Jason75,
A cheap, lighted, endoscope camera (+/-$50) would tell you if there's anything in the cylinder before you go to all the work of removing the head. Not sure how your car 'times', but if through the bellhousing hole like mine, these are also a great tool to be able to view the timing marks while holding the timing light and moving the distributor, a task which I find to be quite a handful. Chris

I politely stated 'Asia' as the general reference for what is considered 'offshore' these days. China is by far the largest Asian country supplying rubber products to North America, but certainly not the only. Vietnam Bangladesh and Cambodia, et al, all manufacture rubber products and export here. The only 'Asian' exception would be Japan, who once had the same quality reputation as China, but over several decades, has evolved and become a symbol of much better quality. The EUROPEAN countries cited DO make quality rubber products, but export very little to North America. Pirelli is the only tire that comes to mind, but I think their manufacturing might even be here in the US. Bottom line: 'cheap rubber from China' was what I was talking about - maybe I should have just come out and said that. What do they say - 'political correction is the language of cowardice'.... Chris

Don, I looked at the chart you included the link for and, while I'm not sure that chart reflects the 'real' colours of the day, maybe from fading or numerous duplications of the original brochure, but there are certainly no 'bright blues' there, that's for sure. Did Packard offer custom paint options?? It would seem that back in the day, when colours other than black were just coming into vogue, that if there were 10 or so options, THAT would be considered a lot to choose from and if a customer couldn't get happy with one of those... they might get told, well, you know where I'm going! Could your blue have been a non-factory, aftermarket paint job from a body shop??

Re: Tire width

Rubber quality varies greatly from one manufacturer to another. I spent the majority of my working life in the rubber manufacturing/distribution business and GENERALLY SPEAKING, North American made rubber tends to be superior in quality and service life to 'offshore' products, offshore generally referring to Asian-made elastomers. Other than abrasion wear and the heat associated with it, the biggest enemy of rubber is sunlight and UV, which can degrade even the highest quality rubber in prolonged exposure. When I first got my car, it had nylon bias-ply tires that had virtually no wear on the treads, but were severely cracked all over the sidewalls. Even with tubes, these tires presented a significant safety hazard. I took the car to several garages to see if they could figure out what was wrong with it and while none of them wanted to work on the car, they ALL advised me to 'lose' the tires due to the cracking. Tim, I do 'get it' when you say 'quality has gone down the toilet', but I also think if a guy looks long and hard enough, there are still excellent products out there. And, like the president of my company used to say: 'make no mistake about it, gentlemen - quality costs'; and I think that is where a lot of mistakes and concessions are made, we opt for the less expensive product option and then decry the lack of quality. One can't have it both ways, and at the end of the day, its a 'get what you pay for world'. I go to great lengths to find and buy products made in the US or Canada, in everything I buy. There was a time when I would ask a store clerk if they had anything made in this country and they would look at me like goats stare at thunder; they don't anymore. There has been a real resurgence of bringing our manufacturing home and I think it will continue. Makes good sense for our economies, keeps people here in jobs and, at the end of the day, the product quality is superior. Chris

Hi Larry,
When I was discussing various things with the machine shop that rebuilt my engine, like initial startup, break-in, head torquing, and recommended oil to use, etc., I suggested synthetic oil and the head tech vehemently denounced the use of synthetic oil in engines of that vintage. I wish I could remember all the detail of the reasons WHY, and I'm sure there will be plenty of folks weighing in with various degrees of agreement/disagreement on this; I am simply passing along what the rebuilders told me. One thing I do recall is they recommended an oil with high zinc content and when I asked them what viscosity, the guy said he would put 20/50 in it. I have been using a 'high zinc' 'Hot Rod & Classic Car' oil that I buy at our equivalent of NAPA and so far, I haven't uncovered any downside to that choice. The car starts fine, even in cooler weather, runs cool, doesn't use any oil (after the initial 200 miles or so of break-in) and I have great oil pressure. The engine also 'sounds' great, almost everyone comments on how smooth and quiet it is. You, of course, should do what is best for your car and your area, re temps and hills, etc. Just passing along what was recommended to me from, what I would consider, a knowledgeable and competent source. Chris.

Cartrich - 6.50's are pretty skinny as it is, and are the CORRECT spec for your car. The difference between 6.00/6.50 isn't that huge, but irrespective, the more rubber on the road (within spec) the better. I went from nylon bias-ply 6.50's that came with the car to Coker radials and the difference in ride and handling was really significant. Like Don says, if your tires are of some age, replacing them is a good idea, as sidewall cracking is common and CAN cause catastrophic failures, depending on the severity of rubber deterioration. Not sure what the thinking of those on the site is, but when I researched the radial conversion on the net, there seemed to be a trend toward going tubeless. Not sure if the prewar rims can even work with tubeless tires, but the 6.50/16 Cokers are tube-type tires and IMO, I would go with the tube option. Chris.

That is very nice fabrication Duncan Micheal. I did not realize the sixes were that different in years that close together. The more I learn about these cars, the more it becomes apparent '39 is a bit of a stand-alone edition, with a lot of things being specific to that year only. My 245 has two threaded ports in the block on the left side (driver's) and, as I posted, that's where the 'last guy' tied in to plumb a conventional 'modern' filter. I'm sure Larry will be back to you with further questions on your engineering and fabricating. Again, great job. Chris

Thanks Davidpackard,

I had no idea the usage was that widespread. I have an aviation background and a corresponding interest in its history. While I am familiar with quite a few of those aircraft types, some I had never heard of. Very interesting stuff! Again, appreciate your posting that. Chris.

Hey Larry,

Following your blog with interest. I recently went through a motor/transmission rebuild with my '39 Six (245 CID) and presume your 'process' is/will be similar. My motor had been the victim of a 'back yard murder-rebuild-job' and the machine shop ended up having to go .60 thou over to clean up the worst cylinder and, course, the rest got the same treatment. I respond here mainly because you asked about connecting a 'modern' oil filter to your block and I wanted to pass along the detail on what has been done to my car by a previous owner. It uses a Purolator #55 (I believe/will confirm) and is plumbed into the 1/8" NPT outlet/inlet holes in the block. I think some of the more stringent purists than I, have done this, but 'hide' the modern filter in a period-authentic housing. The previous owner who did the add-on with my car simply bolted a bracket to the inner fender and plumbed the lines with semi-rigid copper tubing and compression fittings. The filter is there in plain sight. Having this adapted to a proper Packard oil filter housing would definitely look better, I guess it depends on how far you want to go. I have one picture that shows it but if of any interest, I can certainly take some better ones and pass along. Good luck with your project and I hope the rebuild yields the same dramatic difference in performance as mine did. Running properly, Packard's six is a pretty decent little power plant. Chris.

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Yeah Don, the stainless don't 'pit', but they are definitely prone to 'dents'. Everything's a trade-off, right?!?!? Chris.