Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

i have 1938 clipper coupe 1600 and i am trying to figure out where the speaker for the radio gets mounted? any help or pictures would be appreciated. Jeff

Center of firewall, under the dash. The heater/defroster is typically is on the firewall, under the glove box.

thanks david it looks to me like there is a bracket that i seem to cant find, that runs across the back of the speaker box then attaches to both sides of the back of speaker box that attaches to the firewall? would you maby have a picture. any help would be appreciated. jeff

No idea how your car compares to a senior 1603 or 1608 but here's some instructions for mounting a radio in one of those models. Maybe there is enough similarity you can get some ideas.

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My 39 120 has the radio head, but no speaker or tuner, so I can't help with the photos. Try looking thru the 38 Packard Salesman's Data Book under the Literature and Manuals section - might be something there.

I looked in the 38 and 39 Junior series Salesman's Data Books. Both of them show the defroster located in the center of the firewall under the dash, and mention the radio but don't show the location of it. Except for the rear speaker, which is located in the rear of the front seat. I guess we need some input from some of the guys with the radio still in the car. My car has a 40 or 41 style heater in it, and it's under the glove box. But there are holes in the firewall that look like another heater may have been located in the center at one time.

There were no Clippers in 1938. The Clipper line was first introduced with the 1941 models and was only offered as an 8-cylinder 4-door sedan. It was based on the new Darrin inspired styling and departed from the traditional/conventional styled Packards. It was considered a Junior car. In 1942 the Clipper line was expanded to include 6-cylinder models at the Junior low end and Super Eights at the Senior high end. This line up continued after the war in the 1946-47 21st series.

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How different is the 1600 vs the 1603 & 8 models as far as the dash mounting. The instructions in that sheet for the senior cars would appear to have the radio box and speaker enclosure well up behind the dash -- almost to the top. Any sign the rubber plugs mentioned in the instructions are there on the junior cars?

The heaters as shown in the accessory book would be in the usual closer to floor location and below the radio components.

I don't think there is any difference between senior and junior as far as mounting the radio. There should be two bolts coming out the back (or into) the speaker, maybe six to eight inches apart. Many of the cars I've seen have the speaker mounted directly to the firewall with nuts on the engine side, in front of the passenger but more toward the right side. The heater mounted to the right of center.

It's possible that there were variations as to mounting positions, maybe depending on weather the car was going to be equipped with both radio and heater, or just one or the other.

thanks everbody for your input. i know the heater box is on the passenger side for sure, and i thought the speaker box was in middle of firewall?. my car could be 1938 opera coupe i heard they made 1600 opera coupes and buisness coupes that year?. someone said the brackets bolt holes on the speaker itself are 8.5 inches center to center thats is correct but i cannot find any holes in firewall that line up like that. anyway i will try to post picture on site showing the speaker box with brackets on side. did not have to much luck posting picture last time maby to many bytes data at once.it looks like the speaker box could possibly be attached under the dashboard hanging down with two brackets? Jeff