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Hi everyone! Just wanted to say hi. I bought my first car older than the 70's AND my first Packard over the weekend. 1949 Super Eight 23rd Series sedan. Super excited. Car is a good quality survivor. Had been of the road but covered/indoors for about five years. Need to do tires and a couple things to make it really driver quality, but it runs, shifts and brakes great. Just some quirks to work through... Excited to be here! I think being a little kid I always heard from my Grandpas how great Packards were and it was aspirational for so many back in the day...I just always knew I wanted one.

I did add my car to the registry!

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Welcome, you have come to the right place. You have a beautiful car and the group here can help you with any questions you may have. Be sure and make use of all the literature on line here too. Coming up on a great touring season too.
Enjoy!
Bob J.

Looks nice! Resist the temptation to "restore" anything... just repair, maintain, and enjoy.

I agree! I will probably get the front seat cushion redone as its stuffing is coming out good, and like I said, there is one uninstalled really bad rear door panel...might look into that. Besides that, I just enjoy tinkering, waxing, light repair work, etc. This will be super fun! Seems like a great community too.

Keep it running and driving at all times. Otherwise, it can be a slippery slope to an abandoned project car.

I like driving my cars....I don't see the point in having something you can't have fun with. So, hopefully that will be the case. Most of what I'm dealing with on this one is from it not being driven in 5 years. The guy did wheel cylinders, master rebuild, plugs, wires, cap, points, brake hoses and partial fuel line with an in-line filter then didn't drive the car for 5 years. I had to do a new filter (which might mean a tank re-line) and I changed all fluids so far. Haven't gotten to mounting my new tires yet which, from the 2 miles I drove it, is absolutely necessary lol.

If he put bias-plys on it and it didn't move for 5 years they will have mad flat spots. My car had radials and even it had noticeable flat spots driving around 10 MPH after being parked 4 years ish.

Looks like a great car! Since it's been parked and unused for so long, I would strongly advise rebuilding all five brake cylinders again and replacing the three flexible brake lines. Not doing so is a disaster waiting to happen.

Love that quietly elegant, understated gray. Don't change that!

Unmolested originals are rare these days. Do not use anything that says "cleaner" or "polish." Just gently wash and wax with Meguiar's or Mother's pure wax so it glows.

1948-50 Packards veered to being under-tired, so make sure you carry 30-32 psi cold in all four if bias tires.

DOT 5 silicone brake fluid is the only way to go. You'll never have to rebuild a wheel/master cylinder again. Non-hydroscopic; doesn't absorb moisture from the ambient air.
Full synthetic motor oil. Avoid antifreeze unless your car exposed to two consecutive nights of hard freeze (below 30). Reverse osmosis water and a good rust/corrosion inhibitor like No-Rosion.com or Redline Water Wetter. Nothing else. Grease also the shift linkage pivot points. Poke a straightened paper clip in the differential vent, make sure it's clear.
Refill distributor grease cup and give it a turn every 1,000 miles. Molybdenum/graphite chassis grease best for that and all else. Lithium grease for speedometer cable.

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It did, and I drove it about two miles, and they were super thumpy lol. I have a set of diamondback radials waiting to be installed. It was good to do that little bit as first car with manual steering, manual brakes and column manual, so it was good to do some light parking lot/down the street drives anyway.