An old machinist one told me that head bolts under tension can actually pull up the surrounding area over time--similar to what happens to an oil pan with the bolts stretching and raising the hole areas. He said it was more important to verify the top of block was smooth and surfaced and touch up the heads only if necessary as they would pull down within reason. Not an engine expert and don't know if this is a true statement or not. Packards are made of pretty good quality iron but if true, another thing to think about.

close!

"..but before that it ran fine.
I've had the head machined some time back as it was a bit warped, but not sure if the corresponding face... "

Usualy, the machined surface for the head nut/bolt contact area is not spot faced parallel to the new milled surface of the head. This can cause the nuts/bolt heads to contact the head at an angle makeing torque readings vary widely.

The problem here is that u indicated in your first post above that head gasket leakage was not problem BEFORE the rebuild. The head should have never been milled. Milling of heads and block decks are for conditions that are usualy conspicuous or for hard core racing.

First follow Owens sage advice as he posted above to see if the problem can be solved.

That 58-60 Lincoln rendition would be a sight to see--although, IMHO, those canted headlight would have to go. The Predictor front and back might look good on that body.

Thinking about the size that would have been, makes me wonder if there were any specs published for the proposed cars. Trying to marry S-P products as existed with the common body shell I think would mean one would have had to grow or shrink significantly.

What I would like to see would be a 58-60 era Lincoln with the large windshield and retractible rear window reskinned from Packard renderings of the time. That would really be something on a four door hardtop with an upright grill a la 68 Continental look.

Another poster was going to try the electrobrake but don't remember seeing any info as to whether he did or not. Wonder if or how that worked.

When you post the pictures, any chance of some "as you go or in progress" shots or a description of any problems the mechanic runs into & reasons why he chose to do something a particular way. The more details the better for the next person.

I'd still bet money the compensator valve failed to seat for some reason--and think a likely suspect would be some debris floating in the cylinder portion that landed under it.

I'm not familiar with the Packard8. But i am assuming as general eng'ring practice that HARDENED steel washers are used under the head stud nuts

When the old washers beneath the head nuts are questionable, I usually buy aircraft quality hardened and ground flat-and-parallel washers from a place like MSC. When installating a head other than one from the same engine (for example, a 327 head on a 359), check to insure that there is enough thread length on the stud; if the nut bottoms out before it is tight, you'll likely break the stud, usually in the block!

Cylinder heads that are out-of-plane by perhaps 0.010" or so do not require resurfacing. Even if a head has not been surfaced, check for sufficient clearance between the valve heads and the cylinder head. Follow the tightenting sequence, retorque again after 10 minutes of running, and at least one more time after a few hours of running.

The attached my be helpful.

PS - notice that leaving the thermostat housing and the heater elbow pipe on the head make handy lifting points, as in the picture.

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Is there fluid in the vacuum power unit and about how much????

I suppose it depends on what one considers to be Interstate hiway speeds. I keep hereing 55 and 60 mph refered to as freeway speed. Around here and i suppose most places anything under 65 mph SUSTAINED becomes a moving obstacle.

I consider interstate speed to be 65 to 85 mph SUSTAINED. That's what i see everytime when i'm on the interstate. The speed limit is clearly posted at 70 mph MOST places except very Urban Interstate where it usualy 55-60 mph.

Now to conclude: we pulled out the BTV there was still fluid in the lines. If I ever get a chance i'll set the unit up on a test bench, so at the moment no reason on why the failure pccured, though not long before the total failure, I experienced a very spongey brake pedal. Which appeared fine again before the accident. Though asides from that I would like to report that I contacted ABS Power Brakes in California.

http://www.abspowerbrake.com/electrichppage.html

They recommended using the 10-59-6 unit. This is what they installed in a 56. I am in the process of installing this. My vehicle is about to be re-painted and then the engine re-installed, so once this is all done i'll get some pics to post.

This is just another option for those looking for an alternative.