Thanks Don. I'm a stickler for a clean shop, at least my own shop. When I was rebuilding my Panama I was fortunate to be able to use my neighbor's shop and his lift. It was very kind of him. But his shop was a mess. The only open space was underneath the lift, and that's because I moved stuff to get my car in there. To move around I had to step over piles of stuff and find a place to put my feet.

I like to have room to get around the cars without difficulty. I'm happy that it looks like I'll have several feet of space on all sides of both cars, so that I can work on them without hinderance.

We also use the shop quite a bit for other purposes. The back half (through the double doors) is a large multi-purpose room. The kids are out there all the time playing, I have hobbies in there, and we frequently have groups over for games and social activities. In November we are hosting end-of-season gathering for one of our daughter's soccer teams. Apparently there will be around 60 people attending (ugh), which means the cars will need to be moved out, shop cleaned up to shine, then tables and chairs set up to accommodate everyone.

I do have dollies to move the cars if needed. But they don't roll nearly as well as I thought they would.

Well it turned out to be the stem after all. They were new stems, but my front wheel covers like to rotate on the wheels, no matter how much I tighten the teeth. So I had them put a solid valve stem on it. I'll need to do the same for the other front tire soon.

I drove the '38 Super to go pick up the repaired tire, as an excuse to give it another test drive. I also filled up the gas tank while I was at it because I had no idea how much fuel was in it (gauge not working). Got to talk to a couple of guys about the Super.

With the valve stem repaired I got the tire back on the Panama and put in on the lift to check the brakes. I've been noticing more movement in the pedal recently. I tightened the shoes on all the corners, and checked the master cylinder reservoirs. The rear one was low, which has me concerned. No obvious signs of leaks that I could tell, and everything is brand new. So I filled it back up and went for a test drive. Feels fine but I think I will dig into it more.

Since I had both the cars out today I messed around with storage solutions for winter time. The Super will be staying at our place this winter, and that means we are out of indoor parking spaces. So with some careful parking I should be able to fit both Packards on one side of the shop, leaving the lift open to work on other vehicles.

Interestingly enough, when I parked the two side by side I realized that the Panama is a good amount longer than the Super.

We still have probably a month left before I need to put them away completely.

-Kevin

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I pulled the speedo cable yesterday, cleaned it up, and lubed with white lithium grease. I couldn't find any of the graphite product made for cables. I've read plenty of people using white lithium so I figured I'd give it a shot.

I also went to apply some oil to the speedo bushing. I was surprised to see that the brass cap that was supposed to be there was not, so apparently someone has been in there before. Instead it was a layer of crud and sand. I cleaned it all up, the wick was still present and protecting the bushing. I applied some light oil and reassembled everything.

The cable makes no noise now and the bouncing is better, but not completely gone. Not there at all at driving speeds, but noticeable at low speed. Good enough for right now.

Went on a nice Sunday drive today after church with my wife. Got a few good pictures, but we're a bit early for fall colors. Another week or two should be perfect.

Parked it in the garage, went back out to grab something a few hours later and to my surprise the driver's front tire was completely flat. I must have hit a nail on the gravel roads. I doubt I did any major damage to the tire. The car is now up on jack stands and I'll pull the wheel off tomorrow and take it down to the tire shop. It should be fixed in no time.

-Kevin

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I hadn't heard anything regarding PI for a long time, and their website a few years back wasn't promising. I wasn't sure if they were still around.

I'm glad to see that they are, and their website has been updated and is much better. I've been a PAC club member for several years and may join PI as well. I'm not sure how active they are up here in the PNW though.

-Kevin

I'm not sure what they came with originally, but I agree with you. On the 50's cars it looks better with more white. Some of the 30's and 40's cars look pretty good with black walls, but the 50's benefit from the extra contrast the whites bring.

Biggest size Diamondback offers is 4".

I went with Diamondbacks on mine. 225/75/15 Auburn Premium with 3 3/8" whitewalls. I've been very happy with them. They ride great, very stable on the road. Low road noise. The whitewalls have stayed nearly pristine in the two years I've had them on the car. Just soap and water to keep them clean.

The Diamondbacks don't have the correct "pizza cutter" tread profile on them. But they still look very nice and the lack of correct profile has not bothered me at all.

-Kevin

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Thanks for this. I have the same problem on one of my handles, and I tried to fix it with washer. Didn't work. I'll give this a shot.

-Kevin

Thanks Howard, I had forgotten about the oil hole. I really need to pull that cable and get it done. I drove the Panama for a few miles today and the cable/speedo is getting much worse.

And thanks Tom!


In other news I got sick of fighting the original positive battery cable, and its poor connection. Starting became unreliable and I kept having to mess with the cable to get it to work.

I ordered a 2-0 cable from BatteryCablesUSA (33" length) and it came within 3 days. I know the original is 1-0, but I wanted extra juice so I went with the 2-0. Cable quality is fantastic.

The car started almost immediately, which never happens on a cold start. So far so good. That was $30 well spent.

-Kevin

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Nicely done Kev. I'll be due to replace my brake fluid here in the next year or two. Been two years so far.

-Kevin

Took the longest drive I've ever done in the Panama yesterday. Up to this point I've kept it very local since I was afraid something would go wrong and I would be stranded.

A friend drove his '57 Chevy and my wife and I took the Panama down the beautiful Yakima River Canyon. 60+ miles of fantastic cruising. 50-55 mph the whole way. Car never got warm, brakes were great, smooth on the road. Some definite body roll into the corners, but that's part of the fun. The only issue is my speedo cable was definitely making noise towards the end. I will need to pull it and lubricate it.

Overall very pleased with how it drove and gave me a lot of confidence for longer cruises.

-Kevin

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