Packard Forum Index » General

From my experience, the most common cause of failure is the last mechanic to work on the car before your purchase. In particular, various fixes that were tried to "compensate" for the 6V electrical system.

If you end up with starting problems, charging problems, electrical shorts or other electrical gremlins, look for these fixes and try to return the system to original condition.

The one thing, electrically, that I would change is the negative battery cable. I always upgrade these to 00.

Other fixes that can cause problems are electric fuel pumps. If plumbed and wired properly, the can be great. A lot of the ones I have seen are not so correctly installed.

As far as touring supplies, I would add a roll of duct tape, a roll of electrical tape, a gallon of reverse osmosis water, and some zip ties.

Oh, and a spare, charged 6V optima (or similar gel cell) battery. This is great for giving yourself a jump. These types of batteries are small and relatively light.

Cheers,

Tom

The last mechanic, that's a good one. I was a victim of the last mechanic yesterday. At 55-60 mph on the interstate my steering wheel started shaking hard and my front wheel came off in the middle of the highway! Luckily nobody got hurt, I got the 5000 lbs Packard off the road safely. My wheel was in the middle of I-40 and was still in good shape till a semi ran over it before I was able to get it off the road. Tire slashed, rim slightly bend, hubcap flat as a pancake. 4 lugnuts were in the middle of the road with 30 feet of another. Damage under the car looks minor but I haven't taken stuff apart yet.

What lesson did I learn? Check your lugnuts after you buy a car!

You are so lucky not to have been hurt, hurt someone else, or damaged another vehicle. Most fortunate outcome given how bad it could have been. Checking lug nuts and bolts, a good lesson for all of us. Glad you are okay, and hope the damage to the Packrd was minor.

(o{]o)