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On every 1951 to 1954 Packard I've owned, the knob was used to control the wipers. If the car had the window washer option, there was a small button (red, as I recall) in the center for actuating it but otherwise it was plain chrome just like yours.

there was a small button (red, as I recall)

I suspect someone was "dressing" things up, the small button for the washer was chromium plated.

The clue was "as I recall" so clearly I did not recall correctly!

Thanks for the answer on the knob question. Probably should have looked for that in the owners manual...

And now for the next question

This is a rope type stuff located in the trunk between the fender and wheel well. Is this stock?

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Yes, the rope like material is stock

More work on the Packard today. Got the grill, bumper, radiator off. Almost got the left front fender off, but was stopped by the antenna.

With that work came some good news and bad news. The good news is that the radiator actually had antifreeze in it so I am pretty confident the oil in the coolant was from the transmission. It also smelled suspiciously like trans fluid. The bad news is that the trans cooler is likely leaking so there is water in the trans fluid. I will do some pressure testing on both the engine and trans cooler to verify the source of the oil.

Now question time for the experts:

1) The engine likely has 129,000 miles on it. I am assuming it would be wise to rebuild it. Thoughts?

2) What is holding the chrome ring on the top of the antenna mount? It looks like a roll pin but I want to verify before beating on it too much.

3) There is a small crack in the grill. Is the grill made of "pot metal (cast zinc)"? I am assuming it is.

As always thanks for the help.

Average engine life in that era was in the range of 100,000 miles or less, rarely much more and probably a valve job and perhaps even a ring job prior to that. So your engine may have already had some major service; therefore it's better to determine its actual condition rather than be guided by mileage.

It would be extremely rare if you have ATF fluid in the radiator due to a failed Ultramatic oil cooler; though the necks to the radiator hoses are often rusted, the heat exchanger core itself is monel or stainless steel and does not rust.

Yes, the grille is die cast white metal, cracks are pretty much unrepairable.

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Thanks for the response.

I really wanted the oil cooler to be the problem...Much cheaper/easier than a possible cracked block. Oh well, more diagnostics to come. This actually spawns another question. Not being familiar with the straight eight, where are the possibilities of oil/water contact in the event of a component failure. The only thing that comes to mind is a cracked block. Are there areas that a gasket failure would allow oil into the cooling system?

I highly doubt any work has ever done on the engine. This car belonged to my wife's Grandfather and we have no records of any major work being done. Also, the car has been parked since 1965.

Well time for an update.

Not a lot of work has happened in the last 2 weeks. However there have been some important discoveries. First we have located all of the keys, so that problem is solved. They aren't originals, but hey at least we have keys. Second after some pressure testing I am quite confident the block is not cracked. And, after talking to a grandson (my brother in-law) we may have found the source of the oil in the coolant. It is/was common practice to put a water soluble oil in the cooling systems of farm machinery to lube seals and prevent internal rust and corrosion. We are fairly certain that this same oil was used in this car.

Onward and upward...

Alan

Well after 2 years of life getting in the way, work on the car has resumed. Over the last couple of weeks we have completely disassembled the car. And I do mean completely. It's nothing but an empty shell. Even the wiring has been removed.

In the next few days I hope to get the body off of the frame and get the engine and trans out.

More updates to come.

Alan