There are a few part numbers for Ford Y-Block 292 pumps. Carter M73063 and AIRTEX 4406 are both listed as fitting that engine. You can always say you have a 56 Ford Thunderbird if they ask...

The halogens, p/n H6006 for the sealed beams, make things as bright as a 12v car. Keep in mind that the actual distance covered by your low beams is more a function of the beam spread mandated by the DOT than it is foot-candles.

However, I couldn't get the halogen bulbs to aim properly-- the low-beams lit up the road like high beams no matter how low I aimed them, and the high beams were like aircraft landing lights. I went back to standard sealed beams, which are plenty bright. Aim is one of the biggest components, mis-aiming by half a degree can put the beam off by five feet at a distance of 600 feet ahead of your car.

For cars that don't take sealed beams, there are halogen options available as well. Bill Hirsch can help you out with bulbs if you have trouble finding something that would fit, but obviously it'll be cheaper if you find bulbs yourself. In that case, I would also make sure your headlamp reflectors are newly re-silvered if necessary. Chrome is a poor substitute for the original silver.

Installing a relay and taking power right from the generator can make things even brighter at idle, and it takes the load off the headlight switch itself.but you shouldn't need to do that if everything else is up to snuff.

On dropping the oil pan, that seems like a hold over from the days before detergent oil was commonly used. Between the use of bypass filtration and earlier oil, sludge was common. With detergent oil, dropping the oil pan becomes unnecessary. I've been running 15W-40 mixed fleet oil and for good measure recently dropped the pan. It was basically spotless, it made me feel like I'd wasted my time.

I do wonder if anyone else ever followed the maintenance schedule, but almost any car would have a much better chance of surviving forever with maintenance that frequent. And maybe that's because if a mechanic was under the car every month, nothing would go for very long before it was attended to.

+1 for GL-5 85W-140. At the expense of slightly reduced fuel economy (maybe a fifth of a mpg), you'll get longer wear out of your differential because metal to metal contact will be almost completely avoided. My rear end shop recommends that grade in everything he does.

To those who think it would be too thick, remember: 140 is one step higher in viscosity than 90. For reasons passing understanding, gear oil viscosity skips from 90 to 140. Click on the link below for a comparison chart. Gear oil and motor oil viscosity are measured differently, in fact a 90 weight gear oil is about the same Saybolt viscosity as SAE 50 motor oil.

Oil Viscosity Chart | Bob is the Oil Guy

You're probably good to go. 35 psi idling right after startup isn't really a good test - until the engine is warmed up and the oil is to temperature, it's going to be thick and the pressure is going to be higher.

A few notes:
-10W-30 is the correct viscosity oil for these engines under most operating conditions and temperature ranges provided they aren't yet worn out. This oil didn't exist when your engine was originally manufactured, but if it had, that's what Packard would've recommended. In fact, after multi-weight oils had been on the market for a few years, Studebaker-Packard mentioned it in a service bulletin, and you can also reference the myriad of lube charts for your car and see that the lube manufacturers recommended 10W-30 as well.

Under no circumstances would I use an oil with a lower viscosity oil at operating temp, e.g. 5W-20.

You could, if you don't intend on driving the car in colder weather, go one step higher on viscosity. Many people on these forums (myself included) have had excellent results with mixed-fleet oils because they contain higher levels of anti-wear additives and more powerful detergents than current spec spark ignition oils. Mixed fleet oils are those intended for both diesel and gasoline engines, such as Chevron Delo 400LE, Mobil Delvac, and Shell Rotella Triple Protection. 15W-40 is a commonly used viscosity in these oils, but 10W-30 is also available in mixed-fleet brands. You can do a search of these forums to uncover a lot more information and discussion on engine oil recommendations.

-I am guessing here that you don't have an oil filter on your engine? If that's the case, pressures are going to be a few psi higher for you than many of us are seeing.

-17 psi at idle in gear is perfect, I probably wouldn't change a thing. You could, of course, be idling a little fast, in which case you'd see higher pressures than the factory spec'd. Check your idle speed once the engine is warmed up and set it to 375 rpm with the transmission in High and the parking brake on. That's a little slow for my taste, but if you want to compare your engine performance to factory specs, you need to set the engine to their recommendations. You can always go back to a slightly higher idle speed after you're done testing...

The factory oil pressure senders triggered the light at approximately 12-15 psi, anything over 5 psi is more than adequate at idle. See page 46 in the Engine section of the Seevice manual, "5-15 psi is satisfactory oil pressure at idle." Normal pressure at moderate speeds and above should be 40 psi. Remember, oil pressure isn't really the important thing in libricating an engine-- oil FLOW is what you need along with adequate film strength of the lubricant.

I have some doubts about whether you're actually seeing oil pressure of 35 psi at idle if the light is also flickering because of the set point for triggering the light. But if that's what you're seeing, 35 psi at idle is actually really high, and not necessarily a good thing because it could indicate your oil is too thick at startup to adequately lubricate, especially when cold. High oil pressure is also undesirable because it affects everything that depends on regulated oil pressure, so you shouldn't really ever see pressures higher than 41 psi, per the service manual.

Packard oil pumps on the straight 8s aren't usually capable of providing pressures that high at idle except momentarily after startup with thick single weight oils. It's possible you're using too heavy a grade of oil, that the relief valve in the pump is sticking, or that there's an obstruction or restriction in the oil lines.

What viscosity oil are you running?

Following up on this, here are the readings for the Standard TS4 senders as I measured them with my Fluke 88V:

Ohms Temp
221.3 73˚
112.1 103˚
88.8 114˚
71.5 124˚
55.4 135˚
45.6 144˚
37 150˚
32 157˚
27 167˚
23.5 180˚
22 185˚
20 194˚
19 200˚
17 203˚
14.5 212˚

Dennis at Quality Restorations is an excellent resource for this. He is a former plastics engineer who properly recasts wheels in modern thermoplastic, giving a look that's identical to the original but that won't shrink or crack like the old stuff did.

Other so called restoration companies end up painting their wheels (NOT how the factory did it in most cases), often times because they have to -- their plastic process is frequently flawed and the wheels end up full of bubbles, weakening the integrity of the wheel.

Give Dennis a call and talk to him -- he's a font of knowledge-- and I feel sure once you've connected with him you'll be confident he's your man.

http://qualityrestorations.com/
858-271-7374

$5k for an engine rebuild is pretty much the going rate, at least locally, if not slightly on the cheap side for a good job. Vellio's Machine in Lawndale is very good, I know several folks who've used them and been more than happy--they really know their stuff, so if you want a good estimate give them a call if you haven't already. However, unless you've got something else going on - low oil pressure, high oil consumption, low compression on all cylinders, a knock in rhythm with the crankshaft, you've probably got some life left in your engine. Yes, a rebuild would certainly cure what ails your engine, but a valve job sounds more like what you need.

I'm not too far away from you, if you need a second pair of eyes and a free second opinion, PM me and we'll see if we can't figure out what's going on.

Having purchased several FRAM C134-PL filters for my car in the past, I didn't even consider buying any other filter for my car when I placed my most recent order.

Unfortunately, FRAM has changed the design of the filter and has apparently stopped including the big rubber gasket that seals the top of the filter canister.

Thinking it was a mistake, I ordered another one from another supplier, complained to my usual online parts vendor and they sent me two more, and not one of the five boxes included the rubber gasket.

Just an FYI to those who've previously been fans of the FRAM filters, the other options in a WIX or Purolator might be better choices as the gaskets are next to impossible to find separately.

It's a shame because I had come to like the fact that the FRAM filters have rubber washers on both ends that seem like they'd seal better than the WIX...

Attach file:

---

  (151.86 KB)