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I've found a 55 Patrician locally where I live, it looks pretty good with most options but does have a couple issues that I can tell. I want to know if I should pursue or stay away.

Current owner bought about 4 years ago but never started it, the previous owner told them that the transmission needed a rebuild and had ordered a kit.

While towing the car up from where he bought it the driveshaft was removed and then placed aside and eventually lost/trashed. From what I can tell this is the only piece missing on the car.
Q: Where would I look for a replacement driveshaft? cost?

At a point a mouse/rat took up residence in the back seat stuffing. The car is littered with packrat trash and droppings, but the wiring looks good.
Q: Anyone have experience trying to clean up this type of mess/smell? Is it possible to get the smell out?

Other than that and a couple flats the car could be back in service fairly easily.

Thanks

Expect a driveshaft whould be minor details & should be reasonably available. With all the guys in AZ, might even be one locally or at least a lead. If not, then Mike Dulinski would surely have one. No idea on the cost.

As to the odor, again that should be doable. If there are products that can sanitize smells out of burned buildings or crime scenes then expect they would work on a rat house. Whether any stains would come out is another matter. Since you will have to replace at least some of the padding, you might investigate both seats. The foam they used in some places kind of turns to powder after 50 years. You'd probably want to replace the carpet anyway so that would get rid of some smell.

If the asking price seems within reason and you like the car, don't see why not.

Cars, like women, clothing, art, architecture, cuisine, music, are a matter of personal taste, preference, and there are plenty of 1955-56 specialists here to help you. But if you want a driveable, good-looking, dependable Packard, get an 8 or Super 8 1939-47 on the standard, shorter wheelbase with overdrive.
By the '50s, Packard was an also-ran. If you want a '50s Packard, look for a Mayfair coupe with stick and overdrive. They have good ergonomics, though a Hudson Hornet has better build quality, even an Oldsmobile or any GMobile better body quality/finish. Any 1951-54 Packard with stick and overdrive is a good road car, their 288-ci and 327-ci straight 8s dependable, husky, low-stressed, and underrated engines.

But the '50s cars are, overall, also-rans. Packard had arced by then. They were following the herd, no long leading, apart and above the fray. The downsized 1953-54 Chrysler New Yorkers are better automobiles, in my 'umble opine.

Consumers Reports in 1950 rated Packard's Ultramatic the best automatic transmission on the market. But it needed and needs repair by ONLY those with the tools and knowledge.
A HydraMatic is more forgiving, takes hard acceleration better. A friend drove a '53 300 with Ultramatic and a 327 inline 8 over 130,000 troublefree miles, and the Ultramatic never had anything but fresh fluid and filter every 25,000 miles.

Ultramatic was never intended for the V-8's torque curve and was trouble in the '55 and '56s, as any here will tell
you. Packard's V-8s had some initial bugs, were okay otherwise. But a Cadillac or Chrysler were and are less trouble.

This is just my opine, but if for some reason you're dying for '50s American chrome baroque, get a Chrysler.
But then, i'm a prewar fan, when Packard was in their heyday. My '47 Super's just a warmed over '42, which suits me.

Good luck, take your time, and buy only the very best example of whatever you land on.

su8overdrive Quote:

I certainly agree with this opinion, even though I don't agree with su8overdrive about the V-8 Packards.

In 1999, I bought a very good example of a 1955 Patrician that recently had been painted and engine/tranny overhauled by a competent Packard knowledgeable shop. I still ended up replacing the BTV and engine oil pump as well as adding front disc brakes, etc.

I've restored many, many cars over the years and it is far, far easier to deal with a good one than something worse unless it's a special model, like a Caribbean.

Craig

Might be worth a phone call to one of the fire and disaster recovery companies and see if they might have an opinion about the odor.

Dear dangermiller:

Make sure the motor turns. Use a battery or a wrench or whatever. Once I dealt with a 55 Clipper that was in a body shop because the driver fell asleep. Somebody had started the motor to see if it ran and then shut it down. The motor seized because of the condensation. So I had to tear it down and overhaul the stuck cylinder. It ran fine afterward, but if your prospect has the same problem, get ready to pull the oil pan and the cylinder heads. It's an in the car job, but cry the blues and offer him substantially less.

Other than that - exhaust system $1000, brakes another $1000

And for the smell - Febreeze from the grocery store.

Hope this helps

Also, if you are afraid of the transmission you can buy a kit to put a 727 Torqueflite into the car. There are ways to get the Ultramatic fixed without paying to have the car shipped around the country, but unless you have a Packard expert, or a really good trans builder, in the same county the 727 is probably a better option.

I would be most careful about disturbing the area where the rodents have been. You live in the desert southwest and the chance of contracting a plague from the dust from the dropping is a real possibility. Contact your disease control agency for advice.

(o[]o)

Have to react to the comments about TB v-8s as road cars. Mine is a 56 Patrician. with torsion bars as you would expect. I think it's terrific as A road car, as a highway cruiser on interstates or back roads. Tracks well, corners decently, particularly for a good sized sedan. Obviously it isn't an AC or a Jaguar...it's roomy and comfortable. Plenty of power to get where you are going easily at tollway speeds if that's what you want/need to do.

Slower is usually more fun.

Rides a lot better than my brothers 63 coupe de ville, which wallows everywhere it goes and needs two tugs to park....

IMHO the best car you can buy is, in the long run, the cheapest......

JW,
Wow, seems kinda harsh about the plague, but it might explain some things about me!

I got a 55 400 "parts car" (that was to be used on a Caribbean) from Alamogordo NM. I sucked out a 5 gallon pail of rodent droppings out of that car. I guess I was young and dumb! Every time I worked underneath the car I got cactus needles on my hands! But I got the car up and running and it made it to a few Salado meets. It looks a little worse than ratrods 51, but a car I can drive and enjoy is ok for me. I need to get it back on the road again.

I think the v8 Packards can be good cars. I think most Packards are fine road cars.

My 2cents.

Quote:

Didn't mean to be rude, crude, or impolite. I was just trying to give a clear and strong statement about the dangers of cars from the southwest with rodent infestation.

(o[]o)