1941 Packard
Model 160
4 door sedan

December 19, 2019

When we sold the car to Tom on October 14, 2018, we asked him to let us know how he was proceeding on the restoration. I compiled the following from his various emails. We did not hear from him from November 2018 until I asked him for an update on December 5, 2019.

 When we sold the car the odometer read 58294 miles. I remember that both speedometer and odometer both worked when dad drove it home in 1955.

The following information is basically in the order and as Tom sent it to me. NOTE: Highlighting and color text by Jim.

October 20, 2018:

Thought you might like to know that after soaking the cylinders with Marvel Mystery Oil, working on the carburetor, starter and distributor, an engine oil change and new spark plugs and wires. I had the engine running today. There is still a lot to do but something about starting an engine after all those years of sitting sure makes you smile.

 

November 22, 2018

In the past weeks I replaced all brake hoses rebuilt or replaced all wheel cylinders, rebuilt the master cylinder, flushed the brake system with clean fluid, repaired the shifter linkage. It would not let the transmission go into first or reverse gears. Started working on the horns as they do not sound any more. Repacked the front wheel bearings and replaced front wheel seals. Also put a new tube in the left rear tire that was going flat. I may also have to do other tires(Jim: I cannot believe he actually drove the car on any of the 1055 tires!!!). I also started painting front sheet metal parts. I also made a new ground cable for the battery and also greased the entire car.

 

December 14, 2019:

I think I previously told you all the things I did to the engine to start it.

Some research I had done shows the battery that was in the car was a 1954 or 1955 as that was the last year that that case was made.

The brakes where totally rebuilt. Wheel cylinders master cylinder and hoses. Wheel seals replaced and bearings repacked.

The transmission shifter was in 1 position so long it would only go in 2 gears. Took that apart freed it up and lubricated it should be good for another 60 years.

All the front inner sheet metal was painted and reassembled. The grill louvers were freed up but I could not get the part that went in the radiator to make them automatic so I left them open like everybody else does. All the lights were repaired and fixed most of the chrome was cleaned and polished. Charging system was repaired. The balancer was replaced at one time and could not get the timing set by using those marks so I set the timing by vacuum.

All the metal parts that were missing I was able to make and all came out pretty nice The only part that was missing that I could not make was the center hood strip so I located 1 in Texas. It only fit 1941 160 and 180 models so it was not cheap.

The radiator was repaired due to small leaks and cleaned by a radiator guy.

The speedometer in the dash locked up and I never got that fixed.

The gas tank was at a gas tank shop. They said they cooked the tank for 3 weeks to get it cleaned, then they coated the inside so that would not happen anymore. I also freed up and cleaned the contacts on the gas gauge sending unit.

It was pretty fun driving the car after knowing it was sitting for 63 years.

There were 3250 1941 160 Packards made covering 6 different body styles. From my research there are 27 sedans known to exist and probably a few more that no one knows about. There are 3 within 50 miles of me.

I sold the car to a guy from China a few months ago and he said he was shipping it to Thailand. So it is probably there by now. (Jim’s comment- Based on my interpretation of all Tom’s comments, I think he sold the car in April or May 2019.)

If you figure my time, I probably made $1.00 an hour but I felt the car needed to go back together and I enjoyed working on it. After all the repairs the car would climb any hill in high gear and that’s saying something for a car of that period.

In the first God Father movie they are driving a 1941 180 from New York which I worked on in the 1980s.

In mid December, I questioned Tom about other work needed:

Did you basically have to replace the entire wiring harness?

Did you figure out how to use the 5/8 in dia rods from the fender to the fire wall or did you get/make new ones?

Are the instruments, clock, radio, heater etc. all working?

and he responded.

December 16, 2019:

Most of the wiring on the engine and head lights was replaced.

The 5/8” rods I made and got lucky and had them both bent just the right amount the first time. I also made several other brackets and things.

The gas tank door was broken off but It was in the car and I was able to free up the hinge and weld the door back on that.

Surprisingly the clock started working on its own when I put in the new battery.

The speedometer itself was damaged probably from sitting all those years and never got fixed and will need to go to a speedometer guy or maybe be replaced. The other gauges were fixed.

When we were driving the car my daughter turned the radio on it would try to play but not quite play. It never got fixed and would need to go to a radio guy. There is not much on AM radio these days, so I don’t fix them on any of my cars.

I hope the next owner will take the car to the next level.

To answer your question the car was sold and went Thailand. I really did not like the car leaving the country. People from other countries are buying up all the American cars.

 

It is a lot easier to get motivated to work on a car when it runs and drives, at least for me. If you notice in the video the car was not smoking so your dad must have done a top notch rebuild on the engine (Editorial comment: My dad had an exceptional helper). I also think it helped that the car was inside all those years or it would have been junk.

 

The videos were made by my 14 year old the first day the car went back on the road so a lot more cleaning and polishing was done.

I also worked out a lot of the bugs to make it a better driving car. I worked on the car almost every weekend from the time I bought it to about April. A lot of hours were spent just trying to get it together painting and cleaning. There were extra stainless pieces for the fenders in the car so I put the best ones on the car. I also greased the entire car. Since the grease fittings were so old and not used, a lot of them had to be replaced.

It needed to be greased because I heard that the Packard Motor Car Company went out of business and no new Packard parts are being made.

 
December 17, 2019

I thought of a few more things to tell you about the car.

 The starter would not work. I removed it cleaned and lubricated it and it then worked fine again. Also I made all new battery cables.

I like to look up dates or try to figure out how old things are. The tires were so old they did not have a date code. In the trunk there was a white wall tire the name on the tire was US Royal. The US Royal tire became Uniroyal in 1961, so it was a lease that old.

I checked the numbers on the engine and they were correct for that year and model 160 so it most likely was the original engine. I found a paper in the glove box that said the radio installed was the optional radio at the time.

I probably would have kept the car if it had overdrive but after talking to a friend who had installed overdrive on a 1941 Packard 120 he said it was a big job not only the addition to the back of trans but wiring switches and other linkage he said you almost need a parts car with a working overdrive to do it.

I was talking to a friend who has 28 Packards. He said he has a 1941 160 convertible in a trailer in Arizona that he wanted to sell but I don’t know how I could ever work that out.

 

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