51 Packard: They started attaching the band struts to the bands with the advent of the Gear Start in mid 54. The bands and struts can be substituted early for late and late for early with no probs. The ones with the separate struts are a pain to assemble, as you know, but should never fall out once installed. I am sure that your bands are not adjusted properly or that the little rollpin that keeps the struts from slipping side to side is missing.

Get your struts back into position (making sure the rollpins are there) and bolt the valve body back up into place as per the manual. There is an adjusting screw for each band that sticks out the side of the case with a big ol' locknut on it. Back off the locknut a bit and hold it still while you turn the adjusting screw in. This should go in about a couple of turns at least till it begins to get stiff as it tightens the band. Turn it in to 20 ft lb (or a two finger pull on the end of the wrench), then back it off 1 3/4 turns and lock it with the locknut. Do this for both bands. With a thin screwdriver you should be able to reach around the valve body and actually work the little levers that tighten the bands as a final check. That should be the end of band struts falling out. Its not a fun job on your back but it ccan be done.

The piston is hanging by ring tension. The cutaway is for discussions just like this one and as a sales tool for customers who are curious about their engines. Oh, and fun. Which I think is what ALL of this is about. I also have a cutaway Ultramatic which I'll post elsewhere to not disrupt this thread.

Brian: Thanks for the great photos and info. Your roadster (on youtube) inspired me to build one also though mine is for general back roads cruising and is not blown.

Anyway, I agree that a full relieve job is not necessary and will just drop compression. I have had good success smoothing out the edges of the little saucers that the valves sit in. As the Packard valves are tilted toward the cylinder the mixture doesn't have to travel too far!

Here are some photos of a cutaway unmodified 288 (=327=356) as the architecture was all the same. You can see how the mixture would flow up out of the port and be directed by the hollow in the head. I also like to cut a big chamfer on the top edge of the intake valves to make a wee bit more space for the mixture to flow over the top and around from the back side. A little finessing goes a long way.

Am looking forward to further installments.

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Craig, take the little sheet metal cover off the end of the control valve and make sure the nut that is just inside has not backed off. It should be run down snug and then backed off a hair til you can wiggle the bolt from side to side a tad. A loose connection there adds play directly to your steering. It's supposed to be a locking nut, but you could probably run two nuts together in a pinch. And actually, while you are there, it is no problem to reseal the valve right on the car.

I slightly prefer the feel of the Bendix unit, but the Monroe is more elegantly simple if you've a mind to change it.

Most 288s seem to be able to turn in 16-18 mpg---but not in city driving. I suggest a careful timing check with the vac advance line disconnected and the engine idling slow. Set it to about 7 degrees. If the timing is a little retarded on these flatheads, they lose a lot of power and economy. Oh, and do make sure your vac advance works! Good luck.

Those windows are deeply curved, and I think you would loose too much space. Find a picture of the roof Henney used on the 51-54 flower cars. That would be about ideal, but would require wasting a hardtop. Oog.

If you want a builder, I have several 55 352 and one 56 352 available. I am an hour south of Hershey.

I am playing with making an extended cab Packup by moving the rear portion of the roof forward about 20 to 24 inches and retaining the wraparaound rear window. The difficulty is that the cars are much wider at the c pillars than they are at the a and b pillars so one ends up with a LOT of extra sheetmetal from side to side in the roof that has to be cut and welded, kind of like darts in a fitted shirt.

To get proportions and ease of entry, there will need to be a quarter window behind the door, about the size of the former rear vent window. Its a lot of work, but it will look very cool. No time for that just now.

Here is a side photo of the 56, which is #5. I've put 12K miles on it since the conversion, but since it is mine, have not gotten around to making it pretty. She shows 119 K miles and the bottom end is getting a little rumbly...Ah, the shoemaker's children. She's quite pleasant to drive and the lifters are quiet if I keep her a quart over full. Included is a shot halfway thru the conversion.

The red 51 200 is #1, which I did with gear start ultra, 3.07 rear, and a ported and relieved 288 with 4bbl.

The blue 53 Clipper Deluxe is #4, with 327 and overdrive/ ported relieved, 3/4 cam and 4bbl. Its a snappy performer.

Next up, #6, is based on a 55 Patrician and the guy wants it solid red. Should be an eyefull. It comes back from paint this week.

Its all about fun with cheap used cars. You get way more bang for your buck with Packards. If these were Chevrolets they would be too expensive to modify! (and not as much fun to drive)

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My buddy Bob sez I should post some pics of a recent project. This is a 52 200 "Packup" with 288 and overdrive. It is one of a series of 7 that range from "all done" to only just started. This is actually #3 but the project was held up a while. This just needs a couple pieces of beltline trim and a headliner before it ships.

I always use tacky run-down 4 doors that no one wants to restore anyway--doing my part to keep resale value up for the rest of you guys.

The yellow and black 56 is my own shop truck, #5. With torsion level its very handy for hauling blocks to the machine shop, picking up sand blast sand and the like.

I leave the rear doors openable for access under the bed for tools and luggage you don't want people to see.

We fabricate the beds here and frame them in heavy tubing to maintain rigidity; a Packard sedan has all the integrity of a piece of warm cheese once the roof is cut!

That's Bob's sedan as the "before" example. Enjoy.

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