As an interesting segway, in about March 1985, I was asked by a Member of the Packard Automobile Club of Australia to assist in the conversion of his 1948 2292 from a manual to an ultramatic. I advised that his crank rear probably had to be machined to take the Ultramatic converter snout. I arranged for this to be done in Melbourne and this was done with the engine fully assembled. A few months later I get a call from him is a very remote part of Australia (and I mean 150 miles of nothing each way... Google Nullabor Plain )on the Nullabor Plain to advise that he has gone in for a checkup because he noticed an oil leak. The mechanic told him that there was a bolt thread protruding from his sump... wat do I do? I ascertained that the firm doing the work had dropped the distributor retaining bolt into the sump and a kind counterweight had punched it through the sump pan not much later. I advised him to put a washer and nut on the bolt , tighten and proceed. It apparently went well after that.

I agree with Mal, I installed a 54 327 bored out to 340 and run a Holley 600 and Packard R6 OD into my 1938 Richards 1601 ( 120). I literally tore all of the spot welds from the axle tube doing a "rabbit" getaway ( diff rotates and separates the drive train). There should be plenty of good serviceable going 327's in the big pond that is the US. In OZ and NZ we have a very small pond with not too many Packards. The $700 Packard 327 on offer should do the trick. Peter T

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I have a lot of bikes with magnetos and IMHO they are not as reliable as coil ignition, particularly if left for long periods. Magnetos appear to be particularly susceptible to high points resistance. I would not recommend a magneto over the original Packard coil system. My 1934 P11 Phantom Rolls-Royce has both systems and I have had trouble with the magneto due to points Peter T

Hi Chris, You could always head out to the Hume Motorway and pass everything on the road at a steady pace. The Police will turn up very soon to tell you exactly what speed you are doing, and help to calibrate your speedo. Peter T

IMHO fitting a higher diff ratio is a bit of a trade off in an older car as you do not generally have the horsepower to drive a higher ratio particularly in hilly country. The 5th Series Six has approx 85 hp gross which is probably 45 at the wheels. I have fitted a 4.38 ratio to my 7 pass 304 bodied 533 and with a trailer of old bikes attached it will sit on 50 mph comfortably and takes most hills in top gear. It would probably not pull with a 4.1 ratio. Peter Toet

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Modern brake linings will NOT improve your braking feel and will decrease your brake effectiveness. The cable and rod brakes on pre hydraulic systems always have a take-up play which is less noticeable with the early Thirties Vacuum boosted mechanical braking systems. Your woven linings are the best but are now totally illegal in Australia. Importing a vehicle with OEM asbestos parts is a nightmare and costs around 10k to 15k to get around. Your rear axle ratio can be checked by jacking one rear wheel up and rotating the wheel two revolutions whilst counting the tailshaft revolutions. If the tailshaft revs are over 4.5 then you have as 4.69 diff ratio. Peter T

Standard ratio is 4.69 to 1. Sports models were 4.38 to 1. In either case 50 mph is fine, 55 mph is pushing it and 60 mph sustained should be done only on the way to the engine rebuilders for new poured big ends. Compression ratio was 4.8 to 1 and quite high for the day. Peter T

Ah...the good old days!

Thanks for the Chart Dave, It is helpful and I would err on the side of caution with any settings. I am not sure which grade of material is used in the head studs but I shall call the previous owner's mechanic and ask him for the head torque settings. The matter is not pressing as there are no bubbles in the radiator flow.

Thanks Mal, I did ask Will and he said that his mechanic handles that stuff. Looks like I shall be calling his mechanic.