Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Hello everybody,
I have a 1955 400 with a broken door striker assembly on the passenger side. The nylon insert is cracked and the metal corner piece that keeps the nylon piece in place broke off. The parts book lists different part numbers for 55 and 56. Group 30.341. Was the 56 striker assembly an improved part over the 55 and will a 56 striker work on a 55? From pictures I've seen, the 56 design eliminated the nylon teeth that catch the door. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Brian

56 strikers were an improvement along with the latches but to make them work on a 55 requires a door side latch change. The strikers have a narrower nylon tooth insert and a steel plate that fits over it and protrudes down over the teeth. That plate is the reason the teeth appear to be missing. To make the change the toothed wheel in the door latch was narrowed so the steel plate can slide between it and the door sheetmetal to provide a solid catch arrangement and additional safety to help keep the door from flying open in a crash. Because of that steel plate the 56 striker will not work on earlier latches with the full width wheels. You can compare the wheel width from this 56 illustration to yours to get an idea of the difference.

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Wonder how come there is an asterisk after "equipment"? Usually that mean except for......

When the brochure was printed it was standard on the Caribbean and optional but available on all other models. I suspect that like other items that were optional on "lesser" Packard models at the start of production, dealers wanted something to promote and either ordered it outright or included it in packages to the point it soon became standard for many dealerships. The 400 and Patricians were next to top of the line models for 56 so I would expect most were probably so equipped.

Thank you everyone for the quick response. Looks like a road trip tomorrow to pick some parts.The picture was a great help in understanding why both parts must be changed together.