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Today, I bought a '56 Clipper Custom sedan. It has factory air conditioning with power windows except for the drivers side window, which has a manual window.

As far as I could tell, the door is original to the car. It has not been repainted, the same key unlocks both sides.

Would Packard have delivered a car this way? I know they pretty much let the owner decide what they wanted and didn't want on the cars they ordered.

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Congratulations on the car. Is the factory air complete?

On the windows, I suppose anything is possible but it is a relatively simple matter to convert a power window to manual and vise versa. Just needs the proper regulator and the metal trim panel. The drivers door is a bit more involved because of the master switch. Does the door have the rubber power conduit entering for the master control or were the openings blocked off? If manual I would assume the master control switch is not present to operate the other windows?

Congratulations on the new acquisition and for including your '56 Clipper Custom Touring Sedan in the Registry.

Congratulations on the car. Is the factory air complete?

Yes, it is the factory air. Everything looks to be there.

There isn't a master switch on the drivers door. The other three doors only have the switch for that window.

Here is a picture of the inside of the door.

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beej8508 Quote:

The easiest diagnostic is what HH56 suggested: is there a loom of wires with a rubber ribbed covering coming out of the front door jam and into the door? If so, then someone in the past swapped out the D-side power window for a crank window. This would require using the door panel from a crank window car (no spot for the 4-switch), swapping the regulator, etc like HH56 suggested.

I think this is probably what happened given the relative unreliability of the original electric window lift motors.

Craig

Craig mentioned the weak window motor which is what I think might have happened. Even when Stude was still able to supply Packard parts the original window motors were getting scarce. Stude came up with a replacement that would work but those didn't seem to stay around long either or the info might not have been widely known. I suspect that the motor failed at some point and there was nothing but manual cars in the junkyard.

If you do have the conduit still entering the door it might be good to add the checking of the door inside to your to-do list. If the original 4 switch plug and wires is still inside the door make sure it is secured from rubbing and well insulated. Aside from one permanent hot wire to the plug, all the other wires are in parallel with their respective door switches so will be hot at some point when a window is operated.

If there are conduit holes in the a-pillar, but not in the door itself, then the door was replaced with one from a car that didnt have power windows.

Could have been repainted a long time ago since the swap.