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CarFreak

Re: Vacation Car - 56 Patrician

#31

Home away from home

Quote:

Leeedy wrote:
The very, very first thing you'll want to do it you plan on instrument panel swaps and switch and control swaps is to get yourself the special tool for doing so. I made my own using a precision drill press but I understand someone has been selling these tools online in recent years. In most cases, you cannot remove a switch or bezel from the instrument panel without this tool-at least not without takin g a chance on wrecking the bezel or switch/control. To remove or install the bezels and thus switches/controls you will need the equivalent of an allen fitting with a hole through it. The stem of the control/switch slides up into the fitting hole while the hex edges of the allen fitting can then reach the bezel attachment and unscrew or tighten in place. So. I strongly recommend if you are going to go this far, get the tool first!

As for the A/C fittings at the firewall. there were tools to install/remove these, but once installed they were never really intended to be removed. All of which is why they are so extremely difficult to disassemble. AND the very reason why I strongly recommended using two flange wrenches. Most people use one wrench and king-kong it into submission for removal-only to find later that they have destroyed the delicate bottom of the evaporator core. Which leads to a whole bigger bowl of worms.

As for the instrument panel mesh trim... why not simply have it re-anodized? Or remove it, clean it and spray with any of the wonderful coating sprays on the market now?

As you may guess, I'm not a big fan of swapping engines and other parts and customizing a Packard into a hybrid morph. Of course, then the next guy gets it and has no idea how to un-molest it or how to my the hybrid morphs work.

My dad was terrified of having an orphan car where you couldn't just saunter down to the dealer parts department and place an order. That was why he wouldn't buy a Packard in 1955-56. However, I see things just the opposite-especially today. To me, it is always a whole lot easier to simply put an old car back the way it was when new and be done with it. If the power steering goes bad-fix it. If the Ultramatic goes bad-fix it. It may be necessary to alter or substitute some A/C parts, for instance. But you can never go wrong with keeping a car original. Some of this stuff is like going after a mosquito with a sledge hammer. But this is just me.

that is a wealth of information, thank you!! I will have to try and track down that tool or make one myself. Some switches were already removed from the Patrician instrument panel but they are all there. I do have the bezels from the switches removed so I should be able to make my own tool.

I can understand not wanting to modify a vehicle where someone wouldnt be able to figure out what I did. But I plan on utilizing this thread as a way to document what ever changes I do decide to do. So if someone (including me) wants to change something or repair something they have a good starting point. I am not against modify vehicles if it will allow the vehicle to perform better using factory or current part offerings.

I could try to get it anodized if it is that bad, but I have two additional dash boards to get parts from. But finding another coating I could use could work as well.

Ill keep HH56's stain idea in the back of my mind if the color is truly that faded.

Posted on: 2020/4/27 15:33

Brian Wilson

Re: Vacation Car - 56 Patrician

#32

Home away from home

Hello Carfreak

Leeedy's right of course. Better to revive the original engine if you can. Hopefully it will turn out to be not bad if it was running when the car was put away. It will start getting expensive if you bore out a 352 block. That's what prompted my comment.

Guess it will be easier and cheaper for now to retain the manual box. Which was how your dad had it. No major parts problem there. You'll want to figure out the diff ratio. It may be too low for vacation driving if it's still one of the lower ratios which the Ultramatics had.

Rigging up electric wipers is fairly easy using a period motor and fabricating a mount on the firewall. Someone did a pretty neat job on mine and they work a treat, even in monsoonal rain. Will post a pic if it's helpful, but my car is right hand drive so you have to stand on your head to view it. Working wipers are required for roadworthiness here, but the electric setup is pretty obvious so better avoided on your Caribbean if you can get away with it.

By all accounts, the Oldsmobile pump conversion works pretty well. Mine predates that - I think from Packards International? Not all the V8s had this problem, but better to take care of it while you have ready access. Someone here on the forum suggested to add an extra quart of oil to the sump to keep the whole pump unit submerged. I do that as insurance, with no obvious ill effects.

Cheers Brian

Posted on: 2020/4/27 17:10

1941 120 Club Coupe (SOLD)
1956 Clipper Deluxe (RHD and auto) - for the wife, or so I told her!

Packard Don

Re: Vacation Car - 56 Patrician

#33

Home away from home

I recall seeing a wiper motor that will attach directly to the Packard's mounting and even has the cable connector that the steering column control uses as its switch is built-in. I believe it was for a Chevrolet but unfortunately I don't recall the year or model but I do seem to recall that either it was large or it sat at an odd angle (or both) but required no modification at all other than getting power to it. It even worked with the pulsing washer accessory.

Posted on: 2020/4/27 17:16

All generalities are false.

Don Pierson
Packard / IMPERIAL page
CA DMV Licensed Vehicle VIN Verification

1951 Henney-Packard 3-Door Long Wheelbase Air Force Ambulance
1954 Packard Patrician
1954 Packard Patrician Parts Car
1956 Clipper Custom Sedan

HH56

Re: Vacation Car - 56 Patrician

#34

Forum Ambassador

Quote:

PackardDon wrote:
I recall seeing a wiper motor that will attach directly to the Packard's mounting and even has the cable connector that the steering column control uses as its switch is built-in. I believe it was for a Chevrolet but unfortunately I don't recall the year or model but I do seem to recall that either it was large or it sat at an odd angle (or both) but required no modification at all other than getting power to it. It even worked with the pulsing washer accessory.

55 and/or 56 Chevy will fit with minimal changes (might need a couple of spacers to position it over the top firewall flange) and if you can find the optional mounting bracket that screws on the motor it will take the co-ordinator too. The motor is large and heavy and is starting to get expensive when buying the hard to find originals. Believe 57 is same style and might work but was questionable if it needed mods because of sone differences. Not sure whether it has a different way it mounts or way the operating cable works or attaches or if it was the coordinator that would not fit but when it was popular to find and replace the vacuum motors with the Chevy electric in the 70s and 80s the articles said avoid 57 if you could find the others.

I read somewhere that there were Chevy repro motors now but not sure if those are same style as originals or if they are considering the Newport system as the repro.

Here is one of the Chevy motors which I had for awhile. It was replaced with the more compact Newport motor for which I built a switch module to accept and use the Packard cable control and co-ordinator assy instead of using the Newport electrical switch.

Attach file:

(136.80 KB)

Posted on: 2020/4/27 17:40

Howard

CarFreak

Re: Vacation Car - 56 Patrician

#35

Home away from home

That is all good information on the wiper conversion. Right now the car has a salvage certificate, which in PA means that it would need to go through an enhanced inspection to make sure all systems work. There is something in there about everything being original, but I think I can sneak in an electric wiper conversion. But anyhow, only once it passes the enhanced inspection can it receive a rebuilt title. From there I can get an antique title so I can get antique plates and not have to get it inspected every year. I dont trust some "technician" tearing into something like this on a yearly schedule.

Back to the wiper conversion, I did read some people used the chevy motor but everyone couldnt remember the specifics. I did like the the idea of the Newport Engineering conversion but saw you have to use their switch. I would be interested in seeing how you designed a module to take the inputs from the Packard Switch and got it to communicate with the electricals of the wiper motor, HH56. According to their site you have three switch options: 2 speed switch, 2 speed switch with the washer function, and an intermittent switch with a washer. So those different functions have to be done in the switch and not the motor itself. I was thinking of adapting the Packard bezel, sweep and pull knob to their switch, but if there is a way to just use the Packard switch with their motor I would be interested in trying that.

Id also need to find the washer jar and pump as well, because the car didnt have that when I got it into the garage. It may be in the Packard Shed.

Posted on: 2020/4/28 7:17

Joe Wareham

Re: Vacation Car - 56 Patrician

#36

Home away from home

Howard,

Do you have any information on how you adapted the Packard cable control to the Newport electric wiper?

Joe

Posted on: 2020/4/28 8:01

Leeedy

Re: Vacation Car - 56 Patrician

#37

Home away from home

The only time I ever changed wiper motors on V-8 Packards I used Buick, not Chevy. Bolted right on... no weird angles. Used the existing control cable. But when I did this was back in the 1970s and I have forgotten which year. I'm inclined to say 1956, but I don't recall for certain.

I had a list I once made up a list of Packard V-8 easy swaps that were invisible or almost invisible and drop-in /bolt-on. One of these I used for sure-fire engine-click issues (in addition to an Oldsmobile oil pump) were Dodge Red-Ram lifters. No idea where I filed my list but perhaps someday I'll run across it and share it.

Posted on: 2020/4/28 8:31

HH56

Re: Vacation Car - 56 Patrician

#38

Forum Ambassador

For what it is worth here is a quick look at what I did for the Packard switch cable operated module for the Newport wiper motor. Been a long time since this was made so no part numbers but everything was readily available. This was a spur of the moment attempt and there are probably other and maybe easier or less crude ways to do it.

Attach file: