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I measured out the spot for the hole in the trunk, but am having second thoughts about cutting the hole with a cut off wheel and my angle grinder. It would be fast, but that thing makes a lot of sparks when cutting, and I would be right over the gas tank! Might be worth getting a nibbler here...
The mount for the sway bar must have popped out when I had the car on the lift and the suspension was in full droop. I think the bushing was not aligned properly.

Trials and tribulations of having a US car in Germany...I was looking for the 5/8 inch metal valve stems locally, and finally found one parts store that has them, but they could only order a pack of 10 for 80 euros! Jeez, I just ordered 4 online from ebay in the US for much less. The hubcaps can wait. I also realized I can use my multi tool to cut out the whole in the trunk. Hope to do some more work this weekend.

Went for another circa 50 mile ride with the family on saturday. Before we set sail, I put the sway bar back in its mount, and re routed the exhaust. No more clanking sway bar, or rattling exhaust, and she glides along smoother at 50-60 mph. Had a nice chance to take this picture.
I also cut the hole in the trunk floor. With the correct measurements, it was like a treasure hunt. X marked the spot, and lo and behold, there was a tank sensor unit.
I bent the arm a little to better fit the tank, and it should be more accurate.
Looks sporty now with no hubcaps or skirts or hood ornament, but that should change soon.

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Good going!
Wes

Drove to work today in the packard...We can call that the traffic test. Took me 50 min to get 10 miles...Things I noticed....Still not happy with my Idle. Will need to get it smoother if it means fattening things back up a little. My speedo stays at 10mph when I stop (20kmh) which seems to also be the speed the OD kicks out. Is it normal that the speedo hangs? probably not. I might need to lube some more.

I started shifting 1-2 without using the clutch. That is one of the perks with the OD. It's a "surprise and delight" feature.
I also noticed that something goes "tink" right at the end of travel when letting out the clutch. I'll have to check the clutch linkage and spring...
I get more thumbs up driving on the weekend, than driving to work in rush hour traffic. I guess people are in a different mood while going to work.

Not normal on the speedo so I'd guess hanging. The OD should drop out about 20 or within a mile or two of the speed it comes in. There are some tiny bushings and a gear train inside the speedo but to have the speedo read, I am assuming correctly, most of the time yet have the needle hang near the end I'd almost bet somehow the tip of the needle is touching the glass or speedo face as it nears the 10 mile mark. There is no direct connection between the needle, cup, and the shaft connecting the two to any other moving part. A tiny hair spring is all that returns the needle to the 0 end stop.

The one place absolutely needing lube is the tiny oil hole in the square protrusion on the top or side of the casting where the speedo cable screws in. Seizing of the rotating piece in that bushing has resulted in more speedo issues than just about any other. If it is dry and nearing the seize point it can also mimic a bad or dry cable. Use a needle applicator and apply a few drops of light oil onto the felt wick in the hole and also see if you can get a drop or two on the end where the square holed receiver piece rotates in the bushing.

Little things done this weekend. Hood ornament is attached. The car looks much better with the hood ornament! The new fuel level sender is installed and seems to work well. (Ohm range checked out at 10 to ~80 ohms) The Kanter fuel level sender appears to be all stainless, which makes a nice impression.

Next project is to get the manual antenna working. I am not sure how the cap, slider and mast are supposed to all go together. Should the Cap screw securely into the bottom of the mast, and then go up and down as I move the mast? Are all three sections of the mast able to be extended or only 2?
What exaclty does the brass slider do? Does it stay at the top or bottom of the housing, or contact the cable that goes to the radio? Thanks for any advice.

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I spent some quality time with the antenna this morning, and am almost done. The cap attaches to the bottom of the mast and slides up and down in the housing as you pull up/down on the mast. The slider is jammed into the housing where the antenna wire connects to the hosing, and makes contact between the mast and the antenna wire. I wasn't getting a connection between the slider and the antenna wire. The pin that sticks out of the wire was too short. So I cut some nails to about 1/8 to 1/16 inch long, and made the connection between the slider and the antenna wire. Tomorrow I should be able to install it back in the car and get some more stations! yay!

Back to engine tuning...I double checked all my ignition wires and read between 600 and 800 ohms depending on the length. They are modern supression wires. That should be fine. I also re-checked my spark plug gaps and reduced them from ~0.030/0,032 to 0.028. I am running 12V and pertronix, so I had opened up the gaps a little to what Packard specified for the V8s...Lets see if reducing the gap a smidge to what is specified for the Straight 8 makes any difference.
When I gapped the plugs this morning, they all looked very pretty and showed no signs of running rich or fouling, so I must already be pretty close with my tune.
I will try and tune the idle using an oscilloscope this weekend. It is my first time using this crazy tool, but using that and an exhaust gas analyzer we will see if I can get my idle better dialed in. With the O-scope, you are supposed to be able to diagnose combustion differences cyl to cyl.

Does anybody know how the intake manifold is split from the carb barrels to the cylinders? Like cyl 1-4 are the passenger side carb barrel, and 5-8 are the drivers side carb barrel? Or, are the all connected in the plenum?