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Board index » All Posts (Lee)




Packard postwar wire wheel center caps...
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Leeedy
I've been looking at these caps all my life and I've seen some odd ones. Before all of my parts and my 1956 Caribbean were stolen, I even had two sets of these caps with cloissone centers. But I'm wondering about these.

I also know that repopped caps came out on the market several years ago. I know the first there were just repopped center caps... then whole wheels and caps were repopped.

So I'm inclined to classify the center cap on the right as a repop. Trouble is... this one has been around a lot of years. Lot of years. Notice it is far shallower than the factory original cap on the left. So... what is it?


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Posted on: 2018/8/12 22:55
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Re: 56 400 loss of power
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Leeedy
Quote:

Riki wrote:
New plugs today.

When started knock..that went away. But. In gear miss.

Runs fine at idle. Except miss..where that engine should be still..no shakeing.

As far as plugs. They say if they are white.they are being steam cleaned. Leaking head gasket.

So I believe the head gaskets are toast.

Some of those plugs are white...

I am sure i scored the piston and cyl walls

Valves May be vent too.


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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Leeedy
Quote:

curpack wrote:
Hi there,

I have whitish, grayish smoke comimg out of my left ( driver's side) tailpipe on accelaration only, not while cruising.When cold the tailpipe also spurts out water droplets.The right tailpipe does not smoke and is dry.
The engine is a 374 in a Packard 400.


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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Leeedy
Quote:

Don Shields wrote:
Note the Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell reference ("Some Like It Hot"?).

The movie that starred Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe was "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," which was released in 1953. Jane Russell was not in "Some Like It Hot," and that film was released in 1959.


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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Leeedy
Quote:

ECAnthony wrote:
Leeedy - Is this the theater you were talking about? This was taken during a 1953 Packard sales meeting.


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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Leeedy
Quote:

Jack Vines wrote:
Quote:
it may very well be that you've spun a crankshaft bearing


"Spun a crankshaft bearing" is when the bearing locks on the shaft and spins in the block or the rod.

FWIW, most well-used Packard V8s have severely worn main bearings, especially on the center three, but I can't remember seeing a main actually spun in the block. Can happen; we've just never seen it. That would make a dull thudding sound.

As to spun rod bearings, that makes a terrible noise clanging which leaves no doubt as to what has happened.

jack vines


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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Leeedy
Quote:

Riki wrote:
Thanks leeedy

I was involved with the pack 12 today so didn't..look at 400.

But my oil is clean..yellow..looked at dip other day..also seem to be using oil..

No sure if front seal is throwing it..need to check that..


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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Leeedy
Quote:

RogerDetroit wrote:
For those not familiar with downtown Detroit, here is a photo of the Michigan Theater after being converted into a parking deck.

This is how we roll in Detroit with historic buildings.


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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Leeedy
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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Leeedy
Quote:

MrPushbutton wrote:
Quote:
Ahhh. Great video footage. Does my heart good to see the old United Artists theater back in her prime. This was a beautiful, beautiful theater inside. Last time I saw the theater, she was in terrible shape, boarded up, abandoned and unloved. Sad. And nobody today seems to know it but the same building where the UA theater (shown here on Bagley Avenue) was located was actually the national headquarters of the AAA Automobile Club. I once ran computers for them in this very building which was a wonderful place to work. The whole area was peppered with classy hotels, restaurants, theaters and night clubs. All gone now. Directly across the street from the AAA National Headquarters building was the headquarters of the AAA of Michigan. Years later AAA pulled the plug and moved everything to Dearborn. Just up the street was the fabulous Michigan Theater where Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. once performed... and where Disney's Peter Pan debuted. Incredibly, that beautiful theater was gutted, walls knocked out and turned into a parking lot. Heartbreaking to see. Should I mention this was all just steps from where Henry Ford once tinkered with cars made out of bicycle parts? Thanks for the time machine trip back to the glory days...


Leedy, you know about me and theatres, especially Detroit theatres, right?
I was in the United Artists in January of 1975, right before AAA auctioned off the contents. Aside from the whitewash paint job and the gold Cinemascope screen "surround" she was marvelously intact, every original piece of furniture and statuary was there. A month later, all gone. Now the Ilitches own it, and are talking conversion to apartments, since all downtown real estate is hot right now. Not sure how apartments in the center of the auditorium portion will have a window, or a view.
The Michigan was the first movie going experience I can remember, 1964, when my aunt took me to see "Snow White" in re-release. I was in and out of the Michigan through the 70s, and in March of 1977 was part of a crew hired to remove the projectors, right before the carnage that resulted in the parking garage began. Saw it in its last moments as it was built. Henry Ford's home, at the time he built his Quadracycle, and backyard shop were on the lot that the Michigan theatre has occupied since 1926.
The Statler Hotel, seen in the film was demolished in a hurry for the 2006 Super Bowl, that was nothing more than a jobs bill for demo companies. Now an apartment building is going up on that site.
Downtown looks nothing like it did the last time you were here, Dan Gilbert has renovated or is in the process of renovating every shuttered teens-20s office building. A huge skyscraper is going up on the JL Hudson's site, work started last month.


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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