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Board index » All Posts (TimCole)




Re: 31 super 8 upholstery
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Tim Cole
Dear WLC:

You are correct they are essentially nailed on (by hand).

If you find that too scary you might try to find an experienced upholsterer to remove and reinstall it for you.

That's the way they did things.

Posted on: 2012/7/5 18:51
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Re: Should I replace steel brake/gas lines?
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Tim Cole
Dear Gene:

The copper nickel brake line is the way to go. It flares beautifully and that helps seal old brass fittings without overtightening. Some people don't like it because it is not steel color. I have to go through some pictures I have of new Packards and check to see if they were painted black.

For the fuel line copper is the way to go. The OD size should be 3/8. You need a good seal on fuel lines to prevent vapor lock like symptoms and soft copper flares well. Use a good double flare kit.

To determine the line size take a combination wrench and put it over the line. That is your tubing OD.

Hope this helps.

Posted on: 2012/7/5 14:48
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Re: Transmission Modifications/replacement
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Tim Cole
Dear Barry:

Given your car is already modified, keeping the Ultramatic doesn't make much sense. By the time you get through a rebuild and transport costs you have exceeded the Torqeflite conversion.

I would avoid the 4L60 GM because the car is not really up to standards for that level of performance. You don't want to crack up because the car gets away from you.

I never had anybody come to me to fix their twin-ultramatic D range, but it is mostly a valve/timing problem fixed by following the TSB's. I always used High range, but if you want fast acceleration then the 727 Toruqflite is the way to go. Years ago I attended a presentation by George Hamlin and he was very enthusiatic about the conversion. The only negative is I have not seen a PRNDL for the kit.

Posted on: 2012/7/5 13:21
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Re: Ok, I'm calling your bluff. Show me how Packards were "better".
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Tim Cole
I've driven Packards and I've driven Buicks. I've worked on Packards and I've worked on Buicks. I've driven Cadillacs and I've worked on Cadillacs. I've done the same for Rolls-Royce.

Bolt for bolt, Packard is a better car than Buick. The only advantage for the pre-war Buick is that the post war motor is visually indistinguishable and so you can drop a 53 Special block into a 37 Roadmaster and have a very road worthy car.

Once you get over the noisy first gear, the 38-42 Cadillac has the Packard beat except for the drone of that undersquare V-8. But if you ever do a valve job on that Cadillac you will be cursing to the hilt after a half dozen of those cylinder head bolts bust off in that cheap GM cast iron block. Once I had to drill out a dozen of em in the car working over the fenders. Drop a 49 OHV motor into the 41 60 Special and you have a car.

But, a good low mileage Packard is a honey on the road. One of my favorites is the 902. A good running 902 is just plain superb.

As for the Rolls, well, they just plain ran longer than anything else before they wore out. But they have to be taken care of.

As mentioned elsewhere one of the problems with Packards is the politics of some of these car clubs and collectors. I was never treated poorly by Cadillac owners, but the Packard crowd? Whew! Some of the people need psychiatry.
I knew people who had those cars soley because they liked the politics. The didn't give a hoot about even checking the oil.

Here on this site are probably the best of the Packard people. Everybody here wants some help with their cars which is what the clubs were about until the politics took over.

Over on Ebay I saw a 626 for sale. I'm going to tell you something. Drive that car 45-50 mph and it will keep going long after a 29 Cadillac has fallen apart and died.

Posted on: 2012/7/4 12:11
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Re: Oil Pressure Problems
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Tim Cole
Dear Mark:

Running one quart over is pretty much a good way to operate the Packard V-8 because it submerges the oil pump and reduces foaming.

5 psi at hot idle is pretty much okay depending on what oil you are using. Factory spec is SAE 20w, so 10w-30 is a good choice for a new motor. For an old motor people like 15w-40 which is fine and has more detergency because it is for diesel trucks. Keep in mind too that on modern cars the gauges are computer controlled to minimize customer complaints, the gauges are just decorations. My modern car has lights for everything except temperature and I'd just as soon prefer a hot/cold light for that as well. As long as the MIL is off I really don't care what is going on under the hood. It doesn't have a tach either and I don't care.

Now on to this DeSoto question. If memory serves me correctly it was dropping to 20 psi at 35-45 mph which is low. On a V-8 you can't isolate cam bearings as a cause of low oil pressure, but on flat head inline motors there are plugs in the side of the motor for the camshaft oil holes. In the old days used car dealers used to cure low oil pressure by putting restrictors inside those plugs, and viola!, good oil pressure. Low oil pressure in the absense of motor noise is symptomatic of worn cam bearings. When mains are bad oil pressure is low too, but there is also some motor noise, less so in V-8s but very much so in under square inline motors like Packards.

Oh, and the rule of thumb for required oil pressure is 10 psi per 1000 rpm. So for a worn motor with 30 psi oil pressure at 50 mph the maximum rpm you want to operate at is 3000 so a car like that should be fine on secondary roads but will blow up on the highway. In the old days I remember cases where someone would buy so and so's original Packard and promptly blow it up on the highway whereas as the original owner did very well driving it around town.

Posted on: 2012/7/4 11:39
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Re: Opinions on Optima Battery
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Tim Cole
Dear Andy:

The optima is a good product, but I would make sure the unit you are buying isn't a clinker.

Pros:

a) Light weight reduces chances of damaging fenders and aids in hard to reach places.

b) No fumes, bubbling, and vapors underhood which rot away battery trays and wiring.

c) No need to keep a charger on it. It is like a flashlight battery.

Cons:

a) More expensive.

b) To recharge properly requires a 6 volt gel cell rated battery charger.

c) Charging systems designed for lead acid batteries are technically higher than required voltage, but as mentioned elsewhere they still provide very good service. However, using the generator to recharged a discharged gel cell will shorten its service life.

Posted on: 2012/7/3 15:59
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Re: Hard Starting - Where to go now?
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Tim Cole
Dear Mark:

Given the electric pump, what is needed here is a step by step approach to isolate what system is causing the problem.

1) Get the car into a no start situation.

2) Pump the accelerator a few times and check for fuel. Using a squirt oil can squirt some gas down the carburetor. That will isolate a fuel delivery problem.

3) Using a KD Tools spark tester set to 20Kv (available from NAPA) and connected to ground; check the ignition. You should have a good strong spark.

4) With the motor hot pull a plug and using a screw in compression tester crank the motor with the throttle wide open. If the compression is well below 100 that may be a problem. If the cranking speed is slow that is also a problem.

Hope this helps.

Posted on: 2012/7/3 15:46
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Re: Oil Pressure Problems
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Tim Cole
Dear Jim:

In the case of the DeSoto once the car cooled off the oil pressure came back up, but was always pretty rotten. Keep in mind that the gauge and sender weren't rebuilt, but that it started out okay and consistently got lousy as the oil heated up. You really don't need a lot of oil pressure to keep lifters quiet. Also, the owner thought this was a low mileage car and so he didn't like the low oil pressure at idle. The visual problem was that the oil pressure was too heavily correlated with motor rpm which indicates high mileage. Lifter noise in the Packard V-8 is a rather unique case because it happens at road speeds. I've seen known shot motors with quiet lifters, for example a Chrysler 318 with oil pump failure and quiet lifters.

For your car there is another possibility which has to do with the pick up. The drain plug on the Packard V-8 is in a lousy location and responsible for sludging. I've had machine shops tell me that the Packard V-8 is the dirtiest engine they have seen. Although I doubt they are old enough to remember the Chevrolet 235 six which would literally fill to the top with sludge.

Anyway, the oil pickup may be clogging from crap in the oil pan. So first step is overfill the oil level by one quart and retest. If no change then pull the oil pan. If the siutation is better suspect an oil pump issue.

Good luck with your car.

Posted on: 2012/7/3 15:20
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Re: Removing an engine from a 22nd...
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Tim Cole
Much better to remove transmission with engine. Especially given a pit. I worked in a place with an overhead gantry crane and could pull the entire powerpack out in a little over an hour depending on the vehicle.

For Packards beginning in 1935 the front clip can be removed as a unit using a motor hoist or overhead crane. However, with a pit you can drop the powertrain out before morning break. I knew one guy who had enough practice with his 39 Super 8 that he could get the thing out in an hour using a pit. The V-12 can also can also drop very quickly using a pit. The hardest part is getting the fan off.

As I recall, there is a pit out behind Hibernia, but I don't know if anybody - including Turnquist - knew how to use it.

Posted on: 2012/7/2 18:48
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Re: Oil Pressure Problems
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Tim Cole
Dear Jim:

I assume the oil pressure gauge is reading mainline pressure at the back of the motor to the right of the distributor.

I handled a 54 Desoto V-8 with the same problem. Take it out and the oil pressure would drop off dramatically. The owner brought it in and requested a new oil pump. Okay. The new pump made no difference. The car had 93,000 miles on it and perhaps 193,000 and was quiet. Probably worn out cam bearings. I think he might have also asked for new rod bearings too.

Posted on: 2012/7/2 18:31
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