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Thanks Howard, I will check the voltage drop as you described.

Are 2/0 Gauge cables the same as 00 gauge? I found these at Farm & Fleetfarmandfleet.com/products/036488-deka-2- ... eet-battery-cable.html#.U2t-lmdOWM8

Yes

Thanks! I will pick them up today!

5-8-14

I got the battery cables. Definitely thicker than the 2 gauge ones I have. Put them in and the car started instantly! Then I went back under the hood and realized I still had the 12v battery in! Put the 6v and no start. It did not sound like it turned over any faster than with the 2 gauge.

I couldn't find my multi-meter to run Howard's tests. I'll look again tomorrow. Maybe the starter in the car is worn out from the 12v? It has a 6v solenoid on it. I'll check the parts book and see if my '51 starter can be used. That one was rebuilt a while ago.

Had some fun making improvements on the trim. I put the tail lights from the '51 on. Chrome is much better on those. Bought some Rustoleum chrome paint and sprayed the trunk emblem. It was broken anyway so no big deal. I think it looks better. Also added the round Packard medallion from the '51. It is broken, but still has color to it.

On the hood, there are some extra holes in front of and behind the hood ornament. Looks like it had the pelican on it at some point. Put my '51 pelican on it. I think it looks good, but I also like the "airplane" ornament.

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Your 51 starter will fit on the 52 just fine. One area to check is the ground. Check the ground wire where it grounds to the engine and be sure that there is no paint, grease etc under the connector. I like to have a star washer under the bolt head as well.

Thanks for saving me the trouble digging in the parts book! I'll give it a try tomorrow. The ground is connected to the bolt that holds the oil filter bracket. It has clean metal under it. I'll hit it with some sandpaper anyway to be extra sure.

Thanks for saving me the trouble digging in the parts book! I'll give it a try tomorrow. The ground is connected to the bolt that holds the oil filter bracket. It has clean metal under it. I'll hit it with some sandpaper anyway to be extra sure.

You said you replaced the coil with the one from the 51 so can we assume that is still in and was a working true 6v coil and the other car started OK? If so then the other thing with going back to 6v is to make sure there is no resistor added somewhere external with the conversion. 12v needs one and a 6v coil does not so need to verify that. If not the real 6v coil, make sure there is no internal resistor.

To get a decent 6v spark requires that everything connection wise be in excellent condition and voltage at the coil has minimal drop when the car is trying to start.

5-10-14

The car has everything 6v from the '51 and no start. I did find my spark tester and it confirms I do not have spark. I tried hooking the coil directly to the battery, but that did not work either.

Since most think the connections/wires are bad causing the no start, I spent the day putting in the "new" harness from the '51. I removed the rest of the electric fuel pump and the wiring to the starter button under the dash.

When I was done, the courtesy lights worked, as well as the glove box light! Fan for the heater worked too! Unfortunately, nothing lit up when I turned on the ignition and nothing when I pressed down on the gas pedal. Looks like I have a wiring issue somewhere. Time to study the wire diagram!

5-13-14

Between the thunderstorms I checked my wiring. All the wiring under the hood looks right. The 2-RG wire is attached to the BAT side of the regulator instead of the circuit breaker behind the instrument cluster. This is how the '51 was wired from the factory even though it does not match the '51 wire diagram. Should not be a problem though.

Wires to the ignition are correct.

Since the '51 harness was made for an automatic, I had to take the two wires that go to the neutral safety switch and wire them together.

Bought a new multimeter since I still cannot find the old one (thank you Harbor Freight!)

When I turn on the ignition, the bat and oil lights still do not illuminate. The oil pressure sender is missing (aftermarket oil pressure gauge was put in it's place) so that may be why it is not lighting. The bat light should though.

Car now turns over when I press the gas pedal down. I guess the starter button under the dash was to bypass bad wires.

As the car turned over, the spark tester still showed no spark. I added a jumper wire from the distributor to the + side of the coil to confirm I had a good connection there. I also added a jumper wire from the - of the battery to the - side of the coil to give it direct power. Car still had no spark.

I couldn't run Howard's voltage drop test because I ran out of time and didn't have a helper to turn the car over while I checked.

Went back in for the rest of the night. Just before bed, I figured I would go out and try turning it over again in the dark. Maybe the spark tester had some spark but I couldn't see it or maybe I would see a flash from a short. Car turned over twice and suddenly came to life! That was exciting!

When I tried to turn the car off, the ignition switch would not do it. Then I remembered I had a direct connection the the coil so I pulled the + battery cable and jumper wire off. Car still ran! I guess that means the generator is working too. Finally had to put my hand over the carb to get it to die. Getting closer! I have no idea why the car suddenly decided to start. Still have a lot of things to check over.