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Was the 245 engine any good out of the other car?

Roger,

Glad to see the NYC taxi project is moving forward, you'll have a lot of encouragement here. Sole survivors should be preserved if possible, it not, restored with available resources as you are doing. Its an important aspect of Packard history that needs to be represented.

Steve

Re: John and Steve, John the 245 engine is in a 49 taxi from the Chicago area and it ran when it was parked. Ideally I would like to keep it whole and maybe make it road worthy. I would then have my own fleet of taxi cabs representing three years with three different body styles (47, 48, 49).
Steve, Thank you for your encouragement. I too believe the taxi cabs have a place in Packards history. I was told at the 1999 meet that my taxi was nice, but it was a shame that I destroyed a sedan to make it look like a cab as Packard did not build cabs, they built luxury cars. I admit that taxi cabs may not be the bright shining star in Packard history, but they are part of their history.

Some people are crazy and the best way to deal with it is to get a few laughs out of it.

That guy probably went over to someone with a 33-34 eight and told them it was a shame they ruined the look of the car by keeping the original chrome plated radiator shell.

Good afternoon...Unfortunately some people just never get out of second gear! Ernie in Arizona

Re: Tim and Ernie, I learned a long time ago that some of the proclaimed Packard experts are only self proclaimed. Back in 1979 when I first caught the Packard disease I knew very little about Packard and let some of the so called experts convince me that the 1958 Packard station wagon I had purchased was pretty much worthless and not a Packard. I often regret selling that car. Even at the 1999 Centennial meet I was told my 1947 taxi was only a modified sedan and not factory built by Packard. I guess that I have joined the old timers club and can tell or make-up my own Packard tales about Packard taxi cabs. I have only met one person that remembered riding in a Packard taxi when they were in service. Thanks for your interest.

Were the Packard taxis produced by Packard or retrofitted by an aftermarket company, like the ambulances/hearses?

Re: John, I can't say for sure about the special taxi equipment. Maybe someone can tell us more. Maybe I have been looking in the wrong places, but information on the taxi cabs seems to be very hard to find and then it is not consistent. Thanks for asking.

Help needed! I have sorted out the parts for assembling the dash and need your opinion on what to do about the trim on the dash. The original trim was never chromed, but painted brown. I do not have enough of the original trim yo complete the dash but I do have plenty of chrome pieces to do a complete dash. Do I paint enough of the chromed pieces to complete the dash or do I do the dash with all chrome trim? Remember this is not meant to be a full quality restoration, but a correct preservation for the next caretaker. If I paint the chromed pieces to complete the dash then I will not be able to document that the original trim was supposed to be painted. What does everyone think? Thanks for your input.

Just my two cents but if it was supposed to be painted then I would go with the historical aspect -- particularly if you already have most and could trade or find the missing pieces out of some weathered car that is in worse shape. Something like that and you could sand the rust and fill the pits and then paint over without feeling guilty. Save the good stuff for another project.

I seem to recall in some of the postwar service articles an occasional mention that parts had exhausted stock of something unique for a certain model and would be sending out a different piece. If any were trim items and if those were only available in chrome I expect a mechanic would have painted them to match what was already there rather than replacing anything else to match the new.

As to documentation you could get a reprint of the pertinent documents or photos to keep with the car.