Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

As regards your question on Pertronix, I had a 1954 Caribbean and a Pacific (exact same engines) and had 6 volt Pertronix in both, 22 years for the Caribbean and 13 years for my Pacific. Never a bit of trouble. I now have a 1939 Super Eight with the 6 volt Pertronix for almost 5 years and again, no trouble. All my Packards seem to start quicker and run smoother with electronic ignition. Hope this helps.

Again...Thanks to all for the info. I checked on clutch rebuilders but it appears that Kanters is a better deal. My concern was sending my parts in as cores before being able to compare with the replacements and having my units shipped off for rebuilding and then shipping pars back and forth.
Kanters resolved that question by saying my cores would be logged and held long enough to assure them new parts work.
Will get the engine finalized and then ship the clutch parts out.
I have used the Petronix units in many of my cars with good results but I am glad to here the same results have been experienced with the 6 volt positive ground.
In a related question, does anyone offer a high output coiil which will work with the Delco distributor and Petronix? I have always replaced and updated the coil on other cars.
Need to get dash and running boards stripped for wood graining and Rhino lining of boards.
Weather is getting to be an issue in addition to the Pandemic restrictions.

Try HAGENS Auto Parts in Puyallup, WA. That's where I purchased my clutch and pressure plate. (253) 845-7020

I'll second Hagen's! Good people, fast friendly service. They are also a hop, skip and jump away (not that I hop, skip or jump much anymore) from where I kept my 1941 Henney-Packard from the mid-'60s to the early '70s when I moved to California.

Just an update. I called Hagen’s Auto Parts and was advised that they do not have a clutch/ pressure plate for the 39 Sox.
John advises that they have had little luck in getting clutch / parts lately.
I guess it is reasonable to expect that finding parts for anything 80 years old will eventually become a problem. Try finding a replacement handle for a 10 year old trash compactor. LOL

I think those '39 Sixes used a Long type cover (pressure plate) which was used by Ford and other makes. The disc is the same used in Chevys and maybe GMCs. I would think a visit to a good auto parts store would result in getting the needed parts. The release and pilot bearings may be harder to locate. Of course, you will need a real parts person who knows how to match parts and read a catalog. Hope this helps.

My 39 transmission and overdrive are green, just like the engine. They have never been out of the car.

Thanks to all the other contributors for information about the Pertronix. I have installed them on 12v neg ground engines but never on a 6v. Learn something new every day!

We've had various folks report issues with Pertonix 6v units over the years. The issue is there isn't much overhead left if you have a voltage drop because of low battery or sub-par connections. So if the voltage starts to drops below 6v, then the unit won't fire correctly. They work great on 12v. But various folks over the years have reported being left stranded because of a 6v Petroix unit that won't fire when the voltage is low. This is most obvious when starting the car with a weak battery, and the starter load causes a huge drop.

Points are simple. The industry ran on them for 70 years. Nothing solid-state to fail and at the wrong time.