Quote:
Gerard,
for the reply. I'll look forward to seeing your '56 Pat in the springtime.

Wednesday 14th January 2009

The longest part of obtaining the hard copy Green Slip at the GIO office Hornsby was waiting for the printer to warm up, seeing I was the first customer in line. Then off to the RTA Motor Registry office at Ryde to complete the registration formalities. Had filled in all the requirements on the registration application form Tony had given me yesterday together with the Blue Slip. The documentation submitted consisted of:

Blue Slip - EA7797122
Application for Registration Form
Green Slip - TP12010542
Weighbridge Ticket No 0188 - triplicate copy
Vehicle Import Approval - 924542/1
Credit Card - AU$901.00

The Ryde office of the RTA had been holding the personalised numbers plates I'd ordered last May and these are included in the registration process. All went very smoothly with the vin numbers on all the documents agreeing, except for the Weighbridge Ticket which showed the thief proof number as the vin, but the important item there was the weight so no drama.

Back to the workshop for firstly a happy snap, like a fisherman displaying his catch, of the registration document and a number plate. Then mounting of the number plates, and because these are personalised plates designed for modern cars, none of the holes line up! Some measuring and drilling and the rear plate was mounted first but because the plates aren't as deep as the old ones the top sliding clamp is too long for the plate. But this wont be a problem as the plate is very secure and doesn't require the additional support. The front plates is even shallower than the rear one but by using a piece of scrap steel to brace the top of the plate it was mounted to the upright only with the bottom resting on the cross bar.

Then for a diversion, it was into Wades '37 Super 8 for a drive over to see Dave of JJ Smith's the radiator shop Wade uses. Wade's still not happy with the cooling on the Super 8 because at times he experiences dirty radiator water being forced out of the cap and blowing back over the '37. So, rather than continue to fiddle with things himself, it was off to see an expert. JJ Smiths moved over the Christmas break and are in new premises but are not yet fully set up. And are having lots of problems with the local regulatory authorities before they can finish things off and become fully functional. Anyway what Wade was after was advice and so after explaining the circumstances and setup on the Super 8 that left David to ponder and propose solutions. Checked to make sure the system wasn't pressurised and gave Wade a new cap for his overflow tank. Then after a number of thoughts were offered but all of which Wade had tried himself none had succeeded in rectifying the problem suggested a cleaning agent be tried. We took back with us 2 bottles of this to be added to the radiator water and run with it for 1 hour. Then a thorough flushing of engine and radiator. David said he's had a lot of success with this product without having to go any further to rectify cooling problems. We, or rather Wade, will see in the near future.

Back to the workshop and I took the '41 to show Kath, my wife, who the "other woman" was who'd been monopolising my time for the last 13&1/2 months. Kath was, to say the least, "rapt" and even more so when we went for a spin in it. Then on to my Mum and Dad's to take them for a ride too, which turned out to be two rides because the first one ended after about 50 yards when the '41 ran out of petrol. I'd noticed the gauge was getting low and was going to add some petrol on the way back to the workshop. And now we know that although the fuel gauge works it's accuracy isn't great. Walked back to Mum and Dad's looked for a fuel container and couldn't find one so rang the local roadside assistance provider aka Wade. So while I had a cup of tea with Mum and Dad, Wade went and bought some petrol, and after arriving in his Ute, tipped in about 5 US gallons. Noticed when I took the cap off the fuel filler neck that it released some pressure doing that. Fired right up, then once around the block, picked up Mum and Dad for the real run in the '41 while Wade returned to the workshop. After taking the '41 back to the workshop took the fuel cap off and blew through the passages with compressed air and it seems to be OK.

And why did the '41 end up in the workshop and not at home? Because there are still a few things to be done and also to work out any matters that arise as they could do with a 68 year old car. The major thing to be done is the front end alignment although the '41's fine to drive for limited distances. Wade doesn't like to let things leave the premises until he's satisfied that everything needing to be done is done and done correctly. The other noticeable matter is the trans oil leak, there were a couple of saucer sized oil patches outside Mum and Dads so this definitely needs attention. And Friday will be the day because tomorrow I can't make it to the workshop.

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Kev,

All's working well for me now and can open the entries in the Owner Registry.

Quote:
I'm right there with you on that Pat!

Quote:
G'day Steve,
for adding your '40 to the Registry. Unfortunately I couldn't open up your entry to see the details but I'll have another look tomorrow, it's nighttime here in Australia. Packardinfo has been a bit clunky tonight so maybe after BigKev weaves his Webmasterly magic it'll open then.

Quote:
G'day Gerard,
If I'm to live up to the reputation Eric has so unfairly saddled me with I have to go

Could I invite you to please add your '55 to the owner Registry together with a pic, any known history and how you acquired it? And I see you mentioned in a post that you had a '56, so likewise with that one please?
Some kudos too, I see your '48 is in the Owner Registry, so

And the '48 has a prior owner who would be of interest to many on Packardinfo, check it out people!

Quote:
I think you'll find that the tube to the right side is for the vacuum advance for the distributor. Just my

EDIT - Pic added of my '41 120 engine, shows filter location and lines and the vacuum advance line is not hooked up.

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Tuesday 13th January 2009

Started the days work by getting quotes for Insurance coverage for the '41. Spent a lot of time "on hold" but the people in the call centres were Aussies and not located off-shore so at least we understood each other. Ended up going with GIO, the Aussie insurer who I presently have my house and other cars insured with. But to satisfy them, because it was above a certain level of dollar value coverage, I had to provide pic's of the front, rear, engine, speedo and vin number. As well as a letter from my club, Packard Automobile Club of Australia aka PACA, confirming my membership, vehicle ownership and vehicle value! The pic's were no problem as I've photographed just about everything related to the '41. As for the letter, that was another matter altogether as I wanted to get everything done today, and speaking to Barry the club President on Sunday he said his internet had been playing up so I couldn't use him to email me something on the club letterhead. Tried Wade, only got his answering service and left a message for him to call me,turns out today he'd left his mobile phone at home. So turned to Forum member DavidM, who is the PACA Membership Secretary, and he was able to whip me up a letter addressing the requirements of the insurer. Insurance costs? AU$329 for compulsory third party insurance, aka a Green Slip, you need this document to present at the Roads and Traffic Authority office in order to obtain registration of any vehicle. And AU$414 for comprehensive insurance for the '41, that is your call, but the peace of mind is well worth the cost.

Then to the workshop a lot later than I expected because arranging and putting in place the insurance took a long, long time. Found Wade had ground open an oil filter canister for a Super 8 because he's planning to put a modern spin-on filter on his '37 Super 8 in lieu of the original, these being virtually unobtainable in Australia. He's already done one for the '34 but I don't know if he'll do the same setup for the '37 as he did on the '34. Anyway he'd kept the filtering core he'd taken out of the canister after carefully grinding the crimped edge off the centre. Wade showed me the filtering core, and bad move that, as out came the camera and the snapperazzi, aka Mal, sprung into action. Also showed me the split canister which was rusted through in places but that can be repaired. Apparently he got the canister from Harvey who had salvaged it from a wrecked Packard that had been sitting outdoors for years so that could explain the rust and water ingress.

But enough of the warm-up act, now for the main attraction, the Blue Slip Inspection! Headed east in the '41 along Victoria Road through Gladesville where for Wade, in his capacity of PACA Treasurer, we stopped twice so he could go to the bank and to the PACA's accountants office. Only took a few minutes then we were off again heading for Drummoyne where the Blue Slip Inspector, Tony was. Pulled into the Inspection Station to be greeted by Tony saying things like "she's a beauty" and "doesn't she look good". Seemed like a very promising start to the inspection process. First thing Tony did was look under the rear of the car, for a long, long time it seemed. Asked some questions then went away to his office to start preparing the paperwork. Did all the necessary checks coming back a number of times asking more questions about engine size, wheelbase, engine number and vin number, etc. And here's where things went slightly off course. At the weighbridge last year used the thief-proof number as the vin and for the insurances also used the thief proof number as the vin number. But here Tony wanted to see the import documentation. This had the body plate number as the vin number and not the thief proof number! Well, that was it, if the official import documentation said the body plate number then that was what Tony was using no arguments! Fine, I'd adjust the insurance details later, no problem. Back again to the office, then Tony re-appeared holding some blue papers and said "it's a good looking car, but"....... and here the silence was almost deafening until we realised he was kidding. All that remained was to pay Tony, AU$120, and take his pic for posterity holding the Blue Slip paperwork while standing next to the '41.

Back at the workshop after backing the '41 back into it's bay I rang GIO to change the vin number on the Green Slip, to the body plate number, which was easily accomplished, this time without the need to be put on hold. But...... I learnt from this operator that I actually needed a physical copy of the Green Slip to accompany the Blue Slip for registration of the '41 at an RTA office. Seems that until a vehicle is in the RTA system the Green and Blue slips have to be entered manually with subsequent annual re-registrations then able to be handled by their computer system. Would have been nice to know this earlier in the piece but neither of the 2 operators I'd spoken to previously at GIO had mentioned this. So although I now have a Blue Slip the corresponding Green Slip will be picked up from GIO's Hornsby office at 9:00am Wednesday then a bee-line will be made to the Ryde RTA office for registration formalities to be completed.

At this point, on inspecting the '41 after it's run, found there was an oil leak from the rear of the transmission and also found a fuel leak dripping onto the rear sway bar. Jacked up the rear and Wade was under the '41 and quickly fixed the fuel leak by tightening the line fitting involved by about quarter of a turn. Then jacked up the front end and Wade's inspection indicated the trans leak was coming from the O/D Solenoid area. This will be inspected more closely tomorrow and rectifying action taken. And after todays run I'm gaining more confidence in driving the '41, learning to use the mirrors, not to grab the turn indicator stalk to change gear, learning the positioning in lanes from a LHD perspective in a RHD world and generally getting the feel of the '41 and how she handles, which is very nicely but no rally car, and will be even better after a front-end alignment.

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Quote:
Ahhhhh, the magic of computers, but no photo's?

Not an answer, but yesterday I received the "Illustrated Packard Buyers Guide"(Refer Packard Bookshelf) I bought off eBay recently. First page it fell open to contained the following, see pic. The co-incidence that there should be a post about carbs for the 6's I just couldn't let go by.

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