Re: Ken's 1937 120 Touring Sedan

Posted by Ken_P On 2015/10/11 20:10:47

Sadly, I am down to one Packard in the garage again. The 115 is off to a new owner, and I will focus on preserving and improving the 120. I have taken it on a few drives since purchasing, and have only had one small problem - it got a little warm pulling a hill. I was trying to pull the hill in 3rd, and when I downshifted it did cool back off. I thought I might have heard some light pinging too, so I will check the timing before I take it out again.

As I have crawled around the car, I've noticed a few things that aren't quite right. The exhaust is in poor shape, actually dented in a few places. I will need a whole new system, and I am kind of on the fence about stainless or not. What did the car have originally? Any opinions about one way or the other?

It sometimes grinds going into second. I will look at the clutch adjustment first, and if that checks out, may consider dropping the transmission to inspect the synchros, and rebuild if necessary.

I found when I washed the car that the roof seams leak. They have some silicone over them already, so I will have a project to try and figure out how to preserve what is there while repairing it.

The interior doesn't have any floor covering up front, and the rear is shag carpet, so I would like to figure out what stock looks like and take it back to that.

Finally, I am planning on a lot of cleaning, polishing, etc. to try and get her looking as good as possible. I may even install some or all new weather stripping.

A lot to look forward to this winter, as fall is here, and that means it is almost time to put her away for the year. I did buy a battery tender that should be able to keep her happy and healthy for spring.