The following are a couple of sample articles from the Packardtips Collection. This is a series of articles written over a ten year period covering over 100 tips to help keep your Packard running. The entire collection can be purchased from our Region as it is one of our Regional Projects.

PACKARDTIPS #5  

1955 ULTRAMATIC –STICKING IN PARK  

The early 55 Ultramatics had a tendency to stick in Park, especially when parked on an incline.  There are three possible causes for this.  

The lever attached to the control shaft part number 3.57787 on Plate 35 of the parts manual.  The early lever was incorrectly made.  The illustration on Plate 35 shows the lever leaning forward with the setscrew pointing straight down.  This is the correct replacement lever.  The early lever would have been vertical with the setscrew pointing straight down.  If you have the early lever you should obtain the later one and the rod that connects it to the fulcrum, which is mounted on the car body.  If you cannot obtain the rod, you will have to cut, shorten, and weld the rod on your car.   

The manual control valve.  This valve may have to be modified as per Fig. 1 below.  The transmission does not have to be removed but the valve chamber does.  See page 12, Fig. 23 of the garage manual.  Also, page 4 of this book.  If you are uncomfortable trying this, take your car to a qualified mechanic or transmission shop and show them what must be done.

    FIGURE 1

Grind off the rear ramp as indicated by the dotted line

The parking gear. When you put the transmission in Park a pawl engages a specially cut gear to lock the rear shaft so the driveshaft cannot turn.  The first series gears were incorrectly cut.  Instead of having a slight slope on the sides, the teeth had a small lip at their ‘top’ ends. This must be ground off. See Fig 2.  Access to the parking gear is obtained by removing the driveshaft, and the tail shaft from the transmission.  The transmission does not have to be removed from the car but it should be partially drained to lower the fluid level.  With the transmission in neutral, the gear can be removed, modified and replaced.  See the pictures and instructions on Page 11, Fig. 19 of the garage manual for further information.  Alternatively, a later series gear may be substituted

.

    OLD                   NEW

        FIG. 2        

Lip of tooth exaggerated for illustrative purposes

PACKARDTIPS #86  

THE CUT OFF SWITCH  

Many people feel that it is important to have a battery cut-off switch for the safety of the car and to prevent the battery from being discharged.  There is a good case that can be made for this.   

The thing that is often overlooked is; the switch MUST be rated heavy enough for the load that it has to take when the car is starting.  And, it has to be made in such a way that it provides an uninterrupted flow of current while the car is running.  

I have encountered several situations involving the popular “green knob” cut off switch that is normally mounted on the positive terminal of the battery.  This switch, available at almost any swap meet is, in my opinion, too light for a six-volt car.  The result can be hard starting, and a variety of other electrical problems.  

I will give you two examples during the last couple of months that involved our members.  

In the first case the member encountered a peculiar high-speed miss.  The car would perform perfectly to about 55 mph and then he could feel the miss.  He spent months trying everything – points condenser, rotor, cap, wires, coil, sparkplugs, etc.  Then he removed the switch –problem solved!  

In the second case the car began to run rough, then it would only run for a few minutes and stop.  It appeared to be running out of gas. Finally, it would not start.  Our member spent almost three months on this and because he believed he had a battery problem, he had the generator rebuilt, installed a new regulator, had the carb. gone through, had the new ignition system re-analyzed and was generally at his wits end. He asked me to call on him to see if there was anything I could suggest.  I spotted the cut-off switch and, remembering the experience of the previous member, removed it – no more problems! In hindsight, I could have asked if he had the switch, and, in future, it is the first question I will ask anyone who has any sort of electrical problem.  

Over the years, I have suggested to people that they should use a good quality heavy duty switch, but now there seems to be even more reason to do so.  The switch that I recommend is the Cole-Hersee Master Disconnect Switch #2484. This switch is rated at 175 amps continuous and 1,000 amps intermittent. It can be ordered through almost any auto parts store.  It has to be mounted on the car in a convenient yet unobtrusive location, which can be a bit of a drawback but the reward is that you have no electrical problems.

So – if you are experiencing any unsolved electrical or ignition problems the cut-off switch could be the answer you have been looking for.   

As a footnote, the same principles apply to 12-volt cars, but because the various electrical devices draw only half the amps of a 6-volt car they do not normally have the same problems.  

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