Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Vehicle spec: 1951, 300 sedan, 327, ultramatic.

Left the house this morning, all good, almost to work (5-6 minutes run time) and loss of power, big time loss of power. Could barely keep it running. Random (pops) missfires in the exhaust. Could not get above 15 mph. Barely made it into a parking spot at work.
Had a few minutes, checked fuel, got fuel. Accelerator pump is squirting in the carb.
FFWD to end of work day.
Engine rolls over, no fire. Check hat and spinner, look ok. Points, not so good.
Catch a ride home from wife. Start looking for parts, ie: points and condenser.
How many dizzys did Packard use ??? I have seen listings for Delco, Presto-lite, and Auto-lite.

Getting back to the car tomorrow to see if i can find a tag on the dizzy. And bring some more tools to test for spark.
Standard Blue Streak was my go to for years for point ignitions.
Anything better for a Packard ? (once i figure out which dizzy i have.)
Thanks

They used either Autolite or Delco-Remy but Prestolite and others offered aftermarket replacements. I think even Autolite offered Delco-Remy replacements and vice versa but I’m not sire! Point is (pun intended), you need to know which distributor you have before you can find the points for it and be sure to take a photo inside your distributor too just in case. Stores like Napa can often look up Packard but the points aren’t necessarily correct so a photo really helps.

Better check coil and condenser, and ignition primary wiring.

If the engine sounds abnormal when cranking with the ignition off, you may have a timing chain issue.

Points rarely fail suddenly, but the condenser might.