Thanks for helping me identify a "second generation" oil pump; that pump with the plugged relief valve is the one that is in my spare engine, Utica #D6478 which is bit earlier than TSB 56-20 indicates but of course it could have been changed later.

Any help with my other prior questions? Was the second generation pump really superior, and if so, how? I do have one rebuilt by Bob Aller and my 90,300 mile 56 Carib which has great oil pressure and never any tappet noise has the "opium pipe" field fix. If the newer pump was really all that superior, I might make the change.

Dave, if the heat riser spring you're refering to is the spiral wound bimetallic spring, you can get a new one from Max Merritt. But if your budget is a bit strained, you can also just wire the valve in the wide open (counterweight down) position. The car may be a bit balky for a few minutes while warming up but you should get satisfactory performance after that. Remember that volatile liquids like gasoline vaporize better at higher temperatures which is the purpose of the heat riser.

There probably is another small spring on the counterweight side which really isn't particulary important from a function viewpoint, more of an "anti-rattle" thing. You could find something generic for it at any decent hardware store if you so desire.

I'm not that familiar with this subject, how do I identify the "second" generation oil pump from the external features? Is it the one with the threaded plug in the oil pressure relief valve? If so, what else is different about it? How much of an improvement is it, and in what ways?

You could estimate the # of engines that had the plugged pump, though I don't know how good an estimate it would be. Substract 1000 from the Utica#, and then subtract that from the total number of cars made with that Utica-numbered engine. For example for Caribbeans, C-1400 minus 1000 means the change occurred at the 400th Caribbean engine. Since they made about 537 Caribbeans, perhaps 137 were made after the changeover.

About the only thing I can add to this is that Libby-Owens-Ford was a maker of all varieties of glass products at least back to the 40s, perhaps earlier and they certainly were in the automotive glass business in the 50s.

Boy, that's an interesting observation and a good question! Sorry to say I didn't take notice.

I've chatted with Dan Kanter several times over the years on this topic. He believes the pump should have a top bushing and doesn't fault the vacuum pump but thinks there is another possible issue which has pretty much escaped attention and is based on the fact that noisy lifters are often overcome by running 1/2 quart over full on the crankcase oil. He believes the oil pump floating intake screen may have it's lower level limit set a bit too high. I did lower mine a bit when I had the pan down.

The seller notes body type #1035, which is a 7 passenger limousine.

With regard to the external mirrors, yes the ones on my car were Yankee mirrors, not the correct Packard accessory mirrors. Since the mirrors were generally (always?) a dealer accessory, I'd guess a lot of dealers used Yankee and either pocketed the difference, or told the customer he could save a few $.

As to the mounting positions, the original Packard template which I have gives both mounting positions, on the door or on the front fender. I could make a copy if anyone wants it. I found the fender-mounted position to be poor, and the door not a lot better as the wing-window post interferes unless you sit way back or way forward. The mirror I ended up buying and installing is the Jay Fisher reproduction, pretty decent and a bit easier to mount than the original as you don't have to get access inside the door; externally looks correct with the little allen head screw.

As to the repainting of my car, there was a 2nd repaint before the S-M-S, Holland Blue over Dover White over Roman Copper. The original owner must have been in the paint business and couldn't stop fidgeting around with the color scheme. But now it's back to M-E-S.

Randy, my windshield and front vent wings have been reglassed but I checked the rear quarter windows ont he car and two I have in the cellar, they are all marked "Solex Duolite", as was the original windshield.

Weren't those Marmon 16s lovely cars!! And that one is a stunning restoration (though I'd rather see a nicely preserved original). Correct or not, great choice of period colors and the blackwalls on chrome wheels is a terrific choice. Curious about the tire make, tread pattern is not familiar to me; anyone know?

West, I completely agree with you about gee-gaws, in most cases an abundance of them, to me, detracts from the car. I recently saw a 54 Plymouth hardtop with every option and accessory available (and them some), so much that it took your eyes away from the car (which perhaps was the intention). Other than sidemount equipment and a radio which were original to the car, I've only given my 34 Eight two accessories, both for improved driveability, a driver's door hinge-pin mounted rear view mirror, and a single Pilot Ray driving light because I do occasionally drive at night and like the extra illumination. My 56 only has a single driver's door rear view mirror, and a traffic light finder courtesy of Randy Berger. Plain steel wheels.

Robert, two hearty hurrahs for getting what I believe to be the correct color paint in the correct places. There really can't be any doubt that Packard intended to have the little spot below the front parking lights to be the middle color on tri color cars, and the lower color on two-tone, though there is room to believe they may have gotten a few incorrect. And as to the wheels, real evidence from unrestored cars w/o wire wheels is hard to come by and factory photos I've seen are all B&W or have wire wheels, but I believe Danuble Blue is correct for the wheel color. Mine are still "S" because when I bought the car it was repainted S-M-S and I haven't redone the wheels. It wasn't really an unattractive color scheme though unauthentic as far as I know, and it surely clashed with the interior. Picture enclosed of the car as I bought it from the 1st owner. It was a really good buy back in 1997 at $12K, and I originally said I wasn't going to put much into it but rather just drive it and enjoy it, but I've since put several times that amount into it. Oh well, can't take it with you as they say.

Attach file:

---

  (160.28 KB)