Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

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A larger picture is available on their Hemmings Blog page.
Scroll down to find the article titled "Tell Us How You Really Feel"..BTW I did tell them..

I don't know, it doesn't have pushbuttons!

But isn't it BETTER that it DOESN'T???... (I am NOT SERIOUS, just repeating past Packard "wisdom"...)

I have had two senior 56's, one with the pushbutton shift and the other without. I will never buy another one with the pushbutton option. When they get old (and they are) the damn things are a real pain to keep working. And all they do is keep you from moving a simple lever. It was a gimmick on the Packard in 1956 and a gimmick on the Edsel in 1958, and not a good idea in either case IMHO.

Whoa, big fella! Before Mr. PB sends a hit team to your neighborhood, let me respectfully disagree. I have had a PB 56 400 since 1972. It initially, because of some careless storage, required some work. I cleaned the unit up and brought it up to the point where it functioned all the time. That was within two weeks of buying the car. Now some 36 years later and I have driven the car every extended summer since 1992 it still performs well. I have had to replace the PNR lockout switch twice. I also have this unit in my 56 Carib and it functions as designed. I don't have that car on the road yet, but don't expect any problems when I do. I cannot vouch for the Edsel unit and I know they had several problems with their neutral lockout switch. The unit is a crowd pleaser when the folks at a cruise look at the beautiful interior and spot the PB unit.
You may call it a gimmick, but then you could say you have had problems with a heater because the Ranco valve wore out. Therefore heaters are a gimmick.
Let me add that a 56 400 was my daily driver from 62 thru 65 and I never had a problem with that unit either.
There are many 56s belong to Pinfo members that are functioning quite well. I think the weight of evidence is on my side.

Let me go on record as saying that I do not go and do hit jobs, but there's an associate of mine, well, let's just call him "a friend of ours". He's a legitimate businessman, concrete, sanitation, construction--you know, legitimate businesses, he handles all of my dispute business affairs and delinquent accounts.

But really folks, The system works well. I have over 25 happy customers and can give references, whether I do the rebuild or talented owners like Randy DIYs.
The original Achilles heal to the system was the fingers, they are somewhat frail as designed from the factory and are easily bent which opens the circuit until it is fixed, which ain't easy due to the somewhat unfortunate location of the actuator.
Go ahead, take all of that off of your car if it makes you happy, I'll give you $25 for the lot, plus postage

I have had a number of 1956 Packards and have not ever had a repair required. My 56 400 is all original and the unit works perfectly. Go ahead and remove the unit from your car, its one less thing on your vehicle that makes it unique and valuable. Mr Pushbutton could use the unit to keep the remaining cars on the road for the purists.

On the subject of dependability of the pushbutton units, all I have to say is this: My '56 Patrician sat out in a field for 42 years before I got it, and the rats chewed through all the p/b wiring. Mr. Pushbutton helped me with wiring diagrams and some good advice, and now it works like it should, with no new parts required. The pushbutton unit is one of those things that you love instantly as soon as you push "D" and she goes.

It was me complaining just the other day in another thread on this site that my 56 Carib was in the driveway, nose down against the garage, and stuck in park. Well, the problem wasn't mechanical, it was electrical. And all it was was a loose connection under the hood. Fixed in about 20 seconds after I jiggled the harness with the key on and heard the relay merrily clicking away. No problem with the parking pawl!