Do you feel like the Maytag repair man?

JV. check the rear main bearing cap to see if oil gallery is drilled out to 9/16. Also the verticle rear main feed oil gallery starting at rear main cap to rite oil gallery (about 5 inches long ) is probably 9/16 diameter too. The main bearing feed gallery's are probably drilled out bigger.

What kind of oil seals are used on the valves???

Thought I'd share my '41 120 Coupe Project.

This came about because I've wanted a Packard Coupe for over 40 years, from the time I saw a '37 sitting in a gas station for sale but being young and poor, couldn't afford to buy it. So with career, marriage, family, home ownership and now retirement the time and opportunity, not to mention the financial means, finally aligned.

Now in Australia, as opposed to the USA, Packards are comparatively rare and so about 3 months ago I saw a '29 626 Coupe coming up at a local Classic Car type auction I thought this may be my opportunity to purchase a Packard Coupe although not a '37. So after being outbid at the auction I contacted the Packard Automobile Club of Australia and after inquiring about membership asked whether there was anyone with a Packard for sale and was told of a guy with 2 for sale!

So after contacting Peter, one of the nicest people you could meet, I purchased his '38 dual sidemount 120 Sedan and again although not a '37 coupe it is a Packard! Car was on historic vehicle registration but I have put it on to full street registration to gain the benefit of driving it when and where I want.

Purchase of the '38 fueled my interest leading to the AACA forum & packardinfo.com and not to mention ebay and it's delights, I'd previously had no use for the information superhighway but now I drive it daily. Now I was really into it and through ebay gained an insight of the comparative abundance of Packard availability in the USA as opposed to Australia.

In ebay, I was like a kid in a candy shop, with enquiries directed to the sellers of many pre '42 Packards. Then from a post on this forum a member told of the '38 coupe he intended to purchase. I made contact with the forum member and suggested that if he didn't follow through with the '38 could he think of me. Well naturally the reply came back - NO - and that he fully intended to pursue the car. However not long later he further responded that as I was so keen he would forego this opportunity and let me have the chance to purchase the '38 coupe. Sorry to say I wasn't able to buy the car but I'll always be indebted to Tad for his generosity in this instance.

Then, a little later in ebay, there appeared a '41 120 coupe in Idaho and which from the pictures and commentary appeared to be a nice car. I contacted the seller and after many emails and the seller providing many more pictures, this time being of potential body rust areas, I was prepared to bid and buy the car.

Now I've bought a number of items over ebay in the last few months but not a car with only pictures to go on. So it was with some trepidation that I began bidding and in the end was the successful bidder. Because part of my correspondence with owner revolved around how I could pay for the car an agreement was struck whereby I paid a non-refundable deposit of USD500.00 with the balance to be paid by 3rd August and a very generous offer by the seller that if the car didn't meet my expectations I could opt out of the remainder of the deal.

Having won the car this hastened my planned retirement which I brought forward to 20th July. It also hastily put into place a trip to inspect and pay for the car as well as a whirlwind tour of the USA following settlement of the purchase. Also, I found a shipper through uship who could transport the '41 from Idaho to Los Angeles.

So after retiring on the 20th I arrived in San Francisco on the 23th July and then Boise Idaho on the 24th. Inspection of the '41 as well as a test drive, convinced me that in fact the '41 was even better than represented, so there were no qualms in closing the deal.

I then had the opportunity to visit the owner of the '41 from 1960 to 2006, a dentist. This owner has 10, count them 10, other Packards for sale - see my reply in the forum re this.

Now for the shipper, inquiries late on the 24th revealed that the trailer had blown 2 tires running over debris on the road that day which, coupled with illness to the lady in the partnership had slowed their progress to Idaho. However they expressed their confidence in arriving on the afternoon of the 25th. So the wait began. With their non show by early evening I contacted and left messages on their cell. When they responded it was to advise they'd be there in about an hour as another tire had blown on the trailer and it only had 3 wheels on it now! They eventually arrived about 8:30pm whereupon they said we must think they look like hillbillies, and truer words couldn't have been said. Although doubts were in my mind as to entrusting my prized Packard to their custody and their assurances that it would be safe with them for the trip to Los Angeles, confirmed by an email next day with a reference to Mr S & W being available for security purposes although I didn't think bullet holes would enhance the '41's appearance!

I later learned, that Randy (a real nice bloke and the seller of the car) had had a call from the shippers and they were 4 hours into the trip to LA, and this time had burned out a wheel-bearing on the trailer. I should mention that, fortunately for the shippers, Randy worked at a RV manufacturer and was able to supply the shippers with 2 brand new wheels and tires for the trailer at an extremely good price!

So as I was winging my way round the USA, with thoughts of who knows what might happen to the '41, visiting Joel(Packards1)with his '56's and the Henry Ford in Detroit, the Packard Museum in Warren Ohio, the Smithsonian and a Washington Nationals game in DC - had to see one MLB game while I was in the USA, the Don Garlits Museum in Florida(my hot rod/drag racing background from 35/45 years ago coming through - and for anyone with an interest in drag racing this place is amazing with many famous, historic and trend setting cars from the past on display and apart from the Packards was the highlight of my trip) and RedRon with his '40 120 sedan and the Petersen Museum in LA, the '41 made it's way to LA arriving on the 29th July without further mishap. Although at this point the shipper told the people at the delivery point the car didn't run (although it had been driven onto the trailer in Idaho) and he was instructed on the simplicity of re-connecting the battery cable at the end of the trip to enable it to start and run. However now being amongst car guys this was soon sorted out.

On my arrival in LA on the 3rd August, I went and saw the '41 and left some Packard parts I'd been dragging around with me in it for shipment back to Australia.

So now that I'm back in Oz there are matters to attend to regarding the export from the USA and the import into Australia - these I'll update as they progress and I'll also add pic's when I work out how to do that, or more probably my son works it out for me.

Just as Joe described, current asbestos-free rope seals are problematic. I just bought a 374" short block which had been raced in Maine. It has some interesting oiling system modifications which I will describe in another thread. As soon as I looked at the block and saw the inside of the bellhousing was coated in gunk, I knew I would find a bad rear main seal. Installed by someone who obviously knew a bit about engines, this rope seal had spun ninety degrees and was pouring oil out the back.

thnx, jv.

Update on my PC. Had to get a new hard drive. New one is 160GB. But I have learned my lesson I will save important data to a CD or Thumb Drive.

Thanks all for you help and input on this. Now back to my restoration blog.

A standard "manifold" wrench does the trick on those two lower manifold studs.

Well I managed to get the manifolds bolted back to the block.

I still say which ever engineer designed the placement of those two inner stud locations should be shot (if he was still alive). The only way to get to nuts on and off those to inner studs is with a relatively short 11/17 wrench. Impact Wrench, Socket Wrench, Gear Wreach, nothing will fit in there. Not even a socket on a swivel extension. Even with an 11/16 inch box wrench you can only turn it bout 1/6 of a turn at a time. What a pain. I only hope I never have to pull that manifold back off again.

Anyways here are the current pictures. The car is going to sit for the next week or so, as I am off the Vegas with wife for a little vacation time.

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Yes, I have successfully installed one of the seals in an engine still in the car. It has been in 56J #2, (my gold & white one) for two years and about 15,000 miles now. The repro turned into what looked like a wet mop string a little over 15,000 after rebuild, and began leaking like a sieve. I tried unsuccessfully to install an NOS rope with the engine in the car. (Possibly because of the TH400 tranny the shaft would drop down very little with the main caps loosened.) I decided there had to be a better way than remove the engine, so went looking at other crank specs.

I was also motivated by the fact that a fellow 56J owner (female) had the same experience a couple of years earlier after a "Packard expert" in Tuscon, AZ worked on her engine. Each time she took it back and the guy "fixed" it again, it would begin leaking in a few hundred miles. I don't what ever happened to her; she may have just given up and parked or sold the car.

At the meet in SB this year, a fellow 56J owner told me his mech had installed the neoprene seal in his car after giving up on being able to (properly) install a rope seal in his. Same story, it would start leaking in a few hundred miles. He had driven his 56J to the meet from PA and it still was not leaking, so he was very happy.

The rope seal is difficult enough to install properly (at least for some people) with the on an engine stand, i.e. upon rebuild. The neoprene seal provides an alternative for an engine that is still in the car.

The seal fits best if you flatten the ends by grinding, in total removing maybe .010" of end material, then use non hardening Permatex on the ends. That gives it a little tighter fit on the crank.

As for the problem with my current Olds pump and neoprene combo with 56J #1, there's only one way to find out; I am on my way out to the garage, and will let you know what I find.

Thanks Again,

Joe H

I'll try to pick up a 40613 seal today and try it in a mockup block i have here.
Have u successfuly used the 40613 seal in an engine withOUT removeing or dropping down the crank for installation???

Before u tear into it and just as a test, try some 10w-30 to see if it still leaks. The thinner oil should leak worse if it's seal problem (it happens) and leak less if it's a drain-back problem.