I want the hamb's advice air bag or traditional lowered.I'm new to the lifestyle and I would value your opinion
Well, I put air bags in the back only to tail drag and to clear driveways nothing sez you can't be practical as well as traditional. It's up to you it's your ride, but for me common sense wins out, take care and good luck. Rags
That would look great with WWW and that sitting about 4"-5" off the ground ! I would go the traditional way . It's a lot cheaper and not hard to do . Lowering block can be made easily and stronger than the***** that is made today . Bags are not cheap either . But if you want the Packard to drop on the ground then you have no choice but bags . What do you have in mind for your Packard ? It's good to ask for suggestions but it's your car not ours . So think about how you want your car to look and go from there . Also remember what your roads are like the you drive on and how bad of a hop it is to get onto your driveway and the slope of it too . These are some of the things to consider to help you choose what you will have to use . Got any picture of the Packard ?
what is the best way to do it traditional?Also it will be flat white with gloss black topand clean and old skool interior
im not sure about clippers but dont packards have non leaf sprung rear ends and adjustable ride height in 55 to 56, i know 400s do.
Some of them are torsion bar and some aren't, it depended on the model or the year. Packard's torsion bar setup is a********, it used long bars diagonally sharing one front and one rear wheel. If it rides right and sits level, I wouldn't***** with it. If it's a conventional suspended car, you can probably cut a coil up front and put some blocks in the back (or cut a coil there) - or go airbags, from what I understand it's not that hard to put them where coil springs used to live. And they will ride a lot better and handle safer than the "traditional" cut coils method. Of course if you've never worked on a car and have no clue, I'd sell the Packard and get a Chevy or a Ford to learn on, so that if you***** it up it's not as great a loss.
those Packard torsion bars were a cool idea. reverse wound. hit a bump and the front would preload the rear
I've worked on cars since I was young just started playing with vintage.Thanks for the input sorry I went off on that guy,but I was just looking for some advice.
Here's another smartassed Kansan reply, there's no possible safe way to airbag '55-'56 Packard with a Torsion Level suspension. I know Packards inside and out, and it's not going to happen.
The Packard Torsion Level connected the front wheels to the rear wheels, and the car basically pivoted in the middle, by means of a reversible motor attached to a gearbox, in turn attached to links to the torsion bars. The bars are about 120" long or so, and if you remove them you have no suspension. They are awesome cars that will outhandle almost anything from the '50s.
If the suspension under your car is in good shape, as others have said, don't mess with it. Those cars were pretty low to begin with, so I would try a few tricks to make it appear lower than it really is. Maybe some of the 'glass bubble skirts with extended curve at the bottom and some full length lakers. Some 14 inch wheels and tires will also bring it down some. On that particular car, I would not do the semi-gloss black paint. If I remember correctly, those Packards had some great looking side trim that the factory used, to two and three tone them. I would use a gloss color ( like that georgeous seafoam green factory color ) with the white to accentuate the length of the car. IMO, that would also help to make the car appear lower. I like your "old school" interior idea. I can picture that car with all white pleats, stitched in light green, with a light green welt cord, matching the green and white exterior. Of course, that is just my idea, please paint and upholster your car to suit your taste. Oh yeah, don't forget the flipper hubcaps!
Listen to Turbopackman...there's also a switch you need to turn off before you jack the car up or it'll un-level itself and it's a****** to get back to level if the control links go over center. There's a small glimmer of salvation...you can adjust some things and make the**** end a bit lower without getting rediculous. Forget flat paint on a Packard. Certainly your car but why lose all the body flow with a flat color...the side trim is interesting, the door handles live in the door trim out of the painted area, like someone said, cruiser skirts work, but it is your car so...
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