That's neat, Steve; great job. I'd toss in my vote agreeing with your number. One CAN see why the original poster thought the 'C' might be a 'Q', but I guess it's just a little degradation in the metal that leaves what looks like the 'leg' of a 'Q'. Chris

You'd get a helluva bang for your buck up there Steve... trading at about 1.374 right now..... Chris

Thanks Stephen. Cost effective, at any rate!!! LOL Chris

PTV - I will be sure and post my findings and impressions as soon as I have had time to put a few miles on the odometer. I agree with you that at around a hundred horse, it is certainly not going to be a powerhouse, but I'm not really looking for that either - more just a functional driver that can do 50ish on the highway and not power out going up a hill in 2nd. Hopefully with the fresh, new tolerances that one would expect with a rebuild, the car should be close to what it performed like when new, and I'm sure a '39 Packard was a pretty agile and capable car when it rolled off the assembly line.

Thanks, Man. Chris

Dave/Howard, This is the best pic I have of one of the shocks. I am not computer savvy enough to be able to draw arrows on photos, but the only place I can see that might be a filler screw, is just to the left of the flat disc on the top of the shock - is that what you're referring to, Dave??

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Could that first one be a 'B' Dave???

In wanting to clean up my exhaust and intake manifolds while I had my engine apart and not wanting to go the full-monty with porcelain coatings, etc., I sprayed the intake manifold with a high-heat engine paint and for the exhaust, I bought a large spray can of ceramic coating at the local NAPA store. You are supposed to put several coats on and then either bake it in the oven at 475 for a couple of hours, or go through a heating and cooling sequence with the engine. I chose the latter and it would seem the product, whatever it is, is adhering quite well. Obviously time will tell. I thought for a driver, if it cleaned it up and looked halfway presentable, I could live with it!... I only submit this as an economical alternative to the 'real deal' as, sometimes with drivers and less expensive cars, lower cost solutions are sometimes worthy of consideration.... it certainly 'cleans it up'! (see pic)

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Let me second that Pat - I have been on West's blog and it is most helpful. VERY detailed and step-by-step! (with pictures)
As a matter of fact, when I was R&Ring my engine, I was just going to reuse my old mounts and turn them over, but after going through West's description of the process, I got off my wallet, and ordered a new set - glad I did!!!! Chris

That is good info - thanks for the input. I am trying to go through this car and 'right the wrongs' as much as I can along the way. (and trust me, I have discovered quite a few as I have gotten to know a bit more about Packard) So far, just getting the car to run so it can be driven and enjoyed has been the major focus. After a couple of years of fighting with that, I got serious and pulled the motor and had it professionally rebuilt. Hopefully, that is the end of my 'running' woes and I can move on to 'other' things. One major issue with the car was steering and the steering box was completely trashed. With over a half a turn of play in the steering wheel, I knew I had major problems. I did get the steering box professionally rebuilt and now the steering is in the 90 percentile range. There is still a very small bit of play and if I grab a front wheel while the car is on stands, I can move it ever so slightly, back and forth without the steering linkage moving with it. I say all this as I am leading up to a complete front end rebuild on the car. Kanters has the kits and I want to completely disassemble the front end, replace or rebush the king pins (whatever the appropriate nomenclature is for THAT process) and, at that time, will look at resurrecting the original shocks. Your idea to add oil is a good one, Howard - can I ask where one does that?? And Don, the 'monstrosities' are more robust than they probably look, with 1/2" steel brackets welded to the frame. Not pretty, but probably reasonably effective. Like I say, when driving the car, it seemed to handle 'quite well' and the 10 mile stretch of highway I drove it over, had lots of sharp corners and hills and from a front end perspective, it seemed halfway 'tight'. Chris