Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Lets muddy the water a little. Sometime ago I saw a factory drawing of the decal that was to go on the
55 Caribbean bat wing. It was a Vee and looked the same as the one the rear cover of the Packard Sales Brochure. Anyone see one of these? I have one on mine, but I am sure its not original.

Isn't this the same question you previously posted on the "Batwing" thread? I did give some information there, as best I know - it still remains a bit of a mystery at least in my mind.

See the photo of the decal in that thread.

Hey, guys, I am in Baghdad right now and the network is so slow probably 20 more people will write in before mine gets to you, if it gets there at all.

I have a '56 Clipper Super and the car appears original in every way. Although it has a Carter carburetor it uses an air cleaner with dual scoops, which I thought was the wrong one. I had the opportunity once to swap with another '56 Clipper which had a cleaner exactly like the one in the picture posted by Owen_Dyneto. It wouldn't fit due to clearance problems with the Lehigh AC compressor. Wasn't much, but it interfered just enough I couldn't get it on.

That's interesting, as the parts list does not indicate a different filter for use with A/C. Your A/C is a factory installation?

PS- and you be careful over there!

Nothing about alternate air cleaner in the highly-detailed, illustrated, 1955-56 A/C Install Guide that HH56 provided for our archive, either. That document is a real eye-opener - much more work than I ever imagined. However, the subject vehicle shown in the illustrations was a Sr. car.

Exactly where was the interference on the stock air cleaner??? IIRC, you can rotate the upper body - the snorkel doesn't have to point exactly forward.

Msean writes:
"I have a '56 Clipper Super and the car appears original in every way. Although it has a Carter carburetor it uses an air cleaner with dual scoops, which I thought was the wrong one." ...

I'm a little confused. Is that to imply that the dual scoop air cleaner actualy fits the Carter with NO interference at the AC compressor????

It has the trunk-mounted (dealer installed?) AC with a Lehigh V compressor. Paperwork shows that the car was sold new in Arizona with AC. The compressor sits where the oil filter would on a non AC engine. The round air filter at a glance appears to be much smaller than the dual scoop, however the measurement from the front of the filter to the carburetor (Carter AFB 4 bbl) is less on the dual scoop filter than on the round one. If I were home I could take a picture of it, but unfortunately the situation doesn't allow.
It didn't matter how you indexed the round air filter it lacked enough clearance to drop onto the carb, about half an inch. I have seen various brackets for the Lehigh compressors, but I doubt that mine is unique. My Clipper was stored for most of its life and I have no real reason to believe that the filter has ever been changed. If it has, there must have been different sizes of round air filters. The one I tried to swap with was also a '56 but a non-AC car.

Since the parts list does not show the substitution of a different air cleaner for factory A/C installations, the apparent conclusion is that the dealer-installed (or after-market) A/C either used a different compressor or a difference in the mounting position, such that a substitute air cleaner had to be mounted.

"The compressor sits where the oil filter would on a non AC engine. "

ok. where does the OIL filter mount???? Does the OIL filter mount to the AC bracket toward the rite side of the car or does the OIL filter mount somewhere else or eleminated????

"...a Lehigh V compressor"

Is it a 2 cylinder or 4 cylinder compressor???

Edit: That may be difficult to judge. and on second thot mite be a moot point.