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This is off my 48. I will need to patch two holes with fiber glass, unless someone has a better one for sale. Anyone know what years this tank came on ?

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Hi John:

That is not a Packard part.

Most likely it was added because the radiator was being overfilled.

The correct level for the radiator is high enough to cover the tubes with the top tank acting as the expansion chamber.

I would test that level and see if it still overflows.

Don't believe Packard ever had a coolant recovery tank so that is most likely aftermarket or out of a junkyard car. If that one proves difficult to repair and you still want one, you can usually buy a universal tank at parts stores or find one on Amazon made for another car that will work.

Hmm - I thought it was original to the car - I don't know if I even need it - Thanks

Thanks Tim - No, it had nothing in it -it was just mounted on the inner fender - Probably leave it off - The previous owner had also mounted this vacuum tank on the firewall for wiper boost and a horn of some kind on the right inner fender -might have been a siren !

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I believe the only Packards to have a coolant overflow tank were the 32 - 39 Twelves.

[Edit] Adding photo of Twelve radiator overflow tank on 1936 model, all years the same I believe; it's the black steel tank outboard of the frame rail.

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Probably a work around fix for a bad cap, thermostat, or malfunctioning radiator. I am continually amazed at what people come up with to "fix" a problem rather than repair it properly.

(o{}o)

Good Morning John...

In warm areas, the overflow tank can be helpful. I live in Scottsdale, Arizona, and have one on my 1931 Model 'A' Ford 'Miss Princess' and also on my 1949 Packard, 'Miss Prudence'. Both cars will push water into the overflow tanks on warm/hot days.

I purchased both tanks from Speedway for less than $50 each and they are stainless steel. They look like something that might be found on a Packard! I found that the one that is 10" tall and about 3" diameter can easily be attached to the radiator bolts on the right side of the radiator in the Packard.

I hope this helps.

Ernie, current caretaker of 'Miss Princess' and Miss 'Prudence'.

Ernie, glad for you the overflow tanks are helping the cooling problems on your Packards. Sometimes something other than stock components need to be used on these vintage motor cars. Though, all too often, unnecessary improvements are installed.

(o{}o)

Some may find the reason interesting (though obvious when you give it some thought) that the Twelves 32-39 had a coolant reserve tank, yet the Eights and Super Eights did not. The coolant expands in volume as the engine reaches operating temperature - with the Eights and Super Eights with a 5-gallon cooling system this expansion is easily accommodated in the headspace of the upper radiator tank, provided it is not overfilled when cold. But the Twelves had a 10-gallon cooling system capacity and the new volume resulting from the expansion exceeded the available headspace in the upper radiator tank and was thus routed to an expansion tank.