Henney Packard questions

Casey, have you not had any experience with straight-8 Packards? The big hunk of iron is a 359 c.i.d. flathead ( the valves are down in the block, not in the head ) with a 9-main bearing crank. If the top of the hunk is sort of copper colored, the engine still has its orig. Edmonds high compression ( 8.7 to 1 ) aluminum head. If the top looks like the rest of the block, a cast iron head from a 288 or 327 cid engine has replaced the orig. head. There were probs with warping of the alum. head, and the higher compression could also cause hard starting, esp when both weather and motor were hot. The 6 volt positive ground elec. system was also a drawback. A really powerful battery, such as an Optima might be in order here. The 359 is a bored and stroked 327, which is why some of the innards, such as pistons, won't interchange. Production of this engine was quite low, as '54 was a terrible year for Packard sales. Depending on the condition of the engine, a swap for a nice 327 could be done. If the tranny is an Ultramatic, that beast calls for a specialist. I hope yer car has the manual tranny. These very heavy Henneys also developed a reputation for breaking rear axles, tho I am not sure just how common that prob was. Gas mileage was not good, even on the lighter pass. cars. I am not trying to be a nay-sayer here; just telling you a little of what I have learned about these cars over the decades. The build quality of all the '54's was excellent, but over 50 years a lot of deterioration can take place. The doghouse and front compartment is a Briggs product, with double wall construction. Very strong, but rust-prone. Not sure if the Henney sheet metal is also double steel. The brakes don't interchange with stock Packards, either, I seem to recall. Does yer car have 16" wheels? If I have goofed somewhere here, am sure some1 else can correct it. Hope this big car works out well for you.
 
I know flatheads pretty much like the back of my hand so Im good there! The engine is orange but looks original so I still have inspect it but it does have the aluminum corrosion that you see on most aluminum engines that have sat but once again Ill have to inspect it. As for the internal parts being hard to find they can be made so no use ruining the car by putting a different L8 in it. I do however appreciate all the info you gave because it is useful. And yes the car has 16" wheels on it. Is there anything I need to know about the wheels because I am missing one on the front and the spare. Once again thank you for all your info I will use it well.
 
Casey, talk to one of the other "men who own one", a couple of whom have been mentioned in this thread, about the wheels. There is a famous Pro Car story out there involving Mr. Hamlin and his very similar '53 Henney that has something to do with needing a wheel or brake drum or such in a very big hurry. Because of the larger wheels, the brake drums that fit other '54 Packards won't work here. As far as I know, though, everything is interchangeable on the big Henneys' wheels/brakes from '51 to '54. You certainly have picked an interesting car to tackle. Many years ago I had a Henney, a '47 Clipper 7-passenger sedan. Of all the far-too-many vehicles I have owned over the past 5 decades, that is the one I would most like to have back. They really "don't make 'em like that anymore."
 
Hey I found out that it will be a while before I can buy the Henney book, so I was wondering if anyone new what all the numbers off the henney plate I posted mean? I would appreciate any info. Thank you in advance!
 
Hi, Casey. Here's my best shot at the numbers:

Engine number is sequential, but I can't decode it. This would - I think - be a Packard number, since P. blt the motor, but then maybe H. had a system of its own in this regard?? See if you can find an engine number cast into the block.

Serial # says your car is the 53rd long w.b. '54 model built.

Body #. I don't know how Henney numbered the bodies. Could this be the 20,903rd Henney body placed on Packard chassis since the 1935 intro. of the Packard commercial chassis??? Sounds like a wild guess, huh? Ending in a 3, it ties in with the other such numbers, but???

Model number, 5491, is the lwb combo.

Factory order number. Maybe the 42nd order rec'd for a '54 lwb model??

Mound number would, I think, refer to the rear compartment floor/casket-carrying part of the car. Don't know why it is blank.

Leveldraulic number would be filled in if the car had the optional leveling mechanism Henney offered.

George Hamlin could prob answer all this off the top of his head, but he doesn't seem to be on this site. Maybe that Brady fellow in Mich. could do better with this, also.

As I mentioned earlier, you sure have picked an interesting vehicle to tie into. If I am still around then, give me a ride when it's driveable, ok? Oh yes, which tranny does it have? Thanks. Jim
 
Oh yea forgot to tell you that it does have a manual tranny so should be good there! Did Henney ever put the name of the funeral home or who ever it that it went to like my 60 combo that I have says Bass funeral home?
 
I do not know about f.h. i.d.'s on the Henney cars. But someone on here just might. I should add, too, that I have been away from these cars for many years, so there may be a lot of info out there that I have never heard or read about. So, if there are knowledgeable Henney and Packard folks following this '54 combo saga, please chime in. Oh, glad to hear about the manual tranny. Does it have overdrive? Forgot to ask that earlier.
 
I do not know about f.h. i.d.'s on the Henney cars. But someone on here just might. I should add, too, that I have been away from these cars for many years, so there may be a lot of info out there that I have never heard or read about. So, if there are knowledgeable Henney and Packard folks following this '54 combo saga, please chime in. Oh, glad to hear about the manual tranny. Does it have overdrive? Forgot to ask that earlier.
You know I havent checked if there is an overdrive or not.
 
Hi Casey.

Maybe I can expand on describing the data found on the Henney plate of your Packard. I am not really a Professional car guy as such but am definitely a Packard guy. Having just finished a history (book) on the 1948 to 1950 cars, including the Henneys, and now researching a following history on the 1951 to 1954 ones, I have a lot of information at hand.
Engine number=the Packard engine number. in the case of the 1954 cars they were all prefixed with the letter M (1953 cars used the prefix L - you get the point). The model engine used in the Henney 5413 chassis cars was a 359 cu in and its first number digit was assigned as 6. The first such engine built would be M600001 and they would continue up from there. Your engine was thus the 1092 one built. This engine was also used in some Packard cars of that year and all engines of the type were number in sequence, thus that many engines had been built and used.
Serial No. = This is the Henney serial number of the car. It is also the Packard VIN number and is found on the plate on the door post.
Body No. = Body number of the car, These were assigned sequentially. Considering the number one could assume it may be related to perhaps the number of bodies built on a Packard chassis over the years. According to the data in McPherson's book Henney built about 15,000 bodies on Packard chassis beginning with 1935. How many they may have built on Packard chassis prior to 1935 seems not to be known (but 6,000 might be stretching it a bit) Your car carries the number 20903.
Model = Model number = 5491 which is a combination car
Factory Order No. = Here I must assume this is a production order to build a body (or possibly more than one body). Yours is 59942. If this is the case then if Order No 1 was the first body Henney built for a automotive body (in 1916?) then they had built almost 60,000 at this point.
I have a pretty extensive roster of number data on Henney-Packards and the Body number and factory order numbers seem to correlate quite closely. For example, if you compared the order numbers against the body numbers of a couple of cars perhaps a year apart in production you would find that if the body numbers were 1,000 apart the order numbers would be very close to 1,000 apart as well.
Mound number = The mound refers to the unit on which the three-way coffin table is mounted. Apparently Henney numbered each unit built. Yours is a combination car and has no mound, being strictly end-loading, thus no number.
Leveldraulic No. = Henney also numbered each leveldraulic system installed and this car did not have the feature, thus no number.

There you have what I know about it.

Robert Neal
 
Casey - The current Professional Car magazine (#155) focuses on the 1951-1954 Henney-Packard Senior models with a complete history and numerous photographs and charts. You may wish to take a look at that as well.
 
Hi Casey! I have a 54 Henney Sr. that I am restoring too. Mine has the name of the original funeral home on the body. It is between the front tire and the door, but all of them may not have this. Mine has Kimble which was the Kimble Funeral Home in Vanceburg, KY, it is now out of business.
 
Henney Name Plates

On the name plate question, I've seen them in various places. One of mine, a 1952 Nu-3-Way, had holes in the inside rear side door moldings into which the name plates could be placed. These name plates were generally potmetal and had two posts at the bottom that simply dropped in. Sometimes they would say Funeral Coach (as mine did) or Ambulance. I've seeen similar names that mounted to the dash to be visible through the windshield.

Another one of my Henney-Packards, a 1951 combination, had chrome ovals mounted in the C-pillar and knurled thumb screws to hold a placard. I have a set of those if anyone needs them and I also have Henney wheels, wheel covers, beauty rings, a 14" rear brake drum, the rear curved glass and many other senior parts.
 
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