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Was wondering why Ross hadn't responded.

Well y'all with the 6volt systems. Glad the old RRRRRRRRRRR click click click click starter is gone. Now it is Click rev-rev and I am on the road. For the cost of replacing the 6v starter,generator, regulator, wires etc etc..
A $100 12V alternator+Battery works just fine for me. Now I can even get a deceint radio and halogen lamps.

Yeah Right go ahead and jump it with a 12 volt. Been there done that when I was in my teens. Gets expensive real quick depending on what you burn up.

Hopefully there aren't any young dumb lads out there reading this. They might actually try it.

Thanks for the info about the trans. Anyone have any info on hotrodding a '50 ?

OTG

Dear ogtdy:

I'm not sure whether the exact problem you're having with the transmission has been properly described, but there is no reason to get sarcastic.

Let's go to the bottom line:

If you like the look of the car, but are being brought down by the 60 year old machinery then hot rod it. There are plenty of 1950's Packards around that can use the spare parts.

The 12 volt thing works because putting more pressure into the starter works the same way as giving grandma a shot of methamphetamine. She might get a rise for awhile but will crash sooner or later. It works great for occasional use, but every day commuting?

If you like the straight eight motor but are getting fed up with the Ultramatic, then convert the thing to 727 Torqueflite. That is an investment rather than an expense because the powertrain can be sold and the rest of the car crushed. But act quickly because those transmissions are getting hard to find.

The six volt stuff worked great when it was new, but by golly, machinery gets old, and with the economy the way it is some of these parts supplies are going to be terminated and things will go back to the way they were. Impossible.

So have fun.

Dibs on the motor if he pitches it!

The reverse and low gears are controlled by bands. Check the tightness of them described in the manual. My car would not go in those gears. Once adjusted, I now have low and reverse.

I have had a 48 Packard for 15 years,and it starts all the time with the six volt system.Once I left the Dome light on and killed the battery.Had a .friend jump it with his 12 volt.Key is to make sure nothing is on and you remove the cable when it starts.Have done this with six volt cars for years and I have yet to have a problem.

"If you like the look of the car, but are being brought down by the 60 year old machinery then hot rod it. There are plenty of 1950's Packards around that can use the spare parts."

This vehicle went through a total rotisserie restoration then put in an outbuilding. Every part was replaced and/or rebuilt using original parts. (engine/trans/rear/brakes/front end/interior etc). It has less than 5k miles on the total restoration. The poor fella pulled a heart attack a week after getting the restoration home. Fortunately he lived but the Pack ended up in storage for 15 years. He did take his grand daughter out for a ride which is why there was one set of seatbelts in the back seat. I envy him.

I took the car to a carburetor rebuild place to get the carb rebuilt (storage issues). The A**hole bent the linkage rods that control the transmission. Blew the trans on the Bay Bridge. Finally got an appointment to have an expert rebuild it. Cost a fortune but he did a good job.

In the meantime, when I got caught in traffic it would overheat. When I parked it and tried to restart it, it would go RRRRR click click click . Tried a 12V jump toasted the generator. Rebuilt the generator. Purchased a high cold crank 6V very expensive not much better than the fork lift battery it had originally.

No improvement RRRRRR click. 8 Tows later AAA no longer covers it. Converted to 12V ($100) now it starts great. Yeah I can overhaul it annually but at least it starts. Expect it to cost me about than a dollar a year for new brushes. I'll take the hit.

TRANS Update:
I discussed this with the best Trans guy I know and he thinks the Slick Sh*t may have destroyed the innards. Too much of a coincidence it failed a couple of hundred miles after the fluid was changed. Sounds to him like the intake filter/screen is totally clogged with whatever (clutch material ?). He (as a teen) only worked on a 57 Ultra so he isn't sure what is in this one and doesn't want to know. That's honest advise if I ever heard it.

I would ask if any of you are interested in purchasing this totally restored '50 but I know I would be better selling it for scrap.

All I really wanted to do is drive my friend around on her wedding day. She promised to get me a hat ! The day before was the memorable day on the bay bridge.

You tell me if I am being sarcastic or not.

Just a note... I am FAA certified with certifications in welding and Electro-mechanical systems. Have totally restored over 50 vehicles, in the past 30 years, that are all still on the road now. Like my friend I do not do transmissions especially ultramatics everything else is fair game.

On a positive note. How much trouble is it to swap the trans to a newer one ? Any idea on how expensive it will be ? Any automatic with overdrive options ?

OTG

A '57 Ultra? That would indeed be rare.

To have cooked the generator you must have left the 12-volt cables connected too long. You must remove them within a few seconds of starting or in any case, not longer than 5 seconds or so at a time. It's been done successfully probably millions of times without problems.

Doubt the TrickShift destroyed the linings, lots of Ultramatics running TrickShift with no such problems reported.

I did earlier suggest you drop the pan and check the inlet screen, but if the throttle pressure linkage was bent and not straightened and adjusted "by the book", chances are very good that you cooked the transmission - that adjustment is VERY critical.

My last words on this one.

I ran the trickshift before and after the rebuild, i doubt any fluid short of something that's not even ATF would cause those issues.

Did they replace the direct drive disc in the converter? When mine was restored 15+ years ago, they did seals and gaskets but no internal parts. Finally, after overheating it on a trip 3+ hours from home and pushing the car to the limit, i took the trans down for rebuild because of internal pressure leaks, and found the direct drive clutch disc was coming apart. I know it was my fault from the abuse, and angrily pushing the car with a pretty high temp gauge at 70+ mph with the hot radiator heating the trans fluid was not a good idea.


Anyway, had it rebuilt buy a guy here in Ohio who had done a few a LONG time ago. I bought the parts, when there was a machining issue i found the directions for the fix, and he did everything. I did the converter and direct drive disc myself.

Anyways, parts was like $500 with the NOS direct drive disc from someone here. Rest of the parts were from kanter (bushings, clutch discs, etc). I can't quote his price as we did some horse trading with my computer business, but i'd venture a guess that a rebuild with parts would be in the 1200-1500 area? Not really that bad. Of course Ross is the go to guy, but there are cheaper options.

Also, i TOTALLY bent my rods removing my motor and tranny. I fixed them as best i could, and connected them up and adjusted them per ross's directions (very easy) and the tranny has been perfect.

As a side note, when done using modern parts, your soft parts are essentially all the same material as GM...and trickshift hasn't been eating up GM trannys that i've heard of. If yours was recently rebuild correctly, it should have GM linings and modern seals.

All i wanted was to drive my packard on my wedding day. Didn't make it. And then to bring my little girl home when she was born. Didn't make it. Oh well, maybe it'll take her to prom? With dad chauffeuring so that no handsy sonfabitch tries anything?

Lastly, there is a place that sells a kit to put a GM tranny behind a straight eight, it's about 1K for the kit. With your experience, you could make it fit if there's x-member issues, and you're already 12 volt if you want to use a computer. I'd look at a 700r4 or electronic variant, and make use of a lockup converter. Why go with a 727 when it will be more work and a little more money, but you could have lockup and OD?

One thing that will destroy clutch linings - in ANY automatic - is engine coolant, from an internal leak in trans fluid cooler.

I have B & M trick shift in my 53 and it is fine. Also I still have 6 volt pos ground no problems. One thing is I hope you did not use the Synthetic Fluid. I was told to use the reg fluid only,not synthetic. Just a thought.