Packard Forum Index » Project Blogs

Dallas - great suggestion, I'll look into that.

64avanti - man, you're not kidding. It is literally everywhere. I had just removed the gauge cluster last week, cleaned up all the glass and reinstalled, and all the gauges have sand all over the inside now. I was amazed at how much sand was in the engine bay. The hood was closed, but I guess it traveled up underneath. And all the plants near my house were covered in a layer of dust. It looked like a moonscape.

-Kevin

Recognize that the sand can also get into your crankcase and engine internals like bearings, transmission and differential internals, suspension bushings and the like, etc.

Quote:

Yeah, and I'm not sure how to prevent damage apart from vacuuming as much as possible, compressed air, and eventually pressure washing after the bare metal is sealed. All those components you mentioned are on the list to service anyways so I'm hopeful that they will clean up without issue.

-Kevin

Well, replacing this windshield header is a nightmare.

I expected it would be, which is why I advised replacing the whole roof. The roof is something that one can do themselves (if the replacement was removed properly at the original seams) while the header requires a professional.

A couple of lubrication questions for you guys for when I get around to changing fluids.

1. Oil - manual specifies 20W for the temps I will find myself in. I'm assuming modern 5W-20 is fine? Any issues with synthetic vs non-synthetic?

2. ATF - Type F is needed, but again any issues with using synthetic?

3. Chassis grease - for all the zerk grease fittings. Does it matter what I use? Lucas Red N Tacky?

Looking to get the car up on my neighbor's lift today to poke around underneath and see what needs to be done.

-Kevin

Good Morning...You might well have many opinions...Many people ran 20w in the winter and 40w in the summer as multi grade oil did not exist at the time. Ross does lots of engine work on these old girls...Owen has been around them for years...many others as well will share what they are running in their cars...The Indiana region of the Classic Car Club of America sells 15-40 for our engines. It comes from D-A Lubricant Company in Indianapolis. Questions about oil can damn near start a riot on occasion! Ernie in Arizona

Ernie, thanks for the info. I know there are a lot of opinions on which oil to use, and I certainly don't want to start a battle. Just looking for what others are using in their own cars.

Got some time to work on the car today. The header replacement is in process, but is dependent on others helping with it, so I did some work on my own. First order was to pull the carburetor and check inside the intake manifold for dust and sand from the sandblasting. I first vacuumed the inside and outside the carburetor again, just to be safe. Once the carb was off I checked inside the intake with a bright light and found no evidence of dust or sand. It all looked and felt like clean metal (besides some old deposits). Just to be sure I got in there and vacuumed anyways using a length of rubber fuel line as the nozzle. The throttle valves were fully closed during the sandblasting and subsequent dust build up. Checking underneath the carburetor while it was off allowed me to see that the valve plates are very tight against the walls when closed. Not sealed, but definitely not open. So I think that helped to keep the intake clean.

While the carburetor was off I figured I should clean it since it was filthy. I cleaned inside and out. Not perfect, but definitely an improvement. I'll focus on engine bay detailing later in the restoration and will hit the carb again.

I then put the car on my neighbor's lift to get underneath it. Someone had installed the rear leaf spring shackles upside down, giving the car a "stinkbug" appearance. I was able to get them back to the correct way which now puts the rear ride height at the correct level.

I also removed the rear shocks and replaced with new Monroe's. I had to cut the upper nuts off both due to rust. New ones went on without a problem.

I then went to the front to do the same. Passenger side came out without issue and replaced with a new Monroe. The driver's side is another matter. Whatever shock they had in there (not original) broke in half at some point in the past. It had blown through the lower mount, and bent a piece of the shock up inside the spring, making it very difficult to get it to drop out the bottom. I ran out of time and had to leave it for now. I'll get back to it on Monday and will hopefully have that all buttoned up. I will either need to replace the lower mount, or weld up a repair though....that might slow me down there.

-Kevin

Attach file:

---

  (91.55 KB)


  (90.83 KB)


  (99.32 KB)


  (97.49 KB)


  (62.80 KB)


  (102.83 KB)


  (111.05 KB)

Last week I would have had a shock bracket for you but now the brackets and I are 550 miles apart but interesting about the rear shackles being upside down! (No apostrophe in Monroes, by the way.)

Don - no worries about the lower shock mount. Ross already PM'd and said he had one, so I'm good to go. This is a great community here.

I have no idea why the shackles were flipped. The more I dig into the car the more I see things that need correcting. While I was underneath I saw some wiring that made no sense, and is definitely not correct. That will be getting changed eventually.