Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I honestly don't know why when I post pics to this forum they always end up SIDEWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!

Michael,

Do you take the photos using a cell phone? Could be an explanation.

Anyway, even here "downunder", it's hard to get the right perspective on your photos so hopefully I've turned them around a bit. Also cropped them for more "Packard Effect"

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Thanks!

I concur with the other opinions on shipping the car to Ross at Speedwell Garage. He rebuilt our '56 Patrician's Twin Ultramatic and it works like a dream.
They really need someone who has the experience and skill to get them back in shape.
The Torsion-Level issue could be electrical or a manual switch issue. I defer to HH56's knowledge and wisdom on this matter also.

The electrical end of the Torsion-Level system is fairly easy, but 62 years of electrically illiterate "mechanics" my be as much the problem now, as is evidenced by the manual switch's presence. The motor receives power to go either up or down from one of two solenoids located in '56 in the driver's side fender well. The timing box ("black box" "brain box" "time delay switch") is located on the chassis. It sends a GROUND to the appropriate solenoid when it wants movement in either direction. The solenoids get hot power internally from the bus feeding both "incoming" sides of the solenoid, connecting the small center post to ground pulls in the solenoid.
Inside the timing box there is a single-pole double throw switch that is linked to the torsion bars. When the bars sense an non-level state this throws the switch in one direction, which sends power to one of two thermal coils around a leaf contact. The wire heats up, causing the leaf to deflect toward a contact. When it makes with that contact the corresponding relay pulls in and sends the ground up to the solenoid. The time it takes the leaf to deflect is the 5-7 second time delay necessary to avoid adjusting for every little bump in the road.

And along with the 62 years of unknowing mechanics doing strange things there is a possibility of plain old age oxidizing or depositing an insulating film on the contacts the leafs need to close to bring in the relays and solenoids. This can even be an issue with NOS control switches that have been sitting on a shelf. Oxidation on the time delay contacts was found to be the problem by a fellow who is doing a ground up resto on his 55 that was having no luck with a NOS right out of the box switch. Running a point burnisher strip over the contacts cured the switch.

That is a fact. T-L is one of those things, like pushbutton shifting that is voltage sensitive. I tell my pushbutton customers to keep their cars on a battery tender whenever they aren't driving the car, and make sure the voltage is up before starting the car.