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Just an update
One seat done. I started with what I believed to be the hardest. The upper portion of the rear seat. Used a singer sewing machine and a lot of patience. In the picture the lower part is original. I put it in place to check the carpet. Turns out the rear carpet is 4” short. Stock Interiors were really helpful and they are making a new rear piece. The front half looks great. Is the interior of the sedan longer?
Working on the front bottom now. The foam in the tuck & roll of the bottom, where the upper portion covered it for 68 years, is beyond brittle. I can snap it like a cracker. The foam between the springs and the fabric is gone. (mice)
I do have these thin tiny metal wires that were in the burlap. What purpose do they serve? My best guess is to hog clip the burlap to the springs.
I also finally got the oil pressure sending unit out of the engine without removing the distributor. I had to modify a wrench; 9/16” open end. Need to plumb a second spot so that I can utilize a modern oil gauge from Summit and still keep the original sending unit for the dash gauge. I am not happy to have to plumb them both high, but need them to clear the distributor, coil, down shift linkage, wires, and vacuum lines. There is a lot going on in that location.
Also had the power steering rack re-built by Moose Motors in CA by Jeff. He did a great job and made me some new hoses. Never met him but in speaking with him on the phone, he knows a lot and is a great guy. I have reinstalled the unit but haven’t started the engine yet.

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The seats look great! I wish you were closer and I would put you to work on my 1956 Clipper! The skins are made but need to be installed once I clean up the springs.

On the carpet, maybe the supplier thought that all 1956s were created alike but senior models such as the Patrician had a larger rear floor. The 1956 Clipper and by default the 1956 Packard Executive which was based on a Clipper Custom had a 5” shorter wheelbase which was primarily in the rear doors and rear floor.

Did something wrong just not sure what.

Installed the rack and cylinder, connected the tie rods, supply lines, and steering linkage. Filled the reservoir with fluid. Started the engine. Waited for it to warm up and attempted to turn the wheel lock to lock to bleed the system.

But. The wheel is very hard to budge, let alone go to lock. And yesterday the steering wheel became possessed. It would turn about 20 degrees left to right back and forth. I didn’t even want to reach through to turn off the key. This morning no possession but still hard.
The wheels never moved for the months the rack was out, but the steering wheel may have. I insured the wheel was level (horn ring) when I assembled the rack, but didn’t test rotations right to left to find center. I have downloaded this illustration and will confirm proper small hose connection between rack and cylinder. Other than that I am lost.

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I don't know if it's different with Packards, but on my Toyotas the power steering system is bled with the engine off and front wheels off the ground. Lock to lock until air stops coming out. Haven't attempted it on my '54 yet. I'll need to do it when I rebuild my power steering system.

Kevin

You have the connection places of the small hoses reversed.

Quick question on color.
Between the doors is a panel that runs from floor to headliner. The scraps of headliner that were left appear to be ivory, but this panel is much darker. Thought about sewing a blue bottom and transitioning to ivory to match the fabric colors of the doors.


Follow-up on the steering and carpet:
The steering wheel will make 4 complete rotations from lock to lock. I had it centered on the 3rd rotation not the 2nd; causing it to turn more to the left than right. (Operator error) Reversed the hoses like Ross suggested and that also made a huge improvement. Still haven't got the carb thing right but persistence will hopefully win out.

Stock interiors sent a new rear carpet and it fits great. It isn't in properly yet, right now it is just laying in place. Just finished the front seat bottom upholstery. So this weekend i will properly install the carpet so that I can install the bottom seat and begin on the upper portion of the front seat.

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Shopping around for a headliner. Came across WLS headliners listing a headliner for a four door clipper with 6 bows. My Patrician has 6 bows as well. Does anyone know if the 2 cars use the same headliner? Also has anyone dealt with WLS or has a different recommendation.


wlsheadliners.com/1955-and-1956-packard- ... r-4-door-replacement-headliner.html


Can't swear to it but I think the fabric on the center piece between the doors was once blue.

Check SMS before setting on one of these more generic types. SMS has original fabric and the proper patters and for something like a headliner they are very fast.

Since I am basically redoing the interior, the dash pad/vinyl has always annoyed me. The foam under it was basically goo and the vinyl is cracked and shrunk in size. So, I am going to recreate it.
It appears that the dash will need to come apart to facilitate this. And that means lowering the dash. Not looking forward to this! Along with the hatchet job that was the under-hood wiring, it is also reflected up under the dash. So, I will need to recreate every electrical connection under the dash correctly, and eliminate the 20 or so splices the past owners have made.
I found this thread on Packard Info. Dashboard removal {V8 (1955-56)

Are there any other tips or suggestions before I plow head on.

packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=28214

I replied there so the relevant info stays on one topic. 😃