Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Looking at a 51 200 thats for sale locally. Car is driven almost daily in the summer. Body is straight, no major damage or rust but not perfect either. Interior is about the same, presentable but not show quality. Straight 8 runs very strong, trans shifts smoothly, brakes work.
Have built a few old fords, know nothing about Packards. What to expect out of this car? It's still running half a century later so that says something, but how realistic would it be to use this car as a cruiser dd while cleaning it up? What kind of things to watch out for, what to expect to have to repair/replace? What would be a fair ballpark price for a car in that condition? Any and all info greatly appreciated. Thanks, Matt.

51's were extremely reliable cars. The 200 was the least expensive, usually without too many frills or bells & whistles so not much to go wrong. They shared a lot of mechanical components with other years so parts not as big a problem as it is with some models and years--although there are pieces unique to that year.

Probably the biggest thing I would suggest is to check out the condition of the wiring. The old cloth and rubber may be brittle and insulation could be falling away in places. As you've already driven it, it sounds like it's in pretty good condition and has been taken care of.

Do the routine maintenance & if Ultramatic, remember it wasn't designed to be a hotrod or to compete with modern cars at the stoplights so don't try. I've known several used as dd over the years and they all performed well.

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G'day Matt,
to PackardInfo. Sorry, can't advise you, but if you do buy the '51 I invite you to include it in the Owner Registry here together with a pic, any known history and your acquisition of it. Good luck!

The 51 Packard was a powerful high grade car of its day. One in good shape would be perfectly capable of being used regularly today. It will cruise on the hiway at speeds up to 70 with no problem which is more than you can say of some of the cheaper cars of that time.

On the other hand complexity and luxury had not got out of hand. No air conditioning, power steering, power windows etc. to go out of order. The brakes, chassis, engine etc are simple rugged and easy to repair. Parts are available for most everything and not too expensive. The only exception would be the Ultramatic transmission. Like any early automatic they are complicated and expensive to fix. But they are also pretty reliable. Others on this board report that they work much better if you change the fluid to B&M racing fluid. It seems to clean out the gunk and revitalize the clutches.

You should have no problems provided you remember that any car of that time needs a lot more regular maintenance and needs to be driven with respect. If you are half way sensible you should have no problems.

A Packard is easily twice the car a Ford is.

As far as price goes, the early 50s models are the cheapest Packards and a 51 200 in the condition you describe, should be a $2000 or $3000 car. You can pick up a price guide at any magazine store that will break it down for you in more detail.

In other words a Packard for less money than a Ford in the same condition, an unbeatable buy in my book.

Did any of the packards come with standards or were they all autos? I have an 18 circuit wiring harness that was goinng to be used in a 69 for that got scrapped so if need be I can use it in the 200.
What kind of availability is there for engine/ drivetrain parts are there? For example if I wanted to rebuild the motor could I get a complete kit? Bearring kits for the rear axles? Suspension/ steering bushing kits? Interior kits? Thanks, Matt.

All manner of parts except some trim pieces are readily available, many at NAPA or other autoparts stores, and some NOS or repro from the various Packard vendors. You should have no ooncern over getting items like wheel bearings, seals, king pin kits, upper and lower outer knuckle pins, ignition, fuel and electrical, etc. etc. etc. One item getting a bit tight but still around is the ball and trunnion front U-joint for the junior Ultramatic-equipped cars (front joint for the senior is nearly unobtainium).

Yes, standard shift with and w/o overdrive was available on the 200 model.

You can only use that 18 circuit wiring harness if you plan on converting to 12 volts. A 12 harness uses a thinner wire gauge then the 6 volt harnesses as they carry twice the voltage, but only 1/2 the amperage.

If you want to retain the 6 volt positive ground system, then you either need to go through the harness and replace any bad wires with wire of the same gauge, or buy an entire reproduction harness (which is pretty expensive).

Thanks for all the replies. I'm an electrician so I think using the new harness and converting over to 12v would prob be the way to go. I"ll look at the car some more and post again. Thanks again, Matt.

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Mopar used a ball and trunion up to '64, or 5. Has anyone tried looking into any interchange, even with machining?

In my old car wanderings, I have found that u-joints are "by size", aside from being varied among the various makes. I wonder if a knowledgable auto store couldn't measure things up and match them.

The seniors had a larger size and as O-D said, almost non existent even for Mopars. The Clippers and juniors used a slightly smaller one which I believe most Mopars used and can still be found although not that easily or inexpensively.