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Hello. This my 48 Deluxe. This is my first Packard and also my first attempt at a vehicle from this era so bear with me. Looks like I've got a good solid foundation to start with in my goal to make a good reliable occasional driver out of an oft forgotten car. Things I have in mind are exhaust, rebuild charging system, go through fuel system, replace all brake lines and sleeve all wheel+master cyls, flush and replace all fluids as needed, repl. hoses and belts, tuneup, paintjob (eventually), tires, and wire harness.
Not neccessarily in that order. It'll most likely go in the order of parts found. Typically, I get everything working how it was supposed to first. Then I'd have a better idea of what to improve, if anything.
Enjoy the ride!

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There's a lot of us in that situation. Believe you me these guys are a lot of help and will be there for you. This site rocks.

Chuck,

Congrats on the car. I think you will find it an enjoyable ride! This site has a great group of folks that will be more than helpful. In fact, I have found this site to also be motivational; with all the great work one reads about you start to feel guilty if you have neglected your Packard duties!

Welcome, and Cheers,

Tom

Chuck congrats on the new addition! BTW you know about as much as I did when I got my '54, and when I started, PackardInfo.com wasn't even a concept yet.

Everything comes with time and experience, hopefully the website helps you along the journey.

Alright! It's finally at it's new home. Work begins soon!

Keep us posted on the bathtub, and if you need some trim items I may be able to help you.

Today was somewhat productive. Repaired wiring for generator, volt. regulator, coil, and oil pressure switch. Installed the missing grill bar. That went easier than expected since it was broke in half. Still, the end result is presentable. I changed the oil or what passed for oil. That has to be the first time I've seen large globs of sludge oozing out with engine oil. Hope to never see that again. Used 15w-40 diesel engine oil and some STP. That should clear most of the gunk out.
Afterwards, I put in a new battery and started it up and moved it back and forth a few times. The car fires right up and runs well. Unfortunately, the charging system is non-functional for now.

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Looking good, and engine actually starting is always a positive. Don't recall anything in charging circuit as being problematic so guess just good old fashioned troubleshooting. Someone not too long ago mentioned having sticking or bad brushes.

Based on your description of the motor oil, I'd put dropping and cleaning the pan and the pump intake screen pretty high on my list of things to do.

Yeah, the pan's going to have to come off in the near future. I just don't have a gasket for it yet. I really didn't like what came out of there. The generator and regulator will get redone soon. I cleaned out the car. 2 large trash bags full from the trunk. Only found 2 mouse nests in back and some angry bees had taken up residence in the exhaust. Below is a pic of a missing side moulding. I have the piece (was in trunk) but I need the attaching clip for it. Someone pop riveted the other side's piece but not this one.

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