My 23rd Series Deluxe 8 has an Autolite generator, reguloator, starter, and distributer. I think it was original equipment.

As I understand it the original heat shield mounting bracket is held on by the rear fuel pump mounitng bolt. That may require slightly different washers.

I have a new replica heat shield and mounting bracket and I intend to install it together with new insulator tubes and washers.

It all looks very complex and hard to install. That is probably why the heat shield and other parts were missing when I got my car. Installing the lock wire into the two bolts looks nearly impossible with the engine inside the car.

Gator, thanks for the help. I will try to use phenolic. The nylon is quite soft when heated.

I will dig into the fuel pump issue when I get all the parts collected. I gues I have to fabricate the insulating gasket. I wonder if they used paper gaskets also. A thick phenolic gasket is not likely to seal without some adhesive like RTV.

On the subject of fuel pumps, my Series 23 pump has the mounting bolts lock wired to keep them from falling out. Is that a standard Packard way of doing it? The installation of the lock wire is a (bad word). I can understand the need for lock wire if the torque on the bolts has to be reduced to protect plastic insulating washers.

Maybe a better way of doing it would be to install studs in the block and secure them with Loctite. Then self locking nuts could be used and torque reduced to protect the plastic washers.

Does anyone know the thickness of the insulating washers and gasket? I would like to use the original design for thermal insulation. I am also installing a heat shield per original.

Kev,
Thanks for doing an outstanding job on the website. It is one of the best of its type I have ever seen.
That person who complained does not realize how bad it hurts when a volunteer gets criticized for all his contributions. I have seen this happen a lot when I have worked at cars shows. Keep up the great work Kev.
Fred

I have a beautiful set of bumper guards I took off my 23rd Series Deluxe 8. I had everything on the car rechromed to concourse quality. After putting on all the other chrome I decided the car looks better to me without the bumper guards. Is there anyone out there interested in buying these or trading for something interesting? I have about $500 in the chrome job alone. I have no idea what the going price is for this Packard accessory.

My 1950 23rd Series Deluxe 8 was a pretty original car and the 288 engine was gray under the dirt.

The heat shield as I understand it is a sheet metal part that does not touch the fuel pump or the exhaust manifold. Therefore the heat shield is supposed to block radiation heat transfer between the hot exhaust and the fuel pump. Radiation is heat flowing across a gap, similar to the heat you feel from the sun. Radiation heat transfer depends greatly on the temperature difference between the hot and cold objects and to a smaller extent on the emissivity of the two object surfaces. Emmissivity is a property of a surface that depends on things like color and gloss. The highest radiation heat transfer is to or from a dull black object. The lowest radiation heat transfer is to or from a shiny surface like chrome. I am sure the temperature of the heat shield would be lowered if its upper surface (or the manifold) were polished and chromed. If the heat shield is cooler the radiation to the fuel pump would be reduced somewhat.

A sheet insulator on the bottom side of the shield would lower the shield bottom surface temperature a bit. However I think a shiny top surface would have a greater effect. Some thermal analysis or testing is in order to get numbers.

The biggest effect by far is having a heat shield on the car instead of not having one. Perhaps that is why Packard did not bother with polishing the heat shield.

Also on my fuel pump there is no insulator at all between the engine and the pump except a thin gasket. There are no bolt insulators. Does anyone sell those missing parts? I am sure I could make them if I had the required insulator thickness. Putting an insulator between the pump and the block would also change the action of the fuel pump. Does anyone know what this does, good or bad?

I read about your project and really admire all the effort. I have a 1950 Series 23 which I am restoring a bit at a time the hard way while trying to use the car. I am 73 and feel your pain.
Fred

Finally someone gave me a good technical reason how/why clothspins might work to prevent vapor lock. I always saw pictures of a few clothspins on a fuel line and could never figure out why this would do anything. What I never saw was the fuel line totally covered with clothspins!

The old clothspins were wood and wood is a good insulator. If you put many, many clothspins on the fuel line right next to each other the metal line would be insulated from exhaust manifold heat. Any insulation would also do (such as wrapping the fuel line with asbestos tape). It's just that wooden clothspins were very common and cheap in the old days and very easy to install.

In modern times the wooden clothspins are rare and asbestos has been replaced with safer material such as glass fiber. Today an equivalent fix is the insulating tape or exhaust blanket material found in performance stores such as Off Road Warehouse. Wrap the fuel line with the insulating blanket and tie it on with hose clamps or safety wire. The insulation is more effective if it has a shiny outside surface. This cuts down on heat transfer due to radiation from the exhaust.

Also find/buy a heat shield that Packard used between the exhaust manifold and the fuel pump. This is a radiation shield, so it also works better if the surface facing the manifold is shiny (chromed?)