Happy Easter and welcome to Packard Motor Car Information! If you're new here, please register for a free account.  
Login
Username:

Password:

Remember me



Lost Password?

Register now!
FAQ's
Main Menu
Recent Forum Topics
Who is Online
160 user(s) are online (91 user(s) are browsing Forums)

Members: 0
Guests: 160

more...
Helping out...
PackardInfo is a free resource for Packard Owners that is completely supported by user donations. If you can help out, that would be great!

Donate via PayPal
Video Content
Visit PackardInfo.com YouTube Playlist

Donate via PayPal



« 1 ... 105 106 107 (108) 109 110 111 ... 144 »

Re: KPack's 1954 Panama
Just can't stay away
Just can't stay away

Packardfan
See User information
Nice!

Posted on: 2022/7/3 16:38
-Mike

1955 Packard 400




 Top  Print 
 


Re: KPack
Home away from home
Home away from home

kevinpackard
See User information
Getting off my rear and finally working on the car.

It's getting colder here, which means that I need to address the broken Bowden cables for my heater controls.

I started the removal of the radio and heater controls last night. It's pretty straightforward, but can be tricky to access the bolts for the heater controls behind the dash. It'll be interesting getting them back in. The worst part was trying to figure out a path for the radio to come out. It is almost too big for the space.

There was a TON of sand in there. Once I pulled off the faceplate I was surprised at how much was stuck right behind it.

I removed the heater controls and one of them had bent levers. Looked like someone nailed it with their legs as they were scooting around. Some rags to protect the metal and two sets of pliers made quick work of that.

All the levers have some corrosion on them. At first I was contemplating stripping the controls down to separate parts, then learn how to nickel plate to try and get some shine back. But nickel plating doesn't give the high shine that chrome does, so I decided to try and polish what I could. I used 0000 steel wool and a lubricant to clean off as much rust as possible. Then did some wax over that. It's definitely better than it was, but I can't do much about the pitting. Every piece of chrome on the car has moderate pitting. With the cost of chrome these days there is no way I'm going to pay for every bit to get redone. I would much rather spend the money on reupholstering the seats and door panels.

More to come when I get back to it tonight.

-Kevin

Attach file:



jpg  Sand behind coverplate.jpg (110.81 KB)
1059_631907fae418e.jpg 1024X768 px

jpg  Bent heater controls.jpg (100.87 KB)
1059_63190800e3597.jpg 768X1024 px

jpg  Straightened out.jpg (59.37 KB)
1059_63190806db335.jpg 768X1024 px

jpg  Rusted control arms.jpg (85.74 KB)
1059_6319080d5f36d.jpg 768X1024 px

jpg  Cleaned and polished arms.jpg (105.07 KB)
1059_6319081404578.jpg 768X1024 px

Posted on: 2022/9/7 16:07
 Top  Print 
 


Re: KPack
Home away from home
Home away from home

John
See User information
It is surprising all the places sand can get into.

Posted on: 2022/9/7 19:39
 Top  Print 
 


Re: KPack
Home away from home
Home away from home

kevinpackard
See User information
Had a few more minutes tonight and was able to fully disconnect the radio.

The radio removal is hampered by the wires for the rear speaker. They enter the radio box from the bottom through a tight rubber grommet, and the connections are made internally. The other end of the wires go over to the rear speaker control knob (left side of the dash), where they are soldered in place.

After evaluating my options, I figured it would be easiest to remove the rear plate of the radio in the car, then unplug the speaker wires from the radio and pull them out of the grommet.

With the radio free I took it outside and blasted it with air to get the huge amount of sand out. Now that it's all clean I may take a stab at seeing if I can get it working. I downloaded schematics from Auto Radio Schematics and will start watching some Youtube videos to see if I can figure it out. The light on the dial turns on when I turn the radio on, but no sound and no buzzing from the vibrator.

As a side note, when I opened the radio I found two original schematics for the radio. One is correct, and one is not. Pretty cool to find paper that is nearly 70 years old.

Two of my Bowden cables are broken, the other two seem to be fine. I'm going to order some new cable and will cut it to length.

-Kevin

Attach file:



jpg  Speaker cable.jpg (97.38 KB)
1059_631a0f6ad8b00.jpg 768X1024 px

jpg  Rear speaker control knob.jpg (87.62 KB)
1059_631a0f73630bf.jpg 768X1024 px

jpg  Speaker wire connections.jpg (143.75 KB)
1059_631a0f7f94d03.jpg 1024X768 px

jpg  Cleaned up interior of radio.jpg (129.43 KB)
1059_631a10ad927e1.jpg 1024X768 px

jpg  Original schematics.jpg (122.12 KB)
1059_631a10b303477.jpg 1024X768 px

Posted on: 2022/9/8 10:56
 Top  Print 
 


Re: KPack's 1954 Panama
Home away from home
Home away from home

humanpotatohybrid
See User information
- Check that tubes light & no significant corrosion anywhere

- Replace vibrator

- Check for burst or expanded capacitors

Hopefully just replacing the vibrator will get it working. If not, reseat vacuum tubes and try again. If not, get part chart, order and replace caps.

Posted on: 2022/9/8 11:12
'55 400. Needs aesthetic parts put back on, and electrical system sorted.
'55 Clipper Deluxe. Engine is stuck-ish.
 Top  Print 
 


Re: KPack's 1954 Panama
Home away from home
Home away from home

Packard Don
See User information
You should probably replace at least the power supply’s capacitors and, of course as said, check or replace the vibrator. These are even available in solid state if you want to go that route. I grew up in my grandfather’s radio and TV repair shop so was working on things like that from an early age!

Posted on: 2022/9/8 11:20
 Top  Print 
 


Re: KPack's 1954 Panama
Home away from home
Home away from home

JeromeSolberg
See User information

Posted on: 2022/9/8 11:46
 Top  Print 
 


Re: KPack's 1954 Panama
Home away from home
Home away from home

kevinpackard
See User information
Thanks everyone. This is my first experience with anything involving vacuum tubes, so I'm coming at this with zero knowledge. So far the only thing I know is that the vibrator is supposed to hum.

I have the parts list/schematic from the link I provided, so I'll have to pull the front off the radio and figure out which capacitors are for power, and do a thorough inspection of everything. So far from the back the internals look pretty good with no signs of corrosion.

Jerome, that thread is one of the many I was reading through last night as I was researching what to do next. Thanks for providing all those links.

I don't have a benchtop 12V supply. What should I get?

-Kevin

Posted on: 2022/9/8 13:58
 Top  Print 
 


Re: KPack's 1954 Panama
Home away from home
Home away from home

Packard Don
See User information
Tubesandmore.com should be able to help with vacuum tubes and possibly some of the other hard to find parts.

Posted on: 2022/9/8 14:26
 Top  Print 
 


Re: KPack's 1954 Panama
Home away from home
Home away from home

kevinpackard
See User information
Two questions:

1.) For a 12V power supply to test with...can I just use whatever 12V wall wart and put alligator clips on it? Or do I need an actual benchtop power supply?

2.) Will the tubes light even without the vibrator working?

Posted on: 2022/9/8 16:43
 Top  Print 
 




« 1 ... 105 106 107 (108) 109 110 111 ... 144 »




Search
Recent Photos
Photo of the Day
Recent Registry
Website Comments or Questions?? Click Here Copyright 2006-2024, PackardInfo.com All Rights Reserved