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Has anyone else had issues with putting their Clipper on jackstands and the frame rails bending?
I just went to work on mine and I noticed the rail bent around the jackstand.

Unless they are really rusty, I've not seen such a thing on any Packard.

Packard always had very robust frames and bodywork, as was expected at the price point. In fact, up until the 51 model year, it was common to use the cross of the X-beam as a single jack point in shops; here is the specific bulletin warning service shops to discontinue this practice.

Be sure to reference the literature archive as needed. Here is the service manual:https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/archive/content.php?op=&catID=10&ContentID=119

You can reference the frame section for the correct shape of your frame.

Also, your car very likely has Torsion Level suspension, so be sure to read up on that a bit or you will likely be confused as to how it should work. Perhaps some earlier owner put air shocks or some other ignorant modification in it for lack of knowledge. It's unusual, but not complicated.


Can you post a picture of the suspicious area?

I'm not sure how well you can see it, but on the right side of the stand, the rail has curled upward.

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  20231004_211843.jpg (307.67 KB)

The frame is probably rusty. Regardless, you need to move the stand to near where the X brace intersects the side rail. I'd cut a couple of 4"X 4" 3/4 plywood pads to put on top of the jack stand to spread the load. Not every place on the frame or suspension is a good place to put a jack or a jack stand. Placing the jack stand as pictured puts a tremendous force on a very small area of the frame, and at a spot where the frame material is not shaped correctly to bear such force.

It looks as if both the X brace member and the floor pan have been severely damaged by some kind of impact. Is that the case, or is it an optical illusion?

I'm not sure about the floor pan, but I definitely suspect the car was hit. I'm learning that a lot was hidden about the car when I got it. It would explain several things for sure. I moved the jackstand rearward, it seemed to improve. I'm still concerned about the overall integrity of the frame.

Zooming in on the photo I see what appears to be lots of rust and thin rails along the frame and in one place there even appears to be a tear between the horizontal and vertical portions of one of the I-beams. Maybe just the angle of the photo but to me it does not look like a safe frame!

Any ideas for a frame swap? Obviously finding a donor Clipper is the best, but not necessarily the easiest to find option. I read something about using metric GM chassis and I've seen a few videos about crown vic frames. I'm 95% I can not use the frame I have.
Sidenote: I'm very upset. I tthought I got lucky when I traded for this car and now I just feel screwed and kinda sick.

There is a guy in PA with a junk Clipper Custom 2 door that MIGHT have a better frame.https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/839880337780775/?mibextid=dXMIcH

However I'm not actually sure whether a Custom frame (5567) would correctly fit a Panama (5547) body. See Frame here...https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/archive/content.php?op=&catID=10&ContentID=119

The other option is to just have a shop weld it up. If it's already messed up there's no point in trying to keep it original. Just find someplace good enough to not do something stupid like weld the body to the frame.

I did find a 4 door Clipper Super but I'm not sure how different the frames are. Also, not sure how good the frame is. I might try the repair route.