Don, do you have a copy of the initial Packard-Henney agreement? I'd love to see it and pin down the question of the effective date and other conditions. Do you think Tom McPherson has a copy? Or anyone else who may have one?

An art-carved Miller on a 1938 Packard chassis. Photo by this writer at the 1993 PAC National Meet in Asheville, NC.

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Strong semblance to the "art-carved" style of which Miller was a leading builder. IIRC Packard's exclusive agreement with Henney became effective in 1938 which would date this as 1937 or earlier.

The 385S would be the correct unit for 1937-38 Oldsmobile 6-cylinder. As noted earlier, you really want to find a 477S.

Clutches don't grind, the grinding you are hearing is no doubt coming from the transmission. Could be any of several causes, let's look at two common ones. Have you checked the transmission for lubricant fill, and what type of gear oil (viscosity primarily) are you using? Heavier oils allow quicker engagement by reducing gear rotation more quickly.

Second, how much clutch pedal free play is present? If it's much more than an inch or so, the clutch may not be fully disengaged when the pedal hits the stop at the toe board so you have a "dragging" clutch.

Lastly, any transmission of the type in your car can grind transmission gears on engagement from neutral to 1st or Reverse if you shift too quickly, before the rotating gears have had a chance to come to rest.

Bob, are your tie rod ends adjustable for wear? Many of that era were.

I've got a couple of vintage Hollanders, I'll check for you later today unless someone beats me to it.

PS- sorry, no useful information on tie rod interchange in my oldest (16th edition) Hollanders.

I agree wholly with BigKev's suggestions. Sure, with those compression values your engine isn't going to start. And it's possible that it had enough abuse in it's 62K miles that it is in need of a rebuild. But it's at least equally possible that the low compression is simply due to prolonged layup, the history of our hobby is filled to overflowing with stories of engines with similar symptoms that were revived without rebuilds and had long, happy service lives. Clean the oil pan and pump pickup screen, attend to stuck valves, consider giving all the valves a light lapping with valve grinding compound, and use your favorite snake oil to let the rings soak. PATIENCE.

Thanks BH, I was unaware of that. Is that trademark no longer protected?

2470Packard, the Packard script is trademarked and owned by The Packard Club. As Don noted, depending on your intended use you may need to obtain permission to use the script.

Yes, the same water pump.