I have to agree with Fish'n Jim and echo John's 'well-stated' remark. Idleness and non-use are any engine's enemy, so even if the motor was in tip-top shape when it was parked 30 years ago, there would be issues. Add to that the fact that many of us have no idea what our cars went through prior to their last use, from over-heating to over revving to lack of care and maintenance, etc., and a tear-down and fresh rebuild are really the only proper way to get to a known point of condition reference, and allow us to KNOW what we have under the hood. I spent 3+ years fighting with my car after buying it, and countless dollars with different so-called mechanics, all saying they thought my engine was okay, until I finally 'bit the bullet' and did a complete rebuild. Now the car runs beautifully and better yet, I know what I have. Chris.

Jwblazek, Also, I just took my old hoses down to the local Napa store and got them to match them with same-size hoses that had 90 degree bends and then I just cut them to length to match my old ones. If I remember correctly, they are 1 3/4" ID and the ones they matched me up with were close and didn't need a lot of trimming. Somewhere around $25/hose. then I just had to do the spring-insertion exercise and I was in-biz. Chris.

Jwblazek, I replaced my hoses when I redid my rad and I removed the springs from the old hoses by cutting them to get at the springs without distorting them too badly. I took some steel wool and cleaned all the crud off the old springs and then lubed up the inside of the new hose with dish soap and pulled the spring into the new hose by tying a leather thong onto the spring so as not to damage the tube of the new hose. If you twist the spring before it goes into the hose to make it smaller, while pulling on the leather thong from the other end, you can get it nicely inserted into the new elbow with just enough space on both ends to go over the rad barbs. No issues with collapsing and, oh, yes, I DID rinse the soap out really well before installing so I wasn't blowing bubbles out the top of my new radiator!! LOL Chris

Very cool, Steve. I DO love that '40 'beak' with the inserts. Chris.

Jason, you should use a new head gasket for the final reassembly. I think Ross is suggesting re-using your old one just get to the bottom of your noise source. Chris

Don/Jason, Correct me if I'm wrong, but is breaking the glaze on the cylinder wall by honing it not a requirement to get the new rings to seat properly?? Chris

Jason75,

I sure relate to how you say you feel sick about a situation that you've put a lot of effort into, and that looks bleak; I've been there and felt identical. I am not a mechanic, nor an engine specialist, but in LOOKING at the top end on your motor, to me, the pistons don't look horrible. One thing is for sure, and that is there was not a 3/8 nut bouncing around in cylinder 7 as there doesn't appear to be any high-velocity impact damage to the top of that piston. There is definitely a bit of carbon build up that could be cleaned up and vacuumed out of the holes. I'm sure the owners who have rebuilt lots of these blocks will weigh in with advice, but from the limited amount of diagnostics that can be determined from pictures only, I wouldn't think things are dire, that's for sure. One issue that did seem to stand out, is the water circulation holes sure seem full of flake and sludge and one would think that should be addressed before putting things back together. Chris.

Joe, perception is a funny thing! I saw that reference to Jean Luc Packard, and my brain immediately thought it was a play on the Jazz composer/violinist Jean Luc Ponty!! Then I see your post tonight and realize it's a Star Trek/Jean Luc Picard parallel and that even makes more sense. Not being a Trekkie AND being way into music sure left me on the wrong side of that one! LOL Different longsplices for different ships I suppose, eh??? Chris.

Thanks Howard - good answer. I was curious, as the #55's were in modern 'cards' of 2 bulbs, hanging with a million other bulbs on the rack, and they listed at 7 volts. The #51's however weren't there and I had to order them in a box of 10. The box looked like it came out of some NOS inventory and looked very old. These listed at 7.5 volts, thus the question. Appreciate your time. Chris.

While not a Packard-specific query, I was wondering why #51 and #55 bulbs (correct bulb #'s for my '39 Six dashlights) are listed as 7.5 and 7 volts, respectively?? Other bulbs I have purchased (larger ones) are listed as '6 volt'. My thought is these will work fine, just curious as to why the varying voltage designation? Chris