Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I'm not sure how the original wire were marked from the factory. I would have to look into that and get back to you. But Packard Electric "440" wire was made for many years, and you can still find rolls of it. It is marked along the wire with "PACKARD 440". It is probably not factory, but sure looks the part.

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Big Kev Thanks,
Thats a great photo. and some good info. Were the boots for the wires on the 440 the same as the 56 PAT?

Check out Dwight Heinmullers site as to what he sells. Scroll down about half the page and there is a photo which you can enlarge & shows the boot and wire. Might give an idea of what passes for original looking today.packardparts.org/parts.htm

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Bowman, the newer type longer spark plug wire brackets, like you are describing, were installed to reduce cross firing or induction firing between spark plug wires, especially for those cylinders that fired one after the other on the same bank. Droop or drop was not the reason. Also, some solid spark plug wire is TV Radio Suppression type (TVRS). You should be able to fix or replace your coil high tension wire and be good to go. You can easily check to see if you have suppression type wiring by measuring the resistance with an Ohm meter. Non-suppression will show very little resistance, but TVRS will show 10-20k Ohms.

Kev -

In addition to type of core, we need to be careful about the finished outside diameter of the wire.

I don't recall the size of the OE wires, but some of the more modern stuff just slips right through the looms or grommets. The OE wire was just tight enough not to slip.

Mind you, that's been my experience with the V8s; I'm not familiar with set-up WRT Packard straight eights.

Bowman -

The reason I tend to avoid mass-market stores in this regard is that most only want to deal with the fastest moving parts. However, some of the idependent stores are smart enough to tap into neglected niche markets. I have had best luck with the locally-owned stores operating under the Federated banner. While they might not have what I need right on the shelf, they can often get it in short order from some warehouse - even outside of their normal supply chain. Yet, they can't always come up with every part.

Any off-the-shelf components that Packard incorporated into their vehicle and were used in other brands might have been commonly available for years in the aftermarket, but after 50+ years since these cars wer sold as new, a lot of those supplies have dried up. Then, many Packard parts are unique enough in their design that you may not have ever found them in though parts store at any time.

If you're open to building even a small stock of parts for future needs, I further encourage you to attend swap meets whenever possible.

Packard vendors will more often have what you are looking for, but they typically attend Packard-only meets or events the size of Fall Hershey. Yet, there are some who don't sell at any meets.

While Packard parts are not plentiful at more general meets that are open to all brands, I am often surprised at what I have found just in strolling around the grounds. Typically, it's those components that were shared with other vehicles but are NLA in parts stores. Other times, it seems that the harder I hunted for a particular part, the more disappointments I got. So, I learned to enjoy "fishing" for parts.

Please continue to keep us posted on your progress and any questions you have with your car.

Good point Brian about the wire thickness. Without having an original to compare to I could not give you an accurate comparison.

Bowman,

The Packard 440 wire I bought came on a 50ft spool. I also bough a box of vintage boots and made my own set so I could get everything the correct length as there are not to many over the counter wire sets that will work on the Straight Eight. Some wires are really short, others are quite long. I also had a proper crimping tool that crimps from 6 sides instead of the cheaper 2-sided crimper.

As with most wires, if you didn't like the markings on them, a little thinner and a rag and be used to remove them.

BigKev, Thanks again.
Where did you find your 8 sided "proper" crimping tool.

BH, Thanks,
I haven't been to a swap meet for (guessing here) 30 years or more, but I'll have to make it a point to start going again.

JW,
Mine must be non-suppressive because they all have very little resistance.

HH56,
I'll check out that web site for sure.


Thanks everyone and I'll let you know the outcome, shouldn't take very long after the weather gets a little better.

I inherited a bunch of tools from a friend's father that was a long time auto mechanic. So not sure where you would buy one. But itskind of a cam/gear actuated unit has 8 faces (maybe 6, now that I think of it that all press in when squeezed.

BigKev,
Thanks, I'll keep on the lookout for one.