Also look down the carburetor (with the engine not running) Choke open all the way and work the linkage to the carburetor and you should see two streams of gas with each full movement of the linkage. (Do it fast like when you stomp on the gas pedal for best results.)
Wes

Jay, Sounds like a bad Hyd. Lifter. If a Hyd. Lifter gets dirty then they will stick. About the only way I know to fix this, is to remove the head, remove the valves take the Hyd. Lifters out and check and clean them according to Packard Engine Manual. Not sure about the other noise, but try removing the fan belt and run the engine again to rule out the water pump and generator.
Hope this helps.
Wes

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Funny thing happened while researching Bendix brakes and which spring goes on top and which on goes on the bottom. I found the answer to the most basic question in our home, under or over. Well I can finally put this one to rest. See picture below.
Wes

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Jay checkout this link:https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=9418&viewmode=flat&order=ASC&type=&mode=0&start=0
Wes

Moving on with Inspecting the Bakes and replacing the Rear Seal ( part # Victor 60866 which cross ref. over to a Timken 473473 and a NAPA 22392). I guess this would be a good time to repack the bearings also. So enjoy and don't laugh to hard at me, it is so hard to work and talk at the same time.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkA3vY5CkzE
Wes

Here's a basic drawing of a valve as it sits in the block.
Wes

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Well it's your car, you can do whatever you want with it. If you want a nice running car then sell the Packard and go buy something new, there are a lot of upgrades and the prices aren't bad for new cars. I have been to some car shows and all you see are Hopped Up, Tricked Out Mustangs so many that after awhile it's like BORING! Then I will see a couple of old cars thinking alright, now here will be when a car was a car and all I see are V8's stuck in looking all the same again. Before buying a car I think a person should look at it and say do I really like the car as it is or Man this will make a Smoken Hotrod or are you buying a piece of history and when you show up at a car show you have something unique. Of course you will probably never get your money back out of it but that is why we call it a hobby. The enjoyment of rebuilding it or just working on it and learning how it works, makes one think about all the time and effort that was put into building cars back in the day. Today people push a button and their car starts, I myself I push on the gas pedal and my car starts. Packard build very strong and dependable cars that held up on the roads back in the day, but with roads today I would expect a Packard to last even longer. And with the improvements lubricants you should get many more years of enjoyment.
Yes you could put a V8 in and it would run just fine, put an automatic in also and get rid of the Old Three on the Tree, while your at it put disc brakes all around, change out the supspension on the front, add power steering, of course it would be a 12 volt system, but keep the old school body and the name Packard on it or keep it original and show, this is how the cars were made back in the day.
Well that's my 2 cents.
Wes

Howard, that is one COOL car in more ways than one!
Wes

Autozone has some called "Brake Backing Plate Hole Cover" they would probably work.
Wes

Evan, could I suggest that you find someone in your area to help you. It sounds like you have some knowledge of using tools but there are a lot of little things and tricks that are only learned from working with other people. Sometimes a little problem can be turned into a major throw yours hands up "why did I ever do that" monument. I'm just saying because I often find myself not knowing which way to turn without help.
With that said make sure you label everything keep all valves and parts reference to the cylinder they came from, also note how they come out. I have small plastic boxes that I use for each cylinder. Remember that each valve has has two keepers, collar, a valve spring and a washer that the valve spring rides on, so that's 16 each. And next are the Hyd. lifts, they have two parts each and HAVE to be kept together. And finally you need to find out why your Flat Tappets broke or they will break again. Maybe the previous owner worked on the engine and used the wrong springs, or valves were not cut to the correct length. I don't know I'm only throwing guesses out there.
Well Good Luck!
Wes