The wife and I were flew to Phoenix AZ for a farm conference last week. Sunday we drove down to Tuscan and visited this guy below and his wife. Some of you will surely recognize KevinAZ from this site and Craig's Packard Panther website.

Wonderful hospitality and a ride in his 400.

For many of you Packard's are a regular sight but in my part of the country they are few and far between. In fact, I had never even seen a 400 with my own eyes before (other then my own). Kevin is also the first and only PackardInfo member that I have met in person.

Seeing and riding in Kevin's 400 was everything I hoped it would be.

Note to self, never again tease the wife about the T/L as she climbs out of the back seat. I forgot she knew what that was.

Attach file:

---

  (277.96 KB)

As Riki suggested I contacted Packard Southwest and I ordered a used heat riser.

I also tried going to a local exhaust shop about that blank I had. There were 3 shops listed in the county. One had changed to tires only now, one and gone out of business and the last was not open on Saturdays.

So I received the riser from Packard SW and once I cleaned it up it was in much better shape then my original riser, except for one thing. The damper was locked up tight. I soaked it for 7 days and it still would not move. Soooooo, I cut it out. I am so sick of being stuck on this part and now I am moving on. You can't tell that its been cut out. The weight and spring are still there. I just placed a weld on the inside to hold both sides in place. You can see from the images below its all bolted in now.

I ordered a couple fuel pumps. One in line pump to go mid-frame under the driver seat. Found a replacement for the engine pump on Rock Auto. It was cheaper then a rebuild kit for the original pump.

Also, I was working on the insulation in the shop this week when I discovered a couple huge cracks in the wind shield that I have stored up on a shelf. Now I have that to look forward to some day.

Attach file:

---

  (132.84 KB)


  (131.73 KB)


  (91.27 KB)


  (134.44 KB)


  (103.11 KB)


  (125.31 KB)


  (141.31 KB)


  (70.53 KB)

56 Clipper in Indy. Has a pushbutton and running engine, $4000.
https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/5952384886.html

1SG: I may check that out next week, thanks.

64Avanti: I over think everything, unfortunately. I have read other post that say removing the riser/spacer entirely will place the pipes to close to some of the power steering hoses and cylinder but I don't know what "to close" rally is.
As mentioned in my older post, my riser is not going back in weather its working or not. I'm just trying to find a viable solution and of course over thinking it.

I was hoping this would be the final chapter in my heat riser project. Now I am not so sure.

The Ford spacer/blank from eBay arrived yesterday. The bolt holes were oh-so-close. I could get 1 thread in (on the second bolt) before it would bind down at an angle. I put a 1/2 drill bit through both holes and now it works fine. I just wish my problems ended there.

As you can see below the original riser is 7/8 thick. The Ford spacer is nearly double that at 1.5". I could probably live with that as well as I doubt the extra would hurt anything but there is more.

The inside diameter of the spacer is smaller then the pipes. I should have seen that from the eBay pic I posted last week but I was concentrating on the bolt holes. Of course this could cause a build up of carbon where the spacer and manifold meet. Also the cross over pipe has about an 1/2 inch extension beyond the flange that is inserted into the original riser (seen in post #494). It won't fit in the spacer so I would have to cut the extension off and I'm just not sure that I want to do that to a $500 exhaust system. Before someone asks, I do not have a lathe or mill to fix this myself.

I'm only $30 in the hole at the moment. I am sure there is a spacer out there that is perfect but there are no measurements for what I am finding online and brand new ones cost from $60 to $90. I'm starting to think that $125 for a new riser isn't so bad anymore.

What do you guys think?

Attach file:

---

  (119.55 KB)


  (138.80 KB)


  (123.13 KB)


  (118.54 KB)


  (122.80 KB)

I (or maybe I should say Howard and I) covered this issue in great detail on my blog around page 38 and 39.

I bought the wrong solenoids the first time but we figured it out. I know the right part numbers are in there.

I found this on the shelf this morning. I had forgot that I kept the original exhaust pipe pieces that connected to the manifold.

This measurement is 3 1/8 and I'm sure its a little over sized to allow fitment on various cars.

I purchased that Ford blank/spacer last night. By next weekend we'll know if it works.

Attach file:

---

  (80.28 KB)


  (82.36 KB)

I went out this morning and took this measurement as suggested. It's close, real close. The holes are not threaded so there will be some play. It's only $29.

Since it has two true bolt holes I think the lip that the original riser has is not necessary. Would just to locate a couple new gaskets for both sides. They should be fairly common.

Attach file:

---

  (179.37 KB)

Does anyone know what the measurement is for the bolt holes of the manifold where the riser connects?

I found a spacer on eBay for a Ford 352. They call this a "Heat Riser Valve Eliminator Spacer". My manifolds are already bolted on so I can't measure it without removing it from the engine. This one is showing the holes either 3" or 3 and 1/16 on centers.

Attach file:

---

  (14.95 KB)

I have crossed referenced common items like filters, spark plugs, fuel pumps, electrical and of course bearings.

I can't see my local NAPA being able to find a matching Heat Riser. Back during the summer I was looking for a thermostat flange and they were no help. I did eventually find one for a dodge truck but I got that tip from someone here.