator (carefully-be mindful of commutator coming out of brushes and brushes springing together--you MUST seperate brushes and reinsert armature/commutator into brushes without bending/breaking phenolic brush plate) then remove the gear-housing from the trans. A PITA. Luckily, with proper PB repair, something you don't have to do often.


Additional question: is there going to be an interference problem with the pressure switch?

BTW--is that mounting plate "Lionel Orange" Randy?


Just askin'

The PB actuator uses a 'mounting bracket" that bolts at one end to the actuator. Why not bolt the acutator to the fabricated plate using the bolt described above and then maybe ONE muffler clamp???? This would reduce the size of the fabricated plate needed for mounting.
NOTE: that quite often a connecting rod from some spurious engine has a journal of the rite diameter for various applications. The gudgeon end of the rod can be cut off and drilled for mounting to the plate. I would prefer this over a muffler clamp but there is really nothing wrong with using a muffler clamp provided it is judicously tightened so as not to 'roll' the motor up or down as it is tightened.
Rather than use a turn buckle i would prefer a threaded rod with hiem joints at each end.

I have my parts tranny in the rear of the garage and an extra PB actuator so I am working on it. I don't believe it would interfere with the pressure control switch. If so the elbow could be tightened to put the switch on a 45 degree angle rather than straight up (which a SC advised). I think a seal could be found to be a tight fit on the aux. shaft. I thought about fashioning a shield to bolt to the plate that could serve as a heat shield as well as a splash shield. But I'm getting ahead of myself. This will be an evening project as I get thrown out of my friends garage at 5:30 every afternoon.
It will interfere with my train projects, but they will have to wait same as they did in '92.
If you manually put the trans in "PARK" and then push "P" the actuator should be very close in sync with the tranny and not need much at the turnbuckle.
Keith, are you saying to leave the adjustment bracket on the unit and bolt it to the plate along with one muffler clamp?
I think the two muffler clamps are a sturdier design as that bracket wasn't designed to support anything. If you want to use the threaded hole where the bracket went, then you have to put the bolt in from behind the plate and that doesn't seem mechanic-friendly. What is a "heim" joint?
I'll double check the location of the pressure switch tonight.
And Mr PB, you should be ashamed! Lionel indeed! Everyone should recognize IVES orange
Thank all of you for your comments.

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Keith, I looked up heim joint and I agree it would be better, but before we sink a lot of money into parts let's make sure the idea works. I do see some conflict with the exhaust, but believe it can be overcome.

Gentlemen: I am new here and new to Packards as far as maintenance. Dad always drove them long before his company, Studebaker, merged with them, and my first car ride home from the hospital was documented in a photo of dad holding me in front of his postwar Clipper. I digress, sorry. I specifically sought out a 56 Patrician with as many options as possible to enjoy, and now have 2, both with PB trans. I have only been under my latest car once and see the difficulty with the actuator access. Luckily mine works fine, but there will certainly come a time, right? I am wondering why the unit would need to be attached to the trans at all. Is there any real estate nearby on the floor pan or the frame that would conveniently accommodate the unit? If so, it may be possible to connect to the trans via a short teleflex (push-pull) cable. You may have seen these commonly used as steering cables on outboard boats, but they are used extensively in many aircraft I have maintained for critical controls such as engine power, etc. If of good quality, and as short as they would be, they would be very precise with no wasted motion . Actually you could mount the unit in the trunk with the right teleflex cable setup. Just brainstorming. No point in doing a lot of engineering for a modest improvement when you could make the r&r a 10 minute job with a bit of imagination.

I want to tell you all how glad I have been to find this group and how much I have learned already. The other forums were a bit stuffy or something, and I understand why this was created. Hope I can contribute as I discover my new Packard. Thanks!

Stude, all comments and opinions are welcome here. Sometimes one person's idea sparks an inspiration and a new solution is found. Right now I would be satisfied to move the PB unit to a position that would allow simple access for maintenance. I am slow but persistent as hell and if my friend comes up with the shift links this weekend, I will test fit the PB unit. In the meantime I am assembling my parking lights and rebuilding my headlight terminal junction blocks. I'm waiting on a lady to clean up her garage enough to put my 400 in it so I can have room in mine for the front fenders. Then I can yank the engine and proceed from there.