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

Well, got it home successfully. You were correct on the foglight. Both of the people who have owned it were there, so they discussed and got their story straight.

They had a previous Packard with the foglight that turned and it developed a nasty rod knock, so they had sold it and bought this one as a replacement. The 16k miles are original because the teenage son took it out racing in the early 60s and blew the transmission out shifting from L-H under load.

They were always going to fix it, but just never did.

So it aounds like the chances are good that the engine is fine. I will pull the thermostst housing and clean the junk out of there and see how clean I can get the open cylinder from the outside, then pull the head and see what condition everything else is in.

And so it begins! That's great that you can find out about the car from the previous owners, and an engine with only 16k on it should be in great shape and serve you well for many years.

Ultramatics certainly weren't designed to be shifted from low to high, low range is a completely separate gear, like reverse is. Not sure what damage would have been done, that is, if it's rebuildable, but if not finding another one shouldn't be too difficult. The transmission other than being damaged, should otherwise be worn out, it only has 16k on it as well.

Keep us posted on your progress, you're project has certainly garnered plenty on interest on the forum.

That tailpipe laying on the trailers deck made me laugh............this is what my tailpipe looked like when I unloaded my car at home. Good luck on your project.

The pivoting Trippe lights were a prewar accessory and never available on postwar Packards so the other Packard with them was from a different era.

The 49–54 Ultramatics can generally be shifted from low to high at speed as long as you take your foot off the gas when doing it. These Ultramatics had little in the way to limit engine flare on the low to high shift since it's a manual shift. You don't keep the gas pedal floored when shifting from 2nd to 3rd in a manual car, do you? The other possibility is if the shift was mistimed in the other direction, then "something" actually broke from the transmission locking up between the gear switch.

Likely the high range clutch pack is burnt to a crisp and the car became completely undriveable without experiencing severe clutch slippage. Fortunately there are tens if not hundreds of unloved Ultramatics lying around and rebuild kits are readily available.

If you need someone to rebuild it for you, give me a shout. Or if you want to DIY, I would encourage you to post your questions on here, as there's a good amount of small things that can go wrong...

Soon I will begin uploading a video series featuring the venerable Ross Miller how to rebuild a Twin Ultramatic. Yours is the first gen Ultramatic. Different, but also not terribly so. You may want to keep an eye out for that on my YouTube channel, HPH Packard Lowrey.

I appreciate the offer and will check out your channel. For now I am gathering info, going through documentation, and inspecting everything before I jump in and start tearing things apart.

I suspect that I will be in the market for a replacement transmission. He eventually admitted that he missed high and went into reverse at WOT. I don't see any holes in the case yet, but the gears are almost certainly completely destroyed.

Ouch, sounds like you might have broken parts and pieces in your transmission.

Reviewing the service manual will give you lot and lots of great information about your car and you'll find that you can do most any project that needs to be done.

The gears in these are almost bulletproof. Likely something in the reverse band area broke. There is a servo (piston), and actuator on a hinge pin, a tab, and the band itself. Then on the other side, a tab and large setscrew & follower. IIRC the actuator hinge pin is usually the weakest link. But if so, you would probably only lose reverse.

If something broke in such a way to damage a hydraulic circuit, that could kill the trans pretty quick.

Will be interesting to see.

A couple more questions that I am thinking about here at work...

This is definitely a 53, right? I made that determination based on the chrome and the fact that it has an iron head instead of an aluminum one.

The title says 54 (and matches both the body code and the patent plate), but the paperwork for it was lost at some point in the past and the title I got with it was obtained via statement so I am wondering if he just remembered the year wrong when requesting the new title a few years back.

Also, should the glove box open with the same key as the ignition? The key fits, but didn't want to turn. I sprayed some lube in there to looaen it up, bit didn't want to get too aggressive with it until I made sure that key *should* open it.

Same question on the trunk and doors. I only have the ignition key and other manufacturers then had separate door/ignition keys but Packard appears to have been pretty advanced so maybe they were keyed to match?

Definitely a 53! Looks just like my 53 Cavalier! Oddly enough mine was listed as a '54 when I bought it as well.

Trunk and glove box should be the same key, and a different one for the ignition.

I think the locks are fairly easy to pick and make a new key for.......for someone that does that.