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(1) 2 »

1954 Deluxe Clipper Coil ?
#1
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Richard France
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Hi. I have a 54 Packard Clipper Deluxe with a 327. I bought the car a few weeks ago, and when I went to look at it, it started and ran. I bought it and got 3 miles down the road and the fuel pump went out. Since I got it home I have replaced the fuel pump, carb, battery,voltage relay, starter solenoid, fuel lines, plugs, wires and points condenser,cap and rotor button.
Now it turns over, tries to start, pops and splitters, but just not firing up. I bought a new coil today, since the car still had the original, and it has a + and- on it. The original I took off does not have those. My question is, which side should the wire going to the points go? + or- ? Also, which is the number one cylinder? The one closest to the fan? If I don't get it running soon I might just sell it and stick to Ford's.lol. If anyone can help, I would appreciate it very much.

Posted on: 2015/9/29 16:26
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Re: 1954 Deluxe Clipper Coil ?
#2
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HH56
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# 1 cylinder is closest to fan. The coil polarity depends on the battery ground. Normally Packards were positive ground in 54 and if your car still is the coil plus would go to the dist. points. If it has been changed to negative ground then the minus goes to points.

One thing that is very unforgiving on 6v Packards is the cable size and battery charge. The starter motors turning the big engines pull a lot of current when running. If the battery is down or too low in cca capacity or the battery cables are too small or have dirty connections, voltage to the coil can drop below 5v and the spark will be very marginal -- sometimes not high enough to fire reliably. If the original cables are in use the size is fine but if someone has replaced with a typical parts store cable they are most likely too small. Packards like 0 or 00 gauge and very clean connections..

Even though you changed the condenser there have been issues with brand new ones not being any good. Another thing to check is the flexible wire inside the dist. If you have the fabric covered flexible wire between points and the outside terminal, the old fabric insulation is notorious for falling off after being disturbed with any dist service like a point and condenser change. It can create an intermittent or even complete short.

Posted on: 2015/9/29 16:32
Howard
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Re: 1954 Deluxe Clipper Coil ?
#3
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Richard France
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Thank you for the suggestions. Yes, someone replaced the original battery cables. They appear to be 0 or 00, new and clean. My car is still original 6 volt, so coil will be good now. Thanks. Even with a brand new battery it cranks pretty slow, or at least to me. Should it crank really fast?

Posted on: 2015/9/29 17:19
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Re: 1954 Deluxe Clipper Coil ?
#4
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longjohn
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The original 6 volt systems do crank slower than 12 volt starters but they get the job done if everything is in good condition.

One other thing to check: Make sure the condensor is mounted securely. It has to ground through the condensor case. I replaced one once and the replacement was a little smaller in diameter than the original so it didn't fit in the holder tightly. It led to all kinds of intermittent problems with rough running and hard starting.

Are you getting good spark? If yes, then you have a fuel problem, not an electrical issue. Dump some gas right into the carb throat and see if it will start. A problem that I ran into installing a new fuel pump on a friends Packard recently was that the rebuilt pump had been reassembled "backward". The inlet and outlet were reversed from the original. Had to take the pump apart and turn that part of the casting 180 degrees and reassemble.

Posted on: 2015/9/29 20:53
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Re: 1954 Deluxe Clipper Coil ?
#5
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Richard France
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I will double check those. I put in new plugs and wires and the new coil last night, now it doesnt enen pop or backfire, it just turns over. What about the timing gear and chain? Can they just suddenly go out? How hard is that to replace?

Posted on: 2015/9/30 11:50
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Re: 1954 Deluxe Clipper Coil ?
#6
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HH56
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Chain or gear not likely to have failed suddenly like that. If the dist still turns would think that part is OK.

What coil did you use? At any rate, I would verify the spark with the new coil. Remove the wire from dist and while holding it by the insulation or with something insulated touch the terminal against the block a few times. There should be a good spark each time the connection to block is broken. Reconnect the wire and crank the engine looking at the spark and verify it is still about equal to what was there without the dist. If weak or if nothing is happening check the condition of points, condenser, connections, ground to dist and that flex wire.. The points can oxidize if the key was left on a long time while points were closed.

It might also be good to check the condition of the plugs again. Prolonged cranking without starting can cause a film of oil and gas to condense on the plugs greatly hindering a spark -- particularly if the spark is weak in the first place..

Posted on: 2015/9/30 12:17
Howard
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Re: 1954 Deluxe Clipper Coil ?
#7
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Richard France
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Ok. Put in new plugs and wires, new coil also. Checked the points and they look shot, condenser also. Tried to remove points but only one screw would come out, the other has a cam motion and won't come out. I took the top plate off and out. Do I replace just the points somehow or does new points come with this plate? I know this sounds rather far fetched, but I have never seen points I can't remove. Any thoughts?

Posted on: 2015/10/1 15:40
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Re: 1954 Deluxe Clipper Coil ?
#8
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Richard France
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Well, I'll be the first to admit it. I'm an idiot. I figured out how to remove the points. What does this cam arm do? Do I adjust both screws to set the points when on number one cylinder?

Posted on: 2015/10/1 16:35
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Re: 1954 Deluxe Clipper Coil ?
#9
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JWL
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The screw you removed holds the point set to the breaker plate. The one you cannot remove is the one to adjust the point gap; however, the holding screw cannot be tight when doing this, just slightly snug should work then tighten after adjustment. The points can be adjusted on any of the cam lobes. Now is a good time to clean and lubricate the distributor innards. It is not a difficult or complex job, but you must know what you are doing.

(o{}o)

Posted on: 2015/10/1 16:47
We move toward
And make happen
What occupies our mind... (W. Scherer)
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Re: 1954 Deluxe Clipper Coil ?
#10
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Richard France
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Very good. Thank you very much. Messing with any distrutor has always scared me a bit. Always afraid I will screw things up. I ordered new points and condenser from kanter a few hours ago. Hopefully this will get her started. Thank you again.

Posted on: 2015/10/1 17:12
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