Thanks so much guys, I enjoy trying to help and share my experiences, and likewise I've learned a lot from the rest of you.

Is that dram of Macallans coming Fedex or USPS?

I really do appreciate all the effort you put into this. But no interest here, my 56 lifters are always silent and oil pressure at road speeds is 45 (mechanical gauge) and only about 7 psi less at hot idle. Also I have a spare Aller-rebuilt pump set aside for a future engine rebuild should I need it (engine currently has 90,500 miles on it).

Reminds me of my post trying to gauge the interest in OEM-style pistons for the V8 Packards which Dan Kanter was willing to produce, given enough interest. I was so sure there would be a lot of interest, but it was not to be.

Randy, you're doing one fine job on that car!

Speaking from experience, if one does a Caribbean convertible, you need VERY large socks, so you have enough room for the very large holes.

I had a situation similar to 49Packard's with my 34 Eight. In this car the filler tube bolts via a very large flange and 6 bolts to the side of the tank and some buffoon had used silicone gasket compound, a portion of which oozed out into the tank when the flange was tightened. The car would run fine until by chance the string of silicone snot would find it's way to the uptake tube and block it. After sitting for a while the suction from the pump would subside and the snot would drop out and move along and then all was well until the next time.

After finding the problem I used a cork gasket and Permatex Aviation #2, nary a problem since and that was perhaps 10 years or more ago. Moral of the story is that silicone gasket compound has lot of uses, but keep it away from gas tanks and lines.

I've seen quite a few cracked blocks on 1939 and earlier 320 and 385 engines; they almost always start at one of the exhaust valve seats and generally proceed across the block to the cylinder bore. Probably the result of running low on coolant, adding cold water to a very overheated engine, or from a plugged or otherwise defective water distribution baffle in the side plate.

Haven't yet seen one like the photo.

I don't have a 39 shop manual, but the 37-38 shop manual gives specific recommendations for the thermostat setup. In a nutshell it advises for best cold weather operation on cars with hot water heaters use a 162 degree cylinder head thermostat in combination with a 135-150 degree shutter stat, and to remove the cylinder head thermostat in the Spring. There is some other info as well, I suggest you read the shop manuals. If 39 isn't available, I'd guess the 1938 advice is applicable to 1939.

So Packard only recommended using the cylinder head thermostat when hot water heater operation was required; otherwise the Fulton Sylphon stat was meant to control engine temperatures.

That Packard is in a lovely state of preservation, what a terrific car! Too many fine cars like this end up getting restored (or over-restored) and in the process we we loose a valuable reference as to authenticity. And I for one think it's lines are enhanced by the single rear-mounted spare tire. Just lovely!

Boy, that sure sounds like they're going belly-up. I can only hope the donate their custom car body records to the Gilmore Museum, or the CCCA or some other organization, it would truly be a shame to see those records just fade away.

Rollson (and previously Rollston) did a modest number of panel broughams in that era, often using the 120 chassis or the shorter 160 chassis (127" wb). The Rollson company still survives (out in Long Island, NY) and has not turned their old records over to any museum so you might consider contacting them (Rudy Creteur Jr.) to see if they'd be willing do dig out the records for car #674.

If it truely is white smoke it's probably steam. A small amount of white smoke, especially on start-up, is common enough and just the result of water vapor in the air being taken into the combustion process and being expelled as steam. But if it's persistent and occurs even after warmup on dry days, leaking of coolant into the combustion chamber should be considered. This would also be accompanied by a need to periodically replace some coolant. It's hard on that model to look inside the radiator tank while the engine is running (looking for bubbling), but you could remove the spark plugs and check for wetness, and then check the compression. If you conclude there is a coolant leak into the compression area, you'll need to remove the head, check (and replace) the headgasket, and check carefully for cracks in the block, usually seen in the area of the exhaust valve seats.

If in fact the smoke is blue and not too profuse, I'd do as others have suggested and put some miles on it to see if it resolves itself.