“Wheel off the ground” also means more tire to wheel well clearance, so you might remove the wheel and look for witness marks. The last forum member that had a one per rev noise in a rear wheel it ended-up a brake drum with a bend (repairable) in the diaphragm, so with the wheel off look for a ‘true-running’ drum. Actually, before you remove the wheel let’s go with your first instinct and grab onto the tire and try to feel any ‘slop’ in the bearing.

To answer your first question changing an outboard rear axle bearing is quite doable, but sometimes getting the hub to release from the axle can be challenging. R&R of the bearing itself requires a shop press. I believe the axle bearings are different junior to senior, and also believe both are available from Timken. Even a simple brake inspection requires the hub/drum to be removed. I suggest you use the ‘Advanced Search’ feature to read a few threads on the subject. If you find a failed bearing and replace it, you will become a student in the subject of ensuring the correct bearing clearance has been achieved. This site has a lot of documentation on the subject, and the job itself is quite straight forward.

dp

Soybeanfarmer1:

Wheel bearings do not normally make a ‘metal to metal grinding sound”. There are several items associated with the drum brakes that may make such noises, but you need to do a bit of diagnostic investigations to figure out what’s going-on. Get the car on jack stands and start rotating the wheels trying to get more detail on what’s making the noise.

dp

Mike52_200
Assuming there isn’t a haboob forming in your neighborhood why don’t you remove the air filter and take the car for a drive around the block . . . just to see if the symptoms change/go away.

IMO that filter is way too small (too much pressure drop) for a carburetor that is referenced to the atmosphere . . . it would surely be OK on a much smaller displacement engine, but not one of 300+ cubic inches.

Now if we return to the Carter overhaul literature, ever one of the ‘spec-sheets’ has a list of turn-up items that should be checked prior to condemning/messing with the carburetor. Have those items been looked at?

dp

I was out in the garage crawling around under the ‘48, so I missed the first announcement, but in the ‘Top 5’ auction sales the Packard is listed at $290,000.

I was watching the Mecum Auction Dallas 2022 on TV today . . . perhaps in real time. This car passed the block with a high bid of $280,000. I guess there was a reserve that hadn’t been exceeded, so the car moved to ‘The Bid Goes On’ category . . . off-screen negotiations.

Mike52_200, IMO PackardDon and Wat_Tyler are on the right path . . . float bowls of this era were vented to the atmosphere, while by the time the WCFB was released, the venting was within the air-horn. The difference between the two designs would be; the air horn vent design is tolerant to air filter restriction, while the atmospheric vent design is quite sensitive to air filter blockage. I’ve used the term ‘air filter blockage’, but don’t think of that as a completely dirty filter . . . it’s more of a blockage that the carburetor was not designed for.

The only two checks I would make is the float level and the idle mixture adjustment . . . adjust the mixture with the air filter off. If the filter is clean and is sized correctly there should be very little difference in idle speed when the filter is finally installed.

I would think a 14 X 2 or 14 X 3 filter would be acceptable for a 327, but remember they will need to be replaced much more frequently than suggested in cars built in the 60’s. When in doubt, err on the side of more filter area, especially if you have an era correct atmospheric vented carburetor. Please describe the current filter in more detail.

dp

That should be 1/8 – 27 tapered. 1/8 National Pipe Thread Tapered –(NPT).

The non-tapered version is referred to as National Pipe Tread Straight (NPTS), and does not have the necessary interference that forms the seal. The 1/8 -28 is likely an ISO standard typically not used in the US, but I have seen it in ‘foreign’ cars. The British Standard Pipe Taper (BSPT) is also 28 TPI, plus the thread geometry is not the same as the US standard . . . that too is not likely to seal.

In 1937 I would expect 1/8 – 27 NPT. See group 50.720 in the Utility section of the parts list.

dp

I hate to admit it, but I don’t recall the source of the photographs. Surely it was this site, and likely one of the ‘usual suspects’, but I’ve drawn a blank. I agree with your comment about the quality and saved all of the images for future reference.

dp

I believe our ammeter is of the magnetic type, meaning the current creates a magnetic field and the pointer reacts to the field against a spring. Very energetic device! They will exhibit an initial ‘over-shoot’ and dance around a bit. Your posting about an indication of a large discharge current might have been the ‘over-shoot’. I use the energetic character as a means to check whether the brake light switch is working. Press on the brake pedal and the ammeter better ‘dance’, if not check the hydraulic switch.

If I have a job under the dash that will likely take some time, I unbolt the entire front seat and reposition it aft. If you feel up to it, you might consider replacing the headlight switch circuit breaker . . . if it’s bright and shiny it’s already been done. They can be changed while the switch is installed, and the modern units fit perfectly. I was sent the attached photos when I had a few questions about the dash wiring. Note the light switch circuit breaker.

Before you re-fire the engine think about the puff of smoke, the loss of voltage when the headlights were turned on, instrument craziness, and finally the lack of starting. Finding an intermittent problem is just about the most difficult job we take-on. You did say the car was re-wired . . . I wonder if that a prudent restoration step or an attempt to solve the same problem.

dp

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I would stop, disconnect the battery and drag-out the multi-meter. Your symptoms suggest something is failing . . . or a short as Ross said. There is a possibility of several difficulties, the puff of smoke, the loss of battery voltage when the headlights are ON, and finally the starter switch. Before anything is powered again a lot of circuits have to be checked. However, assuming the car was OK in the Spring, unless the wiring was worked on during the Summer the probability of something being mis-wired is low.

The puff of smoke could be a short in the ignition switch, or corrosion between the power feed and the GA circuit . . . that would go a long way to explaining the other symptoms. The loss of voltage when the headlight switch is cycled could be the toe switch, but I would let the multi-meter tell me if it's bad. They frequently fail abruptly. A short in 15-WGX, &-BR, or 8-G are possibilities. Keep reading, because I don’t think a short in the head light circuit would make the engine shut-off. Checking the headlight circuit may prove to be a lower priority task.

I’m hung-up on why when the headlights were turned on there was insufficient power/voltage to run the ignition. The circuit starts at the battery, down to the starter, back to the ammeter (1-R), through the ammeter to 2 –RY, and finally 21B-R2W to the ignition switch. Remember that’s exactly the circuit that powers the ignition when the starter motor is engaged (hundreds of amp of draw). I’m not convinced a simple short in the headlight circuit could defeat the ignition . . . given a few minutes before the starter draw didn’t defeat the ignition. I’m thinking you would smell something if the current got that high in the headlight circuit.

I agree with HH56, an intermittent OPEN in the ammeter could cause the problem. In this scenario you’re running on either the battery or the generator. The generator voltage is enough to close the reverse current relay, but the capacity of the generator is low because of low engine speed. If the highlights are turned ON (large deflection of the ammeter into the discharge side) and then the ammeter OPENs . . . game over the 16-20 amps of headlight load exceeds the generator and the voltage take a nosedive (remember you’re disconnected from the battery). The same nosedive would occur if the reverse current relay is open. In this scenario the failure was modeled as an OPEN in the ammeter, but any continuity loss between the battery and ignition switch terminal ‘GA’ would do. I’ve seen battery cables corrode between the copper cable and the connector that attaches to the battery post. Loose or corroded connections fall into the same category, as does the ground strap to the battery.

An intermittent OPEN in the 1-R, 2-RY, 21B-R2W circuit, or an intermittent in the positive cable to the battery would explain a lot of the symptoms . . . that’s where I would start.

Let’s return to the headlight circuit and the introduction of a short circuit. Again, at a very low engine speed (generator ‘off-line’), the normal load of 16-20 amps in the headlight circuit does not defeat the ignition, so the headlight load would have to be high enough to produce a voltage drop of something in the order of 2 + volts in the 1-R, 2-RY circuit. The built-in headlight circuit breaker would not open in time to protect the ignition voltage from falling below the threshold needed to provide spark. In my opinion you would smell something amiss with that amount of over-current.

Dumb question: You said you changed the battery, is the polarity correct? That could be another kettle of fish to fry.