Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

was reading all the comments,am interested in buying a 1940 Packard 120 car is great but went to sit in it and seat was loose moving back and forth wouldnt anchor,couldnt even get legs past steering wheel,then belly was there and wouldnt be able to turn the wheel to steer,was dissapointed right away not sure if I wanted to buy it now,asked consignment if they can repair it so I can at least fit in and test drive it,thank you all for helpful comments will talk to seller with helpful info, also am concerned about putting lead additive in regular gasoline,want the corect mixture,shouldnt burn just regular uneaded gas?

Just put regular gas in and drive. This has worked just fine for me for the last several hundred thousand miles all in cars 50 to 70 years old.

G'day 1940 120,
to PackardInfo.

Presumng you end up purchasing the '40 120 under consideration. I invite you to include it in PackardInfo's Packard Vehicle Registry

Not sure if the 40 120 set up is the same, but my 41 160 has wooden shims between the seat frame and the floor, which can be removed or added to adjust the seat height.

I had a battery fire in my 1940 160 and lost the lower seat cushion. I had a seat frame custom made and it fit in the seat frame before upholstery. Now the custom seat frame after being upholstered won't go in the seat frame. I need to go back to the upholsterer and have some padding removed to get the custom seat to fit. The front of the custom seat is sitting on the lip front of the whole seat frame and will not slide in. The custom seat frame was made to look original. Good luck. I enjoy my 1940 160 Touring Sedan.

It took me a bit to figure out that I needed to wedge the seat in b/c I didn't understand how tight the slide in was. If you can locate an old school shoe horn (x2) and hammer it flat that might help finagle it in.

If you look in the Service Index here on the website, there are several Letters with instructions on how to raise or lower the seat position to accommodate different height of drivers.

The general idea is that wood wedges are added between the seat track and the floor. The raises the back edge of the seat, and also makes the back sit at a straighter angle. I did this on my 37, as it the more upright position was much better for my wife driving it. Before she had to sit on two pillows.

In the convertible couple it has a plywood bulk head behind the seat, so with the back tilted more forward, it also allowed the seat to be moved further back as well, for more legroom.

For those needing the seat lower. First remove any wedges that may have been added previously. In the letters there are instructions on how to move the track rivets to a lower positon, which drops the seat level.