Only on occasion, but nonetheless very annoying, my '39 Six will lock up in 1st gear as I try and shift from 1st to 2nd. I've had finicky linkage on older cars before and sometimes one can develop technique to avoid it, others it can be simple adjustment, and, in some cases, just the byproduct of excessive wear. Once locked, I have to pull over, shut the engine off and push and pull on the two linkage arms until the thing frees up. I haven't quite figured out yet what I am doing when I AM finally successful, as this may speed things up a bit, but am wondering if there are any kits, known fixes or adjustments that can be performed to eliminate the locking up altogether??? I presume this is a known problem and would truly appreciate the benefit of those who have successfully conquered it with the Packard linkage. (P.S. when I replaced my engine/transmission, I was careful to 'bag and tag' all the linkage components and during reassembly, made sure they were all well lubricated; AND the issue existed before I pulled the motor out)

I weigh in as an interested bystander only, but I have seen a fair bit of mention lately of the 'radiator shell' being chromed or painted. Please forgive my neophyte status here, but is what's being referred to as the 'shell', the sheet metal between the grill and the hood? That's what I perceive it to be and just as an 'opinion', I think that whole section being chrome is quite gaudy and overdone. Having the grill louvers and small grill trim in chrome with the rest painted looks like the way it 'should be', to me. Like I say - just an opinion. Re the wire wheels, I DO agree those look out of place, but I have always been a 'factory wheel dressing guy' and never so much as put chrome rims or baby moon hubcaps on any of my younger-year vehicles. Factory, factory, factory...Chris.

Great post, Dave, with good info on rad make-up. I just re-cored my rad and, as is sometimes my misgiving, thought the 'more is better' theory should apply to the 2-row, 3-row core material. After a quick tutorial by the rad specialist, he soon convinced me that what you have stated re number of tubes and quality of construction has more to do with maximum cooling than just 'stacking up the rows'. Easy enough mistake to make though, I suppose. Same goes up here in Canada with rad shops... used to be many - now they're few and far between. Have to say though that with the re-cored rad and new, not rebuilt water pump and a freshly flushed block, the car sure 'holds her cool' now and I'm not sure enough can be said about getting rid of old radiator tubes. The mineral build-up in the already-small tubes can be a working engine's worst enemy. Just for curiosity and cross-border comparison's sake, my rad bill was $800 CDN or about $595 USD Chris.

Gotta say - that 2-tone green is gorgeous. Would that have been something done by Packard in the day, or is that a latter-day customization?? Irrespective, looks like a very thorough and 'honest' restoration. Chris

Hi Tim,

Quote:

Does that mean you drilled a hole in the T-stat itself?? I thought the way those went into the neck of the hose spout, that there was enough 'blow-by' that any air could find it's way past? Chris.

You could also go to any 'rubber house' that sells sheet rubber and buy a square foot of 1/16" neoprene and trace your old one onto it with a pen and cut it out with a good pair of scissors, or a super-sharp utility knife. Hole punches for the machine screws and you're in biz. Chris

No kidding!.... at ONE time. Even as complete as it is, still a very expensive restoration.

I can't think of any part that can generate more question marks when out of a 'rebuild box' than a carburetor. I've had them transform poor running vehicles back to flawless performance and, in one case, it took THREE carbs before I got a good one! And that was a single barrel for a GM 250-6cyl.
I have bought 2 carbs from the Carburetor Exchange in El Monte CA for my '39 Six, and the latest one still leaks gas, seemingly out of the float bowl. I sent it back to them, they played with it, returned it, and it still leaks! Not sure where to go from here.

I liked Jayne better that Sophia, myself....

Hi Joe,

I've no business being 'over here' on the post-war side as I am a pre-war guy, but couldn't help noticing your post and I just went through a refit on my '39 clutch linkage and found that the bulk of the sloppiness on my clutch was extreme wear on the 'U'-shaped relay lever (part 3.1385) I understand the need to tune up the bushings on the pedals themselves, but I would do a close inspection on that bracket. I actually couldn't believe the wear on mine! Chris