Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

In GRP 11.0122 the hoses and clamps are described.
If you look in the back in the index 469636 does not exist, HOWEVER 469363 is listed for that group. 469363 is not shown in that group - I just put 3 and 3 together
If we look at the engine picture of the 5,000 mile 400 we can see a solid band clamp at the thermostat housing. I cannot find that clamp listed anywhere, but assume this car is as close to original as we will ever find.
Also look at the radiator cap - looks odd to me. Maybe I've never seen an original.

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What revision is the manual you have for 11.0122. That snipped I posted a few photos ago in #156, picture 8 is what I show for description. No mention of wire.

If the 473183 clamps are the wire and is what is shown in the photo, wonder what the difference is between those and the 426013 2 3/16 wire clamp mentioned in utilities. The only larger mentioned is screw types.

I think there is big typo or transposition in the numerical index and even though missing, the number for gr 5.19123 is 469636. 469363 appears also in gr 30.4367 and is a left side bottom molding.

My 55/56 Parts List is "Revised April 1, 1957". If that's of any value here, I'd be glad to look up whatever you wish.

Am mostly curious when they made the change. The 55 service manual shows wire yet the photos taken in 55 from that AC manual I posted shows bands. The hopefully unmolested original 56 shows wire on one you can see. Did they switch back and forth?? Tis a puzzlement..

Randy mentions his 470183 is described as wire type. My revision doesn't specify.

Also, does utilities 50.675 mentions that number and clamp in the later revision. If so, is it larger than the 2 3/16 wire I see listed. If 56P400 is going to have some made, might as well be the right size if it's mentioned somewhere.

Aah, April Fool's Day - Packard is having fun with us!
Some of my pages (Plate pictures) are also marked April 1, 1957. Tis a puzzlement.

469363 list price $3.00.
469636 list price $.25
I think you're right Howard, the price of a wire clip would be a lot less than a moulding.

Gee, I went away for the better part of the day and missed all the fun, here, but I'll try to catch up in one long post.

The band clamps shown in the illustrations of the "Packard Air Conditioning Service Installation" document certainly raise a valid question. In fact, Figure 2 of the "Air Conditioning" section of the shop manual also shows a band type clamp at the top of the radiator, but darned if I can find a good clear view of the clamp at the engine water outlet in any other factory publication for the V8s. Trade Letter 55-1001, Dealer 1, Supplement 3 seems to indicate that factory-installed air conditioning only became available mid-year, effective May 2, 1955, but this might be a moot point since the aforementioned instructions appear to be for dealer-installed units.

Of all the Packard V8s that I've purchased (including a '55 Patrician that I sold long ago), none had A/C, all were unrestored, but not a one had spring wire clamps on any of the radiator hoses. However, the odometer was over 50K on each, and all of those hoses had been replaced at least once. They all had worm-gear type clamps - EXCEPT for this nagging recollection I have of some band type clamps on my Caribbean Hardtop. Looks like another trip to offsite storage is in order.

Meanwhile, it was many years ago that my dad told me his 56 Exec originally had spring wire type clamps on the radiator hoses, but he had later changed them all out in favor of worm-gear type. In view of his account and the preponderance of shop manual illustrations, I concluded that, except for the undeniable band clamp for the water pump inlet, spring wire clamps were correct. Mind you, I had never seen those AC instructions until recent years, when they became available, here at PackardInfo.

Now, the clamp types aren't described in Gr. 11.0122, but only in the Utility section (Gr. 50.675) of the parts book. Odd that P/N 473183 is absent from that section, but so are some other special-purpose clamps - like the really long band clamp that holds the large grommet for the power steering hoses to the fresh air duct. While the cover of the parts book reprint shows revision date of April 1, 1957, the relevant pages show they were last revised on July 1 , 1956 - same as the archive copy that I provided.

However, our band type clamp, P/N 230085, is listed in the Utility section for 2-3/16" O.D. hose. Then, there's a Corbin spring wire clamp, P/N 426103, also listed for 2-3/16" O.D. hose. Turns out, those are the same clamps used at the analogous locations of 51-54 models; Figure 4 of the "Radiator and Cooling" section of the 51-54 shop manual even shows a spring wire clamp on the engine water outlet.

Back in 1990, I ordered spring wire clamps from a vendor who published a price list by S-P number, and the invoice shows P/N 426013. My notes for the order show that I had specified that part number, but darned if I can remember how I came up with it - whether it might have been a supersession in his price list. Maybe I'm wrong in having drawn that conclusion, but those spring wire clamps fit with no problem and no leaks.

As for other brands, by the time I started working on cars, GM was using tower clamps on radiator and heater hoses and spring-band type clamps for fuel and PCV hoses. I've heard that Corbin clamps were used for both radiator and heater hoses on Mopars of the '50, '60s and even into the mid-'70s, which was a good decade before I went to work for Chrysler, but I've no catalogs to go by.

Corvette did use Corbin style clamps 55-59; though I can't tell you what size, I believe those radiator hoses were a bit smaller than what Packard used. I haven't found a vendor that states working range of their spring wire clamps by vehicle; likely a "trade secret".

Short of someone coming up with a "factory" engineering drawing, I don't see how we'll ever determine what type of clamp is truly associated with P/N 473183. There could be a lot of slack-jawed owners out there if it turns out to be a band type.

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When Steele Rubber first came out with these grommets (then, #P-0421), I ordered 3 sets, but they were completely wrong for the application. They all were the same shape (not two different, as original) and didn't even fit the heater box well (cut on a simple slant, rather than a curve), but that's all they had then.

The ones now shown in their catalog (#70-1601-31 and #30-0421-31) look closer.

Meanwhile, I'm stuck with the bad ones - won't ever install them.

I cut my own heater grommets from household plumbing insulation. Looks very very close AND a whole lot cheaper.

Let's remember that illustrations in shop and parts manuals were prepared well in advance of any actual production and were often based on display, testbed or prototype engines and vehicles. While they and the actual parts manual listings may be about all we have to go on, they are not necessarily indicative of actual production details in such matters. Of the two, parts listing are more likely to have been updated or have had corrections made. I doubt they ever reissued a shop manual just to update an illustration for something as minor as a hose clamp.

Not that this helps answer the question; the best information comes from original unmolested vehicles, which as far as things like radiator hoses and clamps goes, will be difficult to come by.

If I were in a judging situation, I'd probably let parts listing information override shop manual illustrations in cases where they gave conflicting information.