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AKA “rescue”
Progress on Caribbean. First washed it all down as best I could in an unsheathed in January in northwest Indiana. I decided to try and get all the stuff back on during cold weather -reduce the parts clutter for mechanical work. So I returned the rear bumper and continental kit after polishing and prepping brackets. Took cursory look around, mixed bag. Checked oil -looked like honey, pulled a plug - looked great but not new, grabbed fan-engine not looked. All good. Bondo in right rear quarter looks like some rust, the trunk floor was replaced - clean and seam seal needed, not great and fearful of what laid ahead. Removed interior and need to get to upholstery shop. Only doing seats as all panels cleaned right up. Removed carpets and the floor is fine no issues. Most areas still have factory paint. The right rear quarter trim panel was off got chance to look in there. Sadly no window cylinder and even worse no regulator or spring.

Any help locating right rear window regulator and spring for 1953 Caribbean with hydraulics would be appreciated

Next step - remove treadle vac unit for rebuild

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Can someone decipher the anti theft number for me? Not sure of first, is it C or G? Are the next two 0’s?
Car is 1953 Caribbean. 2678 2131.

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Yes, C00482.

There’s not a lot to “decipher” about these as they are mostly just serial numbers for the bodies, but if Owen Dyneto sees this he can probably check and see if there’s anything unusual against the car serial number.

Thanks HPH!
I am getting closer so time to get paper work in order.
Status:
Brakes done. Master by Tiger, nice meeting Andy. interior ready for reinstall, seats by Barry’s in South Bend, great job. Hydraulics nearing completion after which interior goes in. Engine getting close to throwing gas in carb and see what happens.

Snafu: somehow I got continental kit stuck in closed position. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Nothing unusual to note about theft-proof C00482.

It has been a while ,so thought I would post an update. Master cylinder in bleeding required. Interior is in except for front carpet. Top and windows operational. Recored radiator. Ran engine with no plugs to clear some oil. While doing so I used thumb to alternately generate suction and pressure. A couple stubborn exhaust valves came to life. Got engine to fire off with a boat tank and bulb. Now for fuel pump and carb kit. After 41 years of not starting, with a splash of gas down the throat, it fired right off. Died and second start it actually idled while keeping the bulb pump going. Smoked like crazy from all the oil, but that cleared quickly. This car runs smoother than my 48 with 356. Hope to drive before snow fall.

I did as Ross suggested, started with rear end up in the air. Trans was 2.5 quarts low. No leaks but not much running time. Put into gear and alternately ran left or right wheel. A little noise from diff, maybe low on oil or maybe just being totally unloaded. I had soaked all linkage with oil as it was really tough to move. After running, shifter now very smooth.

I am missing the metal breather cap on trans. Any advice on finding replace?

This car was headed to the junk yard/crusher and now getting a bit exciting.

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This is a very good idea which I never thought of or if I did it has been long forgotten!

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Ross probably has extras.

Latest update. For 53 Caribbean. Not driven since 1983.
New fuel pump, carb rebuild, tank purge , fresh gas and restarted. Very smooth. Actually smoother than my 48 custom with 356. Next was to complete brakes which involved replacing and connecting lines to distribution block on treadle vac. This was a pain, not Packard‘s finest engineering effort. Bleed and adjust brakes and ready. Started right up and I drove a couple houses as tires are terrible, hence that is next effort. I also need to replaced all vacuum lines.

I would like to thank Ross for the trans fill cap. Pretty simple thing. Does it leak out of there? Another question would be., when going into gear it seems to bite hard, is that normal for ultramatic? Might it soften up with some use.?

Next update will be road trip. (Like in neighborhood😬)

So first of all the only time it goes into gear is when you are using the selector. When you are driving, you are feeling only the clutch engagement.

What speed does your direct drive clutch engage at with light acceleration? Perhaps your throttle pressure is too high.

If it is jarring when shifting into gear, probably your engine is not at low idle. One it runs a minute or so tap the gas so the carb gets off the high idle cam. Once you are at low idle, the sensation should feel comparable to a modern car. If you shift into gear while still at high idle, it will "jump" a bit.