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Hello!
Im restoring a 1951 Packard Henney Hearse/Ambulance and I am struggling to find a distributor for it. Any idea if there are other models that will fit? Thanks in advance :)

Nearly any 1951-1954 Packard distributor will physically fit and will work and probably pre-1951 will work too as the blocks were more or less the same in that regard. I may even have a spare core of the original but if so it will need a full restoration. Using a different one may have a different centrifugal and vacuum advance curve so something to keep in mind.

I'm not sure if Autolite IGP 4502-B (inside is stamped IGT 1082) is what I actually used or whether it's the spare one but either way I have two with one that's correct and another that's off by one character in the model number.

I used to own a 1951 Henney-Packard combination. Are you in California and is yours by chance blue? The last I saw it, it had new paint and was headed to the Concord, CA area.

Wonderful! That is good to know. I will try to open my search up a little more. I may bug you with more questions as I get deeper into the restoration :)

Do you think other models such as Ford would fit? I have seen quite a few of those too. I'm not as familiar with the older models of vehicles and if parts are exchangeable.

Thank you!

I was lucky enough to purchase this vehicle from the original funeral home in Ohio! It was the first one built in that year and shipped to southern Ohio. I have a 55 Packard that is my baby...stepping way out of my comfort zone with this new beauty

No, not Ford or any other make. The Packard mechanical and electrical parts are easy to come by but not so easy for the commercial chassis and body parts so finding the proper distributor should be easy. I even have quite a few mechanical and trim spares available for Henney-Packards as I've owned five of them, three of which were in the same era as yours and I've owned lots of other Packards of the era too.

Most other makes of cars had the distributor's drive gear on the end of the shaft, but Packard's gear was on the oil pump even on the V8 models. Maybe other makes of the era did that too but I am not aware off-hand of any.

I am currently working on a 1951 Henney-Packard myself (see the link to the blog for it below) where you may gain some insights and find some bits and pieces in the Classified Ads. The distributor isn't listed but, as I was just working on my own recently, I know I have another as I used it for reference. Maybe start a blog of your own too where you can post questions as you progress but feel free to PM me directly too if you want.

G'day PackardGirl1951,
to PackardInfo.

I invite you to include your '51 Henney Hearse/Ambulance in PackardInfo's Packard Vehicle Registry.