Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Congrats on the purchase! It looks like it was a great buy. Interior is fantastic and looks to be all original too.

On the windshield, my car did not come with back glass (technically it did, in a thousand pieces) so I have a bit of experience in replacing them (though the back and front are replaced a bit differently). You can get them online, Kanter and some other places have them, but they will be pretty expensive especially from shipping. Since you don't need it urgently, I would take a different approach, find your local Packard club and get to know people over time. Eventually you will find someone with a parts car they won't mind you pulling the windshield out of for cheap (or maybe free), same goes for pretty much any part under the sun in these years. You will still need weatherstripping for it though. Even if you're able to pull the old stuff off cleanly, it will be a huge difficulty getting back on (it gets stiff from age) and it will probably leak too. That being said, make sure to grab all the windshield fasteners you take off and even exterior trim, as you never know if something will break when replacing it. Speaking from experience.


It can be useful to check the repair times listed in the "flat rate manual". Here, an R&R for a front windshield is 3.8 hours, but plan on easily doubling that for your first time, not to mention you may be pulling your own. So plan a whole day, or two evenings, if doing that, and the same for the actual replacement. As a side note, I know that a rear glass will fit INSIDE a Packard, just barely... but it would be better to go get it with a pickup truck or just an SUV with the seats folded down. The instructions are in the "body" section of the service manual. They are a bit unclear in places so if/when you do this I would ask again for tips here. For example, on the back glass the fastest way to get it out is to cut straight through the middle of the rubber with a box knife on the top edge, then push it out. I don't know if that's a good strategy for the front though. And the trim is done differently front/back, etc.

Also, when buying/picking parts you want to check the parts lists in the literature archive for cross-compatibility. They are a bit of a pain to look though but it's worth it. For example, for your front glass I checked the 55-56 list, page 188, and the 48-54 list, page 561. Cross-referencing the body numbers with the Model Information pages, we can see that all of the two-doors in '55 and '56 (the Super Coupes, Custom Coupes, Executive Coupe, 400's, and the Caribbeans) all used P/N 444944. It turns out that it's not used on the 48-54's, but it's good to check related years (for example, the rear glass on some 55's was reused from that time period also). So if you find any glass for sale, or see/hear of a parts car you could pick the glass from, you know that any 2 door from 55 or 56 would work.

P.S. You may want to double-check that no rodents have made a home in your exhaust pipe. Maybe try to use a pipe snake?

If my Clipper doesn’t already have one, I wouldn’t mind a signal seeing radio for it! Unfortunately I have nothing with which to swap.

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This was the driving factor for me to buy the car. Right when I seen the interior I was pretty much sold!



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[color=0033FF]I just printed, hole punched and put in a binder the manual and parts book for 55's. I am all set now the carb rebuild kit should be here this week sometime.

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Thanks for the tip

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If I cant get this fixed myself this will be my next option. I will go new once I get all the bugs worked out.


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Ok, Olsons got it, I was wondering about good gaskets. From reading I was going to refill with B&M Trick Shift.


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That would be awesome! What do you think big Kev?

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Ya the last owner said he changed it out, there is another radio in the trunk, I will take a picture of and post it later today. The radio does not work, any recommendations for a good repair guy?

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I will definitely do this once I get a original in there. I hope the one in the trunk is the original.


Thanks for all of your guys input!

Ready!!!

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If the radio in the trunk is not the original, I have one that should be that I bought off ebay (later learned it was not the right one for my Clipper, funny enough). No clue if it works though, but I'd be happy to let it go for a decent price, if you need.

AFAIK you can test it by just hooking it up to a 12V supply (car battery), preferably with a fuse in between. Don't remember the fuse size, just a couple amps I think. If you turn the radio on and hear anything then it probably works. Or connect a TV antenna wire to the antenna port to see if you can tune in to anything.

Since you have a 12V car, your choices for radio restoration are better, though note that your car was 12V positive ground originally.

Here is a thread with a lot of information about radio repair and folks who do that. There is also someone who advertises in the Packard Club newsletter.

Radio Repair Thread

Hey guys, thanks for all the input for the radio. This one is the one that was in the trunk, is it the original? Once I get the original in and the Clipper one out I will for sure get it to someone that needs a original.

This weekend I am hoping to do a couple things let me know if you have any tips

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Rebuild carb (rochester 4 jet 7007230)
I got my rebuild kit yesterday)

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Seal up my exhaust leak, I found a good leak at the manifold heat valve connection. My new gaskets should be here today.

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An all too common issue with the heat riser valves is the casting holding the valve flapper is broken.

If the ridges on the end of the heat riser valve casting that keep it located to the manifold or exhaust pipe is broken off or a large enough portion is missing leaving a gap, the gaskets may not do much good in resolving the leak. There are not any bolt holes in the unit to keep it firmly fixed in position without the ridges so the valve assy will be free to wiggle around with vibration and movement from the exhaust pipe. The small movement destroys the gaskets fairly quickly.

Tightening the bolts extra tight is not an option since excess torque can break the manifold casting. As far as I know, there have not been any successful repairs figured out so if you do find it broken best to start looking for a new or better one.