Any one have an extra vent window escutcheon? These appear to be hard to find since they only appeared on some but not all senior cars. Naturally I am missing one on my car.

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[b]Repairing front vent window crank gear box[/b]. Both of the front vent windows on the 1940 senior cars have cranks and both of mine were not working due to stripped gears. New gears can be bought from John Ulrich Packard Parts for $40/each and they work very well. The key steps to replacing the gears are as follows:
1) drill and tap a hole through both sides of the bracket - I used a #10x32TPI screw (#21 tap drill).
2) bend open the retaining tabs which will break off (hence the screws for later reassembly)
3) grind off the bottom of the pivot shaft just enough so you can pry off the bottom washer
4) mark the top side of the crank worm gear bearing (it only goes in one way). take pictures of how the gear is mounted on the shaft before removing.
5) take the unit apart so you can drive out the retaining pin on the stripped gear
6) reassembly. You will need to do some light filing to remove flashing on the new gear to make sure it fits on the shaft. I recommend greasing and oiling this after assembly as it is almost impossible to assemble the unit when filled with grease. Before tack welding the washer back on the bottom of the pivot post make sure the gear box works correctly. You will be glad you added the screws in step one.

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Here is a picture of the Ulrich battery access cover reproduction. A pretty straight forward item.

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Here are some useful tools for prying off the panel clips without busting the panel in the process. Also shown is an original panel clip.

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The Optima battery box from John Ulrich is a gem. I thought about making my own but John's battery box really holds the battery nice and secure. $65 is a bargain for a nice part like this.

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Need to fix the vent window crank - the gear got stripped after the vent window got stuck in the old rubber gasket. I am starting the process of replacing the stripped gear with a new part from John Ulrich. Here are some pictures of the door panel after I pulled it off. These are originals if anyone wants to get a look at exactly how they were put together and held on.

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I had dropped the oil pan and cleaned it along with the sump screen but I should have taken off the valve covers at the same time. There 92K worth of sludge built up around the valves and lifters. Fortunately, I had been soaking the cylinders with oil before taking off the valve covers and the sludge was soft and easy to remove.

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I have seen several discussions on how best to turn over/start an engine that has been sitting idle for many years. I came across a couple of discussions and this is what I have so far but a couple of points are unclear. Note that I have a 1940 356 engine but this could likely apply to all Packards.

1) pull spark plugs and fill cylinders with Marvel Mystery oil. Soak for 1 week.
2) disconnect fuel tank if it has not been cleaned.
3) drain oil and refill with 30W using the dipstick markings.
4) disconnect coil wire, leaving spark plugs out hook up battery and turn over engine
5) put plugs in and hook up coil wire
6) pour gas in carb
7) try to start

Here are some other steps someone suggested but I am not sure how to pressurize the oil system to get flow to the lifters which sounds like a good idea.
3a) remove valve covers
3b) pressurize oil system and observe oil flow through all the lifters

If there a way to spin the oil pump on these cars?
Someone else suggested buying a refillable pressurized container (eg aerosol) filling it with oil and hooking it up to the oil filter with the flow going towards the engine.

Thoughts?

Here is a pretty good detailed description of a process by Kaiser Bill:
http://www.kaiserbill.com/Web-PDF/Start-Up.pdf

Here are some drawings of where the different interior panels and windlace are.

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Thanks for the feedback on what I used to call rims and which I will now be referring to as wheels. The Flackmaster got me straightened out on their application when he pointed out the bolt pattern isn't even the same (3.5" for the hearse wheels vs 3.0" for the passenger packards). Now the search begins for a fourth 16"x5" wheel. I never even thought of checking the bolt pattern just bought them and stored them. Anyone need some hearse wheels? Live and learn!