Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

My car has been at a local mechanics shop so far from the city that I'm not sure English is the base language.

Went out and picked up the car today, which had considerable work done on the running gear: new front sway bar rubber (and straightened bracket), recurving brake shoes because it pulled to the right (said to be an issue with newer linings), upper control arm bushings, door handle adjustment (I know have a car that can be locked) and the wire to the glove box light reattached.

The air was because mu daughter is getting married Sunday (when it will be 91 degrees and humid).

All my carefully accumulated a/c parts are in the trunk and back seat, untouched "because nothing fits".

I have no idea what to do next or who to go to.

I also wanted an alternator installed and that never got done, for reasons that are not clear.

The guy is going through some personal trauma mot of his making which is obviously highly stressful, so this is not a good time.

To hear many of you tell it, this is not rocket science, yet mechanics want nothing to do with this or want an endless supply of overpriced hours.

meanwhile I have to go write a toast that pleases my wife and my daughter. Can I phone in sick?

Pat,

My youngest son was married last Saturday, hardest thing I had to do was organise 3 early '50's Packards as the wedding cars. Doing that was more a labour of love than a chore, but no speeches pheew! It was about 18 degrees celsius on a clear, blue, sunny winters day, lovely! Wish you, your family and the happy couple all the best on the big day.

As to installing A/C, are you a member of a Packard or other car club locally? If so, are there guys there who would be willing to help a fellow club member? Or a hot rod shop, those guys are used to modifying and making things fit and work!

All my carefully accumulated a/c parts are in the trunk and back seat, untouched "because nothing fits".


Sorry to hear that. Obviously, nothing will be bolt-on in an old car unless it was engineered for or came off an identical car where someone had already done the work. Would have thought a mechanic would have known that before he took the job--or does he just work on Chevys or Hondas. You mentioned that Mike was doing the bracket and you had another crank pulley so the hard work was already being done--or did those fall thru. If so, there may be more options today than there were a month ago.

If you went with the unit you once mentioned you were thinking of using (or even a different one), any mechanic doing AC and worth his certification or title should be able to make a universal under dash unit fit--although the glove box door does present a slight challenge to some units. Even so, many have done it successfully as evidenced by the number of cars with them happily cooling away.

Mal has a good suggestion. If you bought that classic looking unit, I think I would look in their dealer listing for someone close and see what they say.


Sorry! End rant, but things like this mash my buttons. I guess on the bright side, you got your car back with all the pieces and before he took it apart and decided nothing fit & walked away.

By virtue of the title of this thread i am assuming that the double belt pulley for the AC pump is presenting a problem.

FORGET about using 2wo belts!! As long as the position of the AC compressor is such that the belt can get at least a 120 degree wrap of the compressor pulley then u only need ONE belt. That should make crank pulley application easier.

So someone elses next question will be:
" then why did the aftermarket supplier of the compressor make it 2wo row??"

Answer: Because the aftermarket made a UNIVERSAL KIT to span MANY various applications where a good wrap of the belt mite not be feasible.

PatGreen writes:
" ..."because nothing fits"".
Answer: IT's a UNIVERSAL kit!!! This is true of just about any universal kit for ANYthing! What did the salesman tell u???

AND
"To hear many of you tell it, this is not rocket science, yet mechanics want nothing to do with this or want an endless supply of overpriced hours."

True. IT's not rocket science. IT IS TIME CONSUMING!!! A hack saw and a file and a sears buzz box welder is far from any science or a deep pockets budget. They are only TIME consuming!!!! Just slightly more sophisitcated than digging a ditch with a shouvel or cutting 2x4's. It's just grunt work.

Does the AC compressor mount to the engine with minimal trouble??? If so then u have the hard part done.

How about a pic of the compressor mounting bracket???

Pix will have to wait till I recover from the wedding.

That said, let me clear up a few things. This thread was started as a tongue in cheek amusement,

I have all the parts, with the exception of hoses, alternator and bracket, and some minor bracketry.

I have a Packard original three ring pulley, and modern a/c components, including an under dash unit for the cabin.

The mechanic in question has been highly stressed by a family situation I am not comfortable discussing. I understand it and appreciate that he just doesn't want to face this problem at this time.

I called a listed dealer for the a/c units and was told that installation would be at least $3500 and could be more, which prompted my remark about overpriced.

I have no objection to paying a solid craftsman for good work. As a side note, we had three new doors put in our house last week, a double front door and a lower front door. It took a good carpenter three days (old house; nothing plumb) and the fit and finish is wonderful. However, he looked the situation over, made a firm quote nd stuck to it. He didn't ask for an open ended trust fund.

I do belong to the local club. several have been helpful, based on their experience with 55/56 cars. No one wants to do this for me, which seems completely reasonable to me. If you ask a friend to reset the level on the TBs, that's ten minutes, This is not.

I appreciate the feedback here because many of the answers offer new insights, which are most helpful. At the same time, I don't want to waste your time over problems that seem to be under control, like the pulley, which I have.