Although I understand that some have had retrofit stem seals, there is no rubber in the engines from the factory.

I used to spend a lot of time in Woodinville at Vintage Auto Parts back in the '60s!

There is really no way to get any other kind of seal over the end of the crank because there is a flange in the way. Maybe some kind of split seal would work after machining the block and cap for it but by the time you've done all that, you might as well have just used the rope seal and this type of seal is more effective than a modern one too!

They look pretty good but I can imagine all the time into them to get that look. You have more patience than I ever had.

I don’t recognize these from any 1940 or 1941 that I ever owned.

We have several Maxfield Parrish pictured and typically his releases were in lithographs, gicees or similar rather than originals. That said, I did not know that he every did any Packards but I am also far from being an expert of his work.

As an aside, we also have a coupe large Howard Cleworth prints and my partner knew him from San Francisco of the ‘70s although I never met him until a few years ago at Pebble Beach. The first one, a closeup of a 1942 DeSoto’s grille and hidden headlights, was a gift by a well-known politician of the day and the other, a pink 1959 Cadillac tail fin, I bought on eBay from the Ronald MacDonald House.

You might be able to get some "feel" for it by turning the input shaft by hand and running it through the gears but that will tell you nothing about the syncro condition, the oil in it or anything else. Better at the very least to take off the top cover for a visual inspection and plan on replacing all the seals at the same time.

Before taking off the top cover, be sure to have a new gasket as you'll need one and they are available through Olson's Gaskets. Ask them directly as I doubt it's listed on their site (few sites keep their online listing up to date) but I know for a fact that they have it. Most of their transmission gaskets are made by Best but Best sells only through authorized dealers although they have a few that they make themselves and their work is excellent, as is their delivery time.

Dwight Heinmuller has complete bushing sets for Torsion-Level Packards and also offers a nice reproduction of the factory front suspension tool. You would probably need to enlist a shop to install it all, though.

The rebar definitely is aftermarket but are you sure it's on the sway bar? It looks a lot like a torsion bar in the photo but in either case you'll have to get a replacement.

Did you try Tucson Packards? Mike has several 1937 parts cars.

Quote:
These do not typically come with a rebuild or a rebuild kit as it's expected to reuse your originals. On later cars and it may apply to your too, there should also be Phenolic washers under the flat washers holding on the pump (no lock washers) and the bolt heads were the type with holes drilled through the heads that used locking wire.