Re: 56 400 loss of power
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As I have advised someone else on here with a condition sounding like he has a blown head gasket, the very first thing I would do (after addressing wiring, spark and checking the dipstick) is take your car to a shop that has a tester that can check for the presence of exhaust IN the coolant. This is very, very easy to do... and almost for absolute sure will reveal if you have a head gasket shot. This is not 100% foolproof depending on where your head gasket may be going bad... and how far along the damage is at the time... but exhaust gas has no place in the coolant and can only mean something has gone horribly wrong. I've been through all this decades ago with Packard V-8s and Cadillac V-8s, so I can save you time, wasted labor and needless headaches. Right this very moment I have a Cadillac with Northstar engine sitting in storage with a blown head gasket. Know what it does? Idles chunky... has lots of condensation when cold... blows white "smoke" out of one of the pipes. One of my 1955 Caribbeans blew a head gasket in 1978. Know what it did? Idled rough... blew white "smoke" out of one tail pipe... engine oil turned the color of butterscotch. And... when you say "head gaskets are toast"... there is no reason why both head gaskets should blow at the same time on a V-8. Usually it's one side or the other... Just advice.
Posted on: 2018/8/12 21:25
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Re: smoke from one exhaust pipe only
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White "smoke" on acceleration... coming out of left tailpipe only..."spurting water when cold"... nothing likewise happening out of the right-hand tailpipe? This all sounds like a left bank head gasket going or gone bad. Summer is the season for blown head gaskets. If your engine has a weak one, this is most likely time when it will reveal itself. White-grayish "smoke" out of the exhaust is usually a sign of burning coolant. Even more likely if this is happening under acceleration. And while some cars may have slight condensation emanating out of the tailpipe when cold, the volume of liquid can really be substantial if a head gasket is going bad. A compression test won't necessarily reveal a lot. But there are testing devices you can hook into your cooling system to determine if exhaust is leaking into it. The coolant won't usually change colors and may appear perfectly normal. And, you may want to monitor your oil dipstick and watch for a milky yellowish color that often occurs when the gasket is really bad.
Posted on: 2018/8/12 10:25
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Re: '52 Imperial Parade Phaetons
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Yes... the very reason why I put a question mark after the title... was not sure of the movie name. But thanks for the info. Remember GPB now. Probably should have looked it up. I usually enter this stuff right off the top of my head and as the years go by, there's a lot to remember! Thanks again.
Posted on: 2018/8/12 9:35
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Re: '52 Imperial Parade Phaetons
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Ohhhh yes! That's the beautiful United Artists theater in its glory years. The building it is in was the National Headquarters building for AAA Automobile Club where I used to work. And these Packard guys are boarding what look like GMC Greyhound charter busses on Bagley Avenue. This was one of the streets of dreams in downtown Detroit when Packard was also in its heyday. That UA marquee illuminated beautifully at night and had a lot of brushed stainless steel on it. Note the Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell reference ("Some Like It Hot"?). The open space between the buildings (to the right of the UA Theater in the photo) was a parking lot where I sometimes parked my new GTO convertible when I was working here for AAA. Note at least three of the Packard guys boarding the bus are wearing "spectator shoes." Snappy dressers, they. Building directly behind the first charter bus was a big hotel (don't recall the name) where many of the rooms were occupied by full-time residents. Directly behind our viewing angle (back over our shoulders) here was an even bigger and very deluxe hotel that eventually became the Detroit home to famous Trader Vic's Restaurant-as in Beverly Hills (the marquee was done up in fake bamboo). Yessss, there was a time in Detroit...
Posted on: 2018/8/11 13:44
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Re: 56 400 loss of power
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Yesssss...I know all this. Not talking theory here. AND... had the lovely experience of being on a cross-country trip in a 1956 Packard when it occurred... in the 1970s. AND was there when the engine (which supposedly was just rebuilt before it happened) was torn down to examine the damage. Yes, painfully aware of what it is and how it sounds etc.etc.etc. I've owned a lot of cars over a lot of years. Not a young guy. AND I've written an awful lot of service procedures on a professional OEM level for car companies over many many years. But got news for ya... spun bearings don't always make huge noises.
Posted on: 2018/8/10 14:41
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Re: 56 400 loss of power
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Ahhh... well if none of these points are a problem, it may very well be that you've spun a crankshaft bearing. That's the first thing I look for if the others are okay-especially if the engine is running a ten-under crank!
Posted on: 2018/8/10 0:21
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Re: '52 Imperial Parade Phaetons
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This photo proves it. Absolutely nothing is sacred anymore, huh? So this is what we've come to? As an old Detroiter who once sat in this grand theater when it was indeed a grand theater, I can only say that I am sickened by what I see here. I'm sure someone has taken great pride in their "work" in creating this... canker sore. If I may, the words of a Packard historian come to mind upon viewing this horror. The words went something like... "...it was dead, but they didn't even want to give it a decent burial." How sad can sad ever possibly be upon viewing this horrific nightmare? Remember that Joni Mitchell song? Pave paradise... put up a parking lot...
Posted on: 2018/8/10 0:12
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Re: 56 400 loss of power
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Four easy things you'll want to check right away...
1.) Pull the engine dip stick and look to see if the oil has changed colors or has a yellowish, creamy look to it (means a blown head gasket) 2.) Check your distributor advance to see if it is stuck or even working. 3.) Loosen your radiator cap with the engine cold or cool and check to see if indeed it really is full of coolant or may need "burping" to get a air bubble out of the system. Check by squeezing the upper rubber hose. 4.) Open your radiator cap and look to see if there are traces of transmission fluid in the coolant- such as brown dots or streaks of purplish looking color (means a blown/leaking transmission cooler)
Posted on: 2018/8/9 14:11
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Re: '52 Imperial Parade Phaetons
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Hello Mr. Pushbutton... Nope. I have zero knowledge of your connection to theaters. This is probably the wrong place, but wow... we could do a whole lotta talking about Detroit area theaters. I knew so many of them. Including the biggies like the Fox (where I performed a few times)... and the Music Hall (home of the fabulous Cinerama films)... or the Summit (2nd home of Cinerama films where I had front-row seats at the debut of "Grand Prix" and where I first saw "2001 A Space Odessey")...and the Grand Circus (where I saw the debut of "Forbidden Planet" with Robby, the Robot)... or the Adams (where I saw "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" for a solid DAY) or the Michigan (where I saw big stars singing to an almost empty house and where I saw the debut of Peter Pan)... or the Mercury... or the Rivola.... or the Ramona... or the Riviera... or the Cinderella... or the Delthe... or the Granada (probably at least part of the inspiration for the Dodge Granada concept car)... or the Rialto...or the University... or a lot of others. And I can't forget The Latin Quarter-which was not a movie house but a few movies were shown there. It was a full-on Las Vegas style supper theater ... where I performed and sadly, a very high-echelon place that almost no one today remembers. Somewhere I have a photo of a Packard Twelve sitting in front of it way, way back when. I probably should also mention that I was one of the people who fought (successfully) back in the late 60s/early 70s to save Detroit's Orchestra Hall back when they wanted to tear it down and turn the land into a hamburger restaurant!!!! OMG!!!! I have indeed toured downtown Detroit very recently and have seen a lot of the construction... and the destruction. And speaking of Downtown real estate, you probably know that the descendent company of Creative Industries is now located in Downtown Detroit. Oh... and that's "Leeedy" with 3 e's. Thanks for the memories and inside info on the theaters. Should I add that my family's company via my uncle serviced most the old organs in old Detroit theaters?
Posted on: 2018/8/8 18:33
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