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There is a 55 service counselor article on page 42 regarding horn rings not blowing in certain spots. Would have thought 56 models no longer had any issues but it kind of sounds like the problem you have since the fix in the article was to add longer spacers and screws.

Thanks Howard, that's the one I pointed him to earlier and that's why he made the modification

However I don't know how well the horn ring is supposed to work. The ring on both of mine are damaged so I press the center button. I'll have to see later after I install a replacement horn ring (I have one) how well it actually works.

This past weekend I went back to where the car is stored with my tail between my legs. I was hoping to get the A/C system connected up but the hoses did not come in before I left. I tried to install fresh air vent a blower housing until I saw I did not have the proper screws. I did however figure out where to mount the thermostat and how to route that capillary tube into the evap box.

Seeing the cost of the "tubes" that run from the evap box to the dash vents cost an arm and a leg on ebay, and the fact that the over drive cable would cause a restriction. I am going to get adaptors made so that I can run standard a/c routing hose from the box to the vents. I got the general dimensions, I just need to design something up.

Well, as I mentioned in the beginning of this build that this car is going on a family vacation to fulfill the idea I presented to my old man about 6 years ago, the date is set for the beginning of April. The car is being picked up before Easter to make the journey down to Florida where a couple Packard owners agreed to accept the shipment of the vehicle and to hold onto it until we get there. Thank God! Now to hopefully get the last couple things checked off the list.

last time I went home I went to work on installing the A/c Lines. Well that didnt go to well because the one line I ordered wrong. The new one is in hand and I hope to get it installed this week. But I was able to print off some duct work adaptors so I will be able to plumb the AC vents in the dash. I also accounted for the overdrive cut off cable for the driver side one. I wasnt able to mount the thermostat on the side of the EVAP box since the box and dash was already in the car when I realized I needed one. I was able to find a spot on the passenger compartment side of the firewall that I could mount it and run the capillary tube through the adaptor and into the EVAP core. The wiring for the thermostat, compressor and low pressure switch is all done, just needs connected.

So when I am in the area this weekend I hope to install the final A/C line, tighten everything and hopefully pull a vacuum on the entire system. I will also be replacing the fuel tank... When I was in last I noticed that there was a puddle under the rear of the car which was interesting considering I did not put fluid back in the rear end yet. Well after going back and forth with the vendor with pictures and videos I am getting the tank replaced under warranty. It was leaking from the joint where the fill pipe was joined to the tank bottom.

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On another note. The car is now featured in a magazine!! It is in the April Issue of Hemmings Classic Car that is now on the News Stands! I got me a couple of copies to hopefully get it framed for the garage walls!

It's great to see you getting close to hitting your goal. Lots of work, and it shows.

-Kevin

So the past two weekends I made it home in hopes to get the car ready for the journey down to FL. So here's a recap:

two weekends ago I was able to install the gas tank and verify that it wasnt leaking and the fuel gauge worked. I put fluid in the rear end and got everything else buttoned up. I forgot the last hose I needed to close off the system, didnt realize that until I was already 2.5 hrs into my trip back to my folks place... thankfully it was the weekend of my brothers wedding and my inlaws were able to stop by the house and bring it with them. I did get it partially installed but decided to wait to fully close the system off since I didnt want to open the filter/drier to atmosphere if I wasnt 100% certain the system would hold a vacuum because I felt I wouldnt have enough time to address any issue/leak that may arise. good thing I didnt connect that hose.

The following weekend I was able to connect all hoses and pull a vacuum. Unfortunately once the vacuum pump was shut off the vacuum would creep back up to atmospheric pressure in less than a minute. Not good. Not knowing how to find a leak without a sniffer or pumping it full of dye I went to google and found a youtube video that said to pressurize the system with 30-70 PSI of shop air and listen for a leak. Well I found it!! it was the suction hose connection off of the evaporator. Removed the copper gasket, tightened the connection up and was able to pull 30 inHg and it held! while waiting for that I was having my mother go back and forth getting me belts that would work, found one that worked and was able to get the system charged up. I was only able to get the passenger side vent connected to the evaporator box, but I am thinking I may run a 3 in duct hose instead of the 4 in I got since there really isnt much room on the drivers side due to all the wiring. So I will run with one. So with the garage being 60-65 degrees it appeared I was getting about 40 degrees out of the passenger vent. which should be good! but the real test is to see how it works when its 80 and in sunlight.

I added another set of washers for the horn button and now the horn functions by pressing the rim! which is nice.

All fluids were topped off, brakes adjusted and I put about 30 miles on it to make sure everything else worked. Over drive worked, windows appear to work, lights all worked. I finished packing the car with spare parts, tools and other vacation stuff. It was washed and waxed and now sitting under the cover waiting for the shipper! pick up should be holy week (next week).

So the trip was a success!! The car got down there no problem. There was an issue with the tank leaking, again, but the individuals that received the car took it to their mechanic to seal it up (with an O-ring). They claimed my steering box had a lot of play so they tighten that up, a little bit to much so I will have to back that off. But it was able to sit safely inside until we were able to pick it up. But driving around Orlando in traffic was no issue at all. Handled all the roads around Disney property fine. I was even impressed with the a/c. It still blew cold air. Unfortunately I was not able to find where the thermometer rolled to actually test the temps, but no worries I can do that this summer. I am also going to get 3in ducting instead of the 4in I originally planned since I was only had the passenger side vent hooked up for the trip. Thankfully didnt need a/c while we were down there. But the 3in duct work should give a little bit more room on the drivers side of the dash.

The only issue I ran into was coming back from the air port the car started to stumble and died before we got out of the airport exit. Somehow I managed to find a "safe" space to pull off and noticed the glass fuel bowl was empty. Not having a fuel gauge in my tool box (never packed it....), I finally got gas back in the fuel bowl after 10-15 minutes and away we went. Got to with in 2 miles of the resort and it died again. I could only crank it so much before the battery and my jumper box died. I called Ross and he gave me some pointers but with missing a gauge to see what the fuel pump was doing I was SOL. So we had to flat bed the car the rest of the way to the resort. The following day I did a part and tool run and initial diagnostics lead me to believe there was no blockage in the line or tank (all that stuff was new and fuel was pissing out of the line when I took it off the pump inlet) and the suction on the pump was good. The pump was only able to push 3.5-4 psi out the outlet before and after the plastic filter I put in before the ceramic filter. According to the service manual that is within range. However, I tried the suction and pressure on the mopar fuel pump I stuck in the trunk and that pushed out 7-8 psi. Feeling that 4 psi was low and anywhere I looked online said carbs needed 6-7 psi I put the mopar fuel pump on. Started right up and didnt have an issue the rest of the trip. I am going to put back on a plastic filter again and make a better fuel line routing than what I did in the parking lot of the resort. The pump that was on there initially was a rebuild ford T-bird pump since that also had the vacuum pump on there for the wipers. But seeing how often this car will ever see rain, I figured running off of engine vacuum will be just fine. I am thinking maybe heat had something to do with the ford pump failing. Whether something was warped or the diaphragms showing a hole once it got warm.

But other than that it was awesome driving this thing around down there. Below are some pictures of the trip.

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Didnt get much done on the car this past time I was in at my parents. Did drive it again though. I got a horn issue addressed and retuned the carb after I screwed with some settings on the side of the road down in florida. I hope to get the vents connected up the next time I am home so that hopefully I can get the full effect of the A/C when it gets humid out.

was able to make a trip back home this past weekend and got the a/v vents connected. Initially the adaptors I designed used a 4" duct tube, but there was not enough room behind the dash board so I changed it to 3" and got both sides hooked up. Now it was only in the mid 70's when I was driving around but the thermometer I used said the outlet temps were hovering around 48-45 degrees. Not bad!!

however I dont know if I will have enough volume of air moving to make that interior feel cold during the summers. The door seals are kind of worthless in some areas ( you can see daylight coming through), but I installed the new ones where the old ones were. Could be a door alignment issue, but for now I am pretty happy with how everything is performing.