Re: Robert's 56 Patrician
Posted by Leeedy On 2022/3/17 14:06:43
Quote:
Robert wrote:
I might as well start a thread here on my '56 Patrician. I got it as a project, and it definitely has plenty to keep me busy.
On the immediate to-do list:
- Engine doesn't run.
- Have been told by the prior owner that reverse doesn't work.
-Trunk doesn't open.
- Parking brakes work, but the treadle vac booster seems to have failed.
- One headlight is out.
- Driver's window pane is broken.
- Interior has some moisture damage.
- Shocks and most rubber bits are toast.
- Needs a good top-to-bottom cleaning.
So far I've confirmed the motor turns and will crank with the ignition, but most cylinders have zero compression. Will pull valve covers to see if collapsed lifters are the issue and go from there. Now that the car is in my garage it's at least dry inside, and I've gotten the trunk by removing the back seat. Fortunately the trunk held an unexpected surprise: intact window glass for the garage door.
For now I'll be troubleshooting the various systems in the car to see what does and doesn't work. Then it'll be repairs, and maybe a modification or three.
A few comments...
• Nobody has said so but... Torsion bars on the rear of this Patrician appear to be wound all the way up. This is a problem that seems common these days for some odd reason to 1955-56 Packards that have been sitting for extended periods. The 1956 Caribbean convertible at Amelia Island this year (2022) was driven across the field after it won an award. Oddly it was driven with its rear end proudly raised up like a street racer and the young announcer proclaiming that "These Packards had airbag suspension!" (Why do magazines, YouTube videos, "documentaries" and insurance companies keep repeating this silly myth after all these years???). Anyway, your Patrician ought to be sitting level– not hiked up in the rear. I would –early on– want to take the pressure off of the torsion bars at the rear. No matter what the cause is. Put some juice to the system and do some trouble shooting to discover what's going on before it creates further issues.
• Your skirts are missing. Skirts were not accessory items on these cars... they were body panels and need to be in position. The only reason they are removable is to access and remove rear tires.
• Check to make sure that your brake stoplight switch is the correct 3-prong type and is working properly.
• Bendix Treadle-Vac units almost always fail after sitting unused for extended periods. Yank it and re-build or replace with a good one. Be sure to purge the brake lines for dried and contaminated brake fluid. You don't need fancy bleeders or even helpers. I made a special tool consisting of clear vinyl tubing (it perfectly fit the bleeder screw) and a plastic one-way check valve. Loosen the bleeder screws (one at a time) on each wheel and pump a GOOD BTV. Any air and/or contaminants should come whooshing out. If you use the type of valve I used it will actually whistle while it works!
• The Marvel Mystery Oil trick on old Packard V-8 engines is a method I personally have used since the 1960s. I have recommended it many times in many places in the past. However. My method was always as follows:
1.) Remove the spark plugs and spurt MMO in the plug holes with an oil skeeter.
2.) Pour a bit of MMO down through the carburetor.
3.) Let the whole engine sit for a few days so the MMO can do its magic.
4.) Hook a breaker bar on the vibration damper bolt and give the breaker bar a 180-degree turn.
5.) Allow the engine to sit for another day, then repeat with the breaker bar.
6.) With good plugs, points, condensor, cap, rotor and wires (and all in proper position)... Hook gasoline and juice to the engine and then try cranking.
• REgarding no reverse...??? Which transmission? Pushbuttons or selector lever? Is linkage properly adjusted? All things that need to be checked and/or done.
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