I have been having overheating problems. My dash temp gauge runs backward. When engine is off the gauge starts at hot and as the engine warms up it goes to cool. I think I wired it per harness diagram. While idling the guage eventually pegs out on the left side (cool) I used my temp sensor gun and the block temp reads is at about 175 . How hot should the block be?
Thanks, Mike

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You would mount the cutoff switch remotely, possibly through the firewall.

The 469 number verifies that it is a 1931 Model 833 convertible coupe, the 47 indicates its the 47th built in that body style on the 833 chassis. Although it looks like it has 1930 hub caps on it. They're smaller than the 1931 versions. Nice looking car.

Another question from a brand new Packard owner.

My Packard has low miles and the upholstery is in immaculate condition. It does not appear to have been reupholstered. My question is how much headroom/seat height is normal in one of these cars? I'm 6"2", and it seems to me that I'm sitting rather low in relation to the windshield. I can drive it and everything okay, but it just seems like I'm not seated up as high as I feel like I should be. My wife is 5'4", and she has trouble seeing out the front windshield at all from the passenger side.

Oh. For some reason I thought Karl was restoring it in those colors.

I'd definitely stay away from ethanol, unless you are going to use it up soon. It can cause real trouble for cars in storage. "Tier One" gasolines may be more stable and of more consistent quality than "off brand" or non-branded gasoline. Aviation fuel is the best option, if available and affordable. 80 octane or above would probably suit any pre-war car. If you must store a car over 30 days or so with ethanol fuel, I'd want to use a stabilizing product and store with the tank full. Avoid any ethanol blend over 10%.

Thanks Bob and TxGoat. Great info and education on gasoline! I think i will just plan to continue to use Eth free.

Without taking anything away from the great work Karl is doing with his Sport he has actually chosen non-original colors. The 136 Sports were painted in dustproof grey over black fenders with vermillion wheels, according to Packard literature from the era.

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High octane fuel is not needed for pre-war cars, but it will do no harm. Staying away from ethanol-adulterated fuel is a good idea, especially for cars that are not driven regularly. High octane fuel will behave the same as regular fuel under most conditions, but it will resist detonation under high load (heat and pressure) conditions better. Those extreme conditions don't occur in normal operation of pre-war engines, so high octane fuel is not needed. Hardened valve seat inserts are not needed in pre-war cars, unless you regularly run the engine at high loads and high speeds. Leaded fuel will do no harm, but it is not required in most cases. Even "high compression" engines will run just fine on low octane fuel, * IF * high load operation is avoided. All carbureted gasoline engines are "low compression" when operating at idle and part throttle, due to higher manifold vacuum (lower manifold pressure) under these conditions. Initial compression pressures are much lower at part throttle operation, and maximum combustion heat and pressure is much lower than at wide open throttle.

Ethanol actually has a high octane equivalency, but it only has about half the BTU content (fuel value) of motor gasoline, and it "spoils". It can decay and destroy fuel systems, and it will reduce power output at higher blends. A 10% ethanol blend might be expected to reduce maximum engine power and mileage by 3 to 5% compared to straight gasoline of good quality. Blends over 10% are known to cause a number of problems in systems not specifically designed for them. In my opinion, burning food in a hungry world is beyond absurd. Beyond that, the true price of ethanol as produced in the USA is very high. There are no net benefits to using corn-based ethanol as motor fuel.

And thanks .I got the brill,an cables