Dave, can you set me straight here? I see all the back and forth on the two types of radiator cores - is one better than the other or are we just talking keeping things original here? I had my rad recored with, I believe, 'tube and fin' coring and the guy told me it would cool better than what was in there. Not sure if my '39 started out with 'cellular' core (I don't even know what that is) or if it was just an old version of the modern day tube and fin, But I could not tell the difference looking at my rad after it came back; it cools extremely well and cost about $575 US. The outfit called Brassworks sells new, complete radiators for Packards for around $900. If a guy was stuck having to pay around that to fix an old one, why not consider junking it and just going with a repro?? I DO know that rad shops per se, are becoming rarer and harder to find. If they think they have you in any kind of a corner, they'd likely try and put the screws to you, I suppose. Chris.
http://www.thebrassworks.net/shop/Restored-&-Fabricated-Radiators-Packard-Radiators/c10_53/p664/1936-Packard-Radiator/product_info.html?osCsid=9089ae90f15a0cc4c7a20a0dfaa5ce04

Hi John, No, an engine stand is not a luxury I enjoy with my very limited shop/tool selection. I just made a wooden stand for the engine, that could be fork-lifted and used a borrowed davit-arm style hydraulic engine lift on wheels to hoist and lower it into the engine bay. All worked okay, albeit rather basic. I just bought some more property adjacent to my place and will be building a nice, big double car garage/shop. THEN I will get some of the 'toys' to make this all a little easier. Might even invest in an above-ground hoist!! Good luck with your re-install - post some pictures, would love to see the progress as it comes together. Chris.

John, Glad you got 'the hole' figured out. Just as a side-comment to your one-piece intentions when putting everything back in, that's what I did and I would say it is far and away the easiest. That being said, I had my clutch disc re-sintered at a clutch house up here in Canada. The old one looked okay and the pressure plate, same, so I just put it all back in. Once the car was driving, I had a terrible chatter from that 'new' clutch disc. I ended up pulling the transmission out and installing a new pressure plate and disc from Kanters. I did this crawling around under the car with it on jackstands and was able to align the spline/shaft and pilot bearing. So yes, it can certainly be done, but I would sure try to do it in one piece, if possible. (P.S. I'm sure your Dad is smiling about that engine bay!) Chris.

John, that it is unthreaded is quite strange. I just had mine out and rebuilt too and did not notice anything like that. I'm sure someone will chime in here with the correct answer. In the meantime, that is sure a pretty block, all rebuilt and ready to go back in!! Something about a clean, freshly machined motor... Chris

Brian, I read your post with interest, as I have said for years that I didn't think electric cars were the 'be-all-and-end-all' that they are touted to be. Where do people think electricity comes from? I remember quite a few years ago (20+) reading a reliable-source article that stated that 70% of electricity in the US comes from coal. I looked it up on the internet very recently and the number I seemed to get the most frequently: 67%, so obviously not much has changed in a couple of decades. A Tesla 'S' model has an unholy amount of horsepower and my take is that it is probably leaving a bigger carbon footprint than my 4-cylinder Honda!! How is that 'good for the environment'??? They say the sun sends us a thousand times more energy than we need every day, all we have to do is figure out how to harness and utilize it. I had read about a kid in grade seven that had come up with a solar panel concept that was supposed to be many times more efficient than the standard solar voltaic cell we use today. It was going to revolutionize solar energy as we know it and yet I didn't hear anything after that. Big oil probably bought the patent and deep-sixed it! As far as self driving cars - there are so many MILLION possibilities that can cause fatal issues, I doubt we will ever see universal autonomous vehicles in our lifetime. Maybe bus transit routes in cities and certain interstate door-to-door circuits for semis. etc., but open road driving on byways and back roads will always need some help from us humans!!! Lets hope so, for our Packard's sake, anyway!! Chris.

As always, a fine, well-scripted little history lesson, Steve. Thanks for posting. Chris

Yes, of course Guscha, I totally get it that 'that was then and this is now' and also, as you say, under incredible pressure to keep up with the war effort. On the other end of that comparison, it is amazing to me, how so much was accomplished and how GOOD the product produced back then, was. I look at my 80 year old car, for instance, and marvel at what was achieved way back then, in the infancy of the automobile industry - the style, the machining, the mechanical inventiveness; there's a lot to be said for the designers and engineers of yesteryear, for their accomplishments. They might not have had today's technology, but they sure came up with some great end-products. I hope I didn't sound flippant or disrespectful of 'those folks and that era' in my post, as it was most certainly not my intent. Apologies if I offended. Best regards, Chris.

Interesting stuff - thanks for posting Guscha. I can't help but being taken aback by that testing stand. An open ended building leading out to a muddy yard with junk everywhere to test aircraft engines?!?!? One can only imagine how that would be viewed by today's standards. All the 'clean rooms' and 'eat-off-the-floor' testing facilities at places like Boeing, certainly make a stark comparison to what was considered 'okay' back in the day. We did hydraulic hose assemblies for a couple of aircraft builders in my working days and the hoops they made you jump through to ensure that not one speck of dirt was being introduced into ANY or their systems, was incredible. Suffice to say, the state-of-the-art of the industry has come a long, long way! Also Tim, in response to your remark on women working in these places, my Mom had a job at a munitions factory up here in Canada when she was a very young girl. She said it was both dangerous and, as you said had deplorable working conditions. She recounted coworkers getting digits and even hands blown off by accidents but she said the pay was three times what she could make as a serger, cook, or any of the other 'jobs of the day' so women were willing to take the risk. Lucky for her, she emerged with all here fingers, but as a result of excessive noise, had severe hearing loss at a very young age. Chris.

That's quite the 'visual' Joe - but it definitely sounds comfortable! Anyone who has spent any amount of time 'under the dash' of these cars will appreciate your 'perch'approach! LOL
Chris

Hey Steve/Leeedy,

That '34 coupe is STILL an eye-opener. I was looking at it online and see average sell price is $1.227 Mill, with a high end of $3.19!!! those are staggering figures to me and very likely put it out of reach of most folks 'dream car list'. Sure is gorgeous though; I'd never seen one before and 'fell in awe' immediately! (even my colour!) Chris