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I'm new to Packard's, but very excited. I recently purchased my grandfathers 56 clipper super.It has 52,000 original miles, but hadnt been started since 69.Until now. I have an old friend that has experiene restoring old cars, but he hasn't done one since the 70's. I have the first few quention's. Should I flush the engine with a flush you can buy at the store? What type of oil should I use? I've heard of oil with or without conditioners? Should I use lead substitute in the fuel? What octane? Tranny fluid?

So far I have had to swap out the radiator and fuel tank.
I got her running and she actually runs very well.


I have a million more question's and look forward to speeking and getting to know other Packard lover's.


Thank you,

G'day Ironsloth,
to PackardInfo and congratulations on the purchase of your grandfather's '56 Super Clipper. In regard to your questions I'll leave that to the experienced and knowledgeable Packard V8 guys to respond. However I did find a FAQ titled ULTRAMATIC: What Fluid to Use on Site, which should be helpful. And I invite you to include your '56 Super Clipper in the Packard Owner's Registry here on PackardInfo.

The following is my opinion:

Gas:
lowest octane you can find, probably 87 octane.

Oil:
Classic Car Motor Oilclassiccarmotoroil.com/index.html

or

Castrol SynTech has a classic car oil nowcastrol.com/castrol/genericarticle.do?categoryId=82915470&contentId=7032644

No need for lead substitute. If the engine is gonna go, that lead substitute isn't going to prevent it.

Good luck with the car. Please share some pictures if you can.

Lots of different opinions as to oil, gas and trans fluid. But before you consider oil I'd very strongly recommend you drop the oil pan and clean it and the oil pump intake screen. Many of us use Shell Rotella T SAE15-40 oil which still contains the zinc/phosphorous oil additive (though at slightly reduced quantities) which some folks believe contributes needed added protection. Whether such additives are really needed in these low-stressed engines is open to question.

Your compression ratio is 9.5/1 which may prove marginal for regular (87 octane) gasoline. Certainly you could start out with regular after you drop and clean the tank, flush the fuel lines, replace the filters, etc. You'll almost certainly have to rebuild (or have rebuilt) the fuel pump as the rubber components in it likely date to the era before ethanol-containing gasoline and thus will have a very short life. Chances are after all those years the carburetor will also require diassembly and cleaning, at the very least. If after road testing and the ignition timing has been verified, you experience any spark knock, move up to mid-grade or premium.

It would probably also be a good idea to drop the transmission pan and clean it and the filter (reusable filter). I'd also drain the converter (see shop manual) and refill with the fluid of your choice. It seems almost every type of fluid has found an advocate somewhere; that most closely resembling the original is Type F, widely available.

Dear Ironsloth:

For your car the Packard manual recommends Premium (high octane) fuel. Given it doesn't have a knock sensor there is no computer to adjust timing for regular fuel. Petroleum company studies have shown that there are levels of nonaudible detonation which accelerate motor wear. So for normal driving I would use a premium grade (ouch), but for testing and light usage I suppose regular won't hurt anything.

As for oil, dropping the pan is an excellent recommendation because the drain plug is in a bad location and causes sludge build up. Personally, I prefer lighter grades of oil for all gasoline motors (as did Packard), but given the history of the Packard V-8 I really don't know what would be best although I would definitely avoid heavy grades like 20w-50.

Good luck with your car,

Thank you all for the helpful fluids answers. I've been useing rotella oil in my Dodge cummins and my C15 Cat in my Peterbuilt with Lucas oil additive. The price is great at walmart and the test come back possitive feedback. would you suggest an additive like Lucas? I planned on dropping the oil pan today, but damn looks time consuming! Did'nt have the time today. I definantly need to pull the fuel tank and have it cleaned or if you have any ideas for do it yourself? i had a local radiator shop quaot me $300 to clean and coat the inside with a plastic coating. Looking in the tank I did'nt think that would be a good idea considering how the pickup tube works. I will try to post some pics if I can figure it out. I recently purchased two more cars thinking I was going to use them as parts cars. I paid $1,200 for both. 56 two door, push button tranny, 8 on a sclae for restorabilty. I cannot figure out what model it is. I haven't done a whole lot of research on it yet. just matching pics and a little reading on it. Any telltale sign's that I'm missing? The other is a 56 clipper delux that has many quality parts that I can use. Engine turns over by hand. Perfect grill, front bumper, radiator, one side window, tail lights, right fender, glass washer fluid resevour, ect.

Thanks again guys