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Agreed, Eric. I think maintenance was a key, especially fluid changes. I believe the lockup mechanism had a tendency to produce some hotter running temps, and the fluid would break down a bit faster. I sniffed a lot of Packard dipsticks in my day... wait, that didn't come out quite right, but YOU know what I mean.

i don't think many would argue that the original Ultramatics were also the best automatic of the 40's

Man, could you imagine an automotive company with the kind of engineering chops that Packard had could do today if it had continued to evolve and keep their tradition of excellence? We would have been riding in cars with lockup torque converters all through the remainder of the '50s and all of the '60s and '70s. And, I think, on vastly better suspensions.

I could imagine how Packard was a thorn in the side of the "Majors" as they were constantly challenging them to keep up with engineering innovations.

well i like to think i am doing it better than new, but sometimes i think surely they did better than this. i mean they had machines, etc.....so sure they did better than i have, but then i think...i am only an amateur and i can only do what i can do, so i try not to beat myself up over it and just do the best i can. people seem to like it, so must be doing okay.

i bent up the last brake line at the front of the car, i didn't flare yet as i have to fine line tweak it to the right shape and i need some nuts for it.

i also bent up the fuel line.....which was a PITA! 5/16 line is MUCH harder to work with, especially one this long. i also had to weld (yes i got a new welder) the old line back together, because for some reason i had cut it in half and it was making it hard to form the new line. i bent the fuel line by hand...didn't use the pipe bender, because for some reason i do better when i follow along the old line as a template and it just comes out okay. it takes me some time to get it right, but i guess i am either luckly or just gifted, but man my thumbs sure do hurt.

i went ahead and mounted it all up to make sure it is going to be okay, i will take off the holding clips to clean them up and obviously i will put new hose on it too. i just did that to make sure it was all good before i did anything else.

i have to tell you it was much easy to bend by hand rather than use the pipe bender, maybe i am just weird.

i also jacked the paint up a bit trying to get the fuel line under the front suspension upper arm. oh well, i will spray it again, noone will really see that part anyways. i just don't want it to rust. kinda pissed me off though. i did all this work to make the frame look nice and scrap the crap out of it....oh well, whatcha gonna do.

i also painted the rear differential, cause it was getting some surface rust and i didn't like that. freaking rust AAAHH!! i hate it!

anyways, enjoy the pics.

Hank

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Looking good!

I still need to replace all those same lines.....but with the body on the frame.

You should have seen how difficult it was to replace the Tranny lines with everything in the car!

i can only image how bad that is going to suck....sorry dude! it sucked enough with the body off, i am not envious of you right now.

got all the brake/fuel line holders cleaned and painted up and put on. also the front distribution block and brake switch.

the rear u-joint is ready too, just gotta put it back together with the driveshaft is finished up.

then on to the sway bar and the transmission.

is there any way to test the brake switch to see if it is good?

thanks and enjoy the pics.

Hank

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Kev, from looking at Henry's photos of the 55 front frame horns, 55 did not have that front crossmember either. They must have used old cuts in the shop manual.

Another great project to read, keep it coming Hank.
Btw:from what kind of material are the brake lines made have they been painted ore??

OE Steel. not painted. the rubber hose is just 5/16 and 3/16 fuel line i split up the middle and slide on. i did paint the line holders though.

did some work on the transmission tonight and i finished up the brake line clamps, one of which i put on backwards (the right one int the pic), but i will correct that tomorrow.

this transmission is much better than the one i had originally, thanks Mike Franko!! there is one piece that was broken, i can't remember the name of it though. it fits into the rear pump somehow. i have another one though from the old transmission i can reuse. one of the bands is bad, but one of my old ones will work fine. they need to be relined anyways. other than that everything looks great. i need to take the valve body apart cause some water came out, but everything seems to move freely so that can wait until tomorrow too.

i will order the rebuild kit soon and finish it and the driveshaft up.

later and enjoy the pics. took me much less time to take the trans apart this time.

Hank

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i figured out what the broken/chewed up piece was in the new transmission. you can see it in the pics of my old transmission. it is that washer/castle headed looking thing, called a 'parking lock gear hub' 3.6490. luckily my old one is good ;0)

Hank

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