Thanks guys. I hear your cautionary tales. I get why you might or might not want to use one in questionable situations.

I took a few looks at the nut on the head stud I was attempting to remove and thought "nah, that threaded stud looks a bit too rusty to just tear into". I have learned my lesson the hard way by twisting bolts apart with nuts that are rust-encrusted to them. Obviously I wanted to make sure that didn't happen here. So before I proceeded, I wire-brushed the end of the bolt as clean of rust as I could and soaked it in PBlaster for multiple days before I put the impact to it. I'm sure that did make a difference. I can see how you could do some damage. But it feels like a nice tool to have in certain stubborn situations!

I said it to someone else recently too: most of the fasteners on this Packard have come off surprisingly easy and I mean, NOT using the impact. A nice testament to how un-weathered and well-engineered a lot of these quality components are.

Great tip for the uneducated. Thanks!

All I can say is....Oh MAN!

Now I know just how much I have been missing out. Finally got a sizable (though actually, I'm thinking not big enough) compressor and am mapping out the piping & filters for using newly-acquired pneumatic tools for my makeshift 'shop' in my carport/garage to work on the 2255.

Temptation was too great. Had to connect up the I-R 231C impact wrench I just bought to test it out. And now I know...

There is a God. He invented the air impact wrench. And my efforts just got a whole heck of a lot easier.

Head bolts? Piece 'o cake.

Crankshaft bolt? No problem.

Feels like cheating.

Hey O_D, HH56 and others-

I thought the 356 engines were physically longer than the 288 and 327. Not the case? I was just texting back and forth today with Palanirides and he was talking about dropping the 356 into his coupe and I was advising him that I didn't believe the 356 would fit, not only because the senior Custom sheet metal cowl-forward is different, but because the engine is longer than the others. Thinking now I may have misled him. Why would the Custom sheet metal be longer if the engine physically isn't?

Wow, you're absolutely right! I have looked at the engine section of the manual many times - I should have realized that would not work at all.

Thanks for the suggestion of the impact wrench. It's something I've needed for a long time, but perhaps this is as good an excuse as any to finally go get one. I do have a compressor large enough to run it.

Does anyone have a brand they like and would recommend without hesitation? Otherwise it's off to Harbor Freight for me. Not great quality tools but in a pinch, they do.

The oddest thing: I have yet to be able to get the car into gear. I depress the clutch pedal and try to shift into gear, but the shifter lever won't drop in. It's as if there's some kind of detent in the way, for all gear positions. Maybe the clutch pressure plate is stuck or glued to the flywheel?

At the stage now where I need to pull off the damper on the 356.

I'm inclined to use a piston stop to 'lock the crank' in position. But wondering: is a screw-in stop (to the spark plug hole) sufficient enough to lock the crank while I unscrew the massive crank bolt, and then apply quite a bit of pressure via a puller to the damper?

I don't want to damage the piston with the stop if the force I have to exert is like what I've encountered in the past.

Would people let me know what they do?

Thanks!

I was 49Custom8Convert - changed my handle to 19482255 to reflect the car I bought.

I saw your newly-acquired Packard custom 8 4DR on c-list months ago now. Pretty fair price, despite its tough pickup location and decomposed state. Came out of Sylmar, right? That's close to me. I hadn't gotten my 48 custom club down here yet, but I could use some chrome pieces off your car if any are available that you decide you won't be using.

On the rodent droppings - same story with my 2255. Interior was crusted with them, engine compartment too. Did a bit of research before I dove in. CDC website advises that for a period of time after the droppings are freshly 'laid' they carry risk of airborne infectious diseases if the dust is inhaled. After (I think a week), the risk drops exponentially and if no live rodents are present and it's been months or years since the live infestation, the risk is minimal.

That said, common sense and good judgement would dictate wearing a micron filter particulate dust-mask (for filtering out airborne hazardous allergens, viruses, etc.), gloves, long shirts and pants, maybe even eye protection if rodents crawled up in the headliner (like they did on mine).

In other words, don't take a roll in the hay inside your new Packard just yet.

Got the C8 grill off last night, finally accessing the front of the 356. Thanks for the help everyone. Took me a good 1/2 day to do it. Kept thinking the grill was going to clear the lower bumper, but it was only upon taking the lower bumper nearly all the way off that the center grill section had enough clearance to come out.

Thought I also had to take the parking lamp assembly backings off as well and managed to snap off the threaded ends of the rivets on both doors, they were so rusty. Poop. I'll have to press new threaded rivets in, once I get those out all the way.

In the Southern California market, for that car $8K would be a good buy. I've seen ones in worse shape listed here sell for that and more.

Now if that car were in the midwest, the price might be lower. All depends on the area of the country you're in.

I bought my 2255 (the Custom 8 club), for considerably less that this car, but with transporting the car and its condition in a more deteriorated state, I'll absolutely spend far more that the asking price of your Deluxe club sedan getting it to at least that nice shape.

Seriously feel like I'm taking up the top 1/2 of the Post War forum page right now!

The radiator in the 2255 needs to be re-cored. Just got the bad news from my local radiator shop. Seems the tanks and cradle are in great shape, but there's a leak from the tubes on the inner portion of the core that aren't that accessible.

Quoted me a price of $650 to fabricate a brand new core using original design/materials + my tanks w/cradle, repainted.

Is this high, good, or 'in the ballpark'?