Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

by the way Brandon, i do have a speedo. if you want it pm me and we'll work out the details. it's not show quality, but it works. and i won't want a mint for it!

Ok, so I've found I will be severly unequipped to handle this job myself, so I contacted Majhor Murrays here in Portland to see if they would want to work on my Patrician. They are mor than happy to help and a breeze to deal with, however they want about $1400 US to fix it. So I was wondering if anyone has had this done at a shop or know if this price sounds appropriate. Bruce at Majhor Murrays told me the parts come out to about $475 alone. Which I'm not going to argue with considering that was exactly what I found them for.

The work he was including was the upper control arm bushings, an the lower control arms as a unit. He was tellin me that the lower has to come as a unit and it not re-bushable. Is this true?

Although I've not yet gone that deep into the suspension on any of my V8s, I don't believe that what you've been told is entirely correct.

Please don't make your decision until you hear back from others, here, who have more actual experience with this work.

As per manual the 56 Sr lower control arm bushings are "not replaceable". NOTE USE OF QUOTE MARKS.

Actually the bushings are replaceable but it requires removeing rivets from the control arm to disasemble one side of it. NOT a major leap of skill needed for anyone claiming to be even just a jack-leg mechanic.

So where does the rebuilder plan to get the lower control arms if he does not rebuild your old control arms????

I didn't actually ask Where they planned on getting them, After looking at my car they decided to send me somewhere else, who sent me on my way back to my side of town to the shop down the road.

I talked to them for a while and he decided $350 for labor, (both sides) but I had to order the parts. And so I did and paid a bit too much for them, but I wanted to be sure they were right, but now I know that my local auto parts store would have been a better deal. Oh well..

However it turns out this project will be put aside and will leave the Patrician parked probably for some time. Due to I what I think would be burnt valves. I'm only guessing from the half quart of oil I have to put in every four days, and the copious amounts of black smoke out the rear.

I don't want to just do the topside of the block so I'm going to have to wait and get the whole thing rebuilt. Then with the block out, redo the front end.

I'm glad I got to drive it for a couple of months before it gets torn apart, I would have been fairly disappointed if I had never driven it in the four or five years I've had in now.

Fond memories! Brandon, you can do this! With the help of the guys here a packardinfo much is possible.

Kevin

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