Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Does anyone have any info about adding an after market cruise control to a 1955 Clipper? I am handicapped and am in need of adding one to my wife's Clipper.

There are several kits out there and it's not that complicated to adapt one. I have not yet done so, but I will be putting a cruise control on my Panther. That will be a little more complicated because I have to also put a shut-off microswitch on the clutch pedal in addition to the brake pedal. If your Clipper is T-U, then just the brake pedal needs a switch.

Good luck.

Craig

Something you may need to watch out for in adding a cruise control to your 55 is the positive ground. Some modern cruise kits may have separate wires where you can reverse them to connect to the positive ground but others may have part of their mechanisms internally connected to a mounting screw and would in all probability require negative ground. As long as you don't have any modern solid state replacement components such as a radio vibrator or TL control switch you can reverse your car fairly easily if the need arises.

One kit that seems to have quite a few options and accessory items for adapting to older cars is one made by Rostra.http://www.rostra.com/universal-aftermarket-cruise-control-by-rostra.php#2504165 That one has an optional switch assy in a small box you can mount separately instead of trying to adapt something to the turn signal stalk. There is a video you can view to see some of what is involved. Amazon carries it as do others.

The speed sensor is an item that may require some ingenuity in adapting to a Packard but they do have different types available. Using one of the speedo cable sensors may require a custom cable and housing to be made but there are places that can do it. There is one of the throttle adaption methods that looks like it would be fairly easy to do on our solid rod type linkage.

1SG: Be careful of proceding with a polarity swap as suggested above if your 55 has a pertronics pos grnd set up in the distributer and a solid state voltage regulator for the dash . :)

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Excellent point. I completely forgot those items are also a possibility on Packards.

Aftermarket radio will probably be toast also.

Thank you for the info. I will "photo document" the install to include any custom mods. I will check the other items listed.

Where would I find the solid state voltage controller for the dash, if there was one on the car? How do I id it? The Pertronix unit is no problem. There is one but I will replace it.

Other than the stated precautions as stated by other posters, what are the procedures for changing the ground? Even though I only have the use of one hand, I am pretty mechanically inclined and have worked on my share of cars over the years. I just do not know if the gauges/radio/heater fans/etc need to be replaced or is it straight forward as swapping the ground/battery connections and the generator/voltage regulator?

Thank you for the help.

If nothing is solid state, then depending on which regulator you have it may be as simple as swapping the battery connections, swapping the two wires on the coil terminals so the terminal going to the dist is the same as the battery ground and then repolarizing the generator.

If the regulator is one specifically designed for positive or negative ground then you may need to change that to a universal type to maintain a proper charge rate.

If someone did add a solid state instrument voltage regulator it should be in the same place as the original. At the rear of the cluster toward the bottom behind speedo and probably located between the two circuit breakers.