Re: Wile Family's Second Packard
Posted by Tim Wile On 2012/4/25 17:19:58
Beautiful spring day brought a chance to take the Four Hundred for its first extended trip, to a friend who owns an automobile restoration shop! The total drive was about sixteen (16) miles and its purpose was to get some up close and personal advice on some mechanical questions I had about the Four Hundred's rough running engine.
After a few minutes playing with the carburator linkage, adjustment screws and vacuum lines, my friend recommended to me that I should have the original carburator rebuilt and complete replacement of all of the Four Hundred's vacuum lines. I had been hoping to avoid the first, but was well aware of the second. I've already replaced about 1/4 of the vacuum lines and now have some professional advice regarding the rest. As for the carb, he surmised that the slow idle jet was varnished up and that a cooking and rebuild were in order.
The truly heart-stopping moments came when the Four Hundred's brakes, which had been unusually hard, all of a sudden became spongy and much less effective. While I did not lose braking power altogether, I lost quite a bit of it; which made the ride home a white-knuckle one for most of the trip. Thank goodness for low traffic volume and side roads! It looks as if a brake bleeding operation is in the Four Hundred's immediate future!
Still, it was nice to see how the Dual Ultramatic performed on the road and to feel it shift at the appropriate points. I pushed the Four Hundred's speed up to 40 miles per hour, which is the fastest that I've had it thus far, and the car performed rather well. This, of course, was on the trip over to the shop when the brakes were hard, but still very effective. . .
I also spoke to him about the Patrician's broken left exhaust manifold and my hopes of getting it off and replaced without either pulling the engine or removing the left front fender. My friend simply smiled and really didn't have much to offer as far as advice. Hopefully, he'll think on that one.
I've attached two photos of the Four Hundred parked in front of the house after a short spin around the neighbourhood. All in all, however, it was a very satisfying afternoon.
Attach file:
(166.04 KB)
(46.81 KB)
After a few minutes playing with the carburator linkage, adjustment screws and vacuum lines, my friend recommended to me that I should have the original carburator rebuilt and complete replacement of all of the Four Hundred's vacuum lines. I had been hoping to avoid the first, but was well aware of the second. I've already replaced about 1/4 of the vacuum lines and now have some professional advice regarding the rest. As for the carb, he surmised that the slow idle jet was varnished up and that a cooking and rebuild were in order.
The truly heart-stopping moments came when the Four Hundred's brakes, which had been unusually hard, all of a sudden became spongy and much less effective. While I did not lose braking power altogether, I lost quite a bit of it; which made the ride home a white-knuckle one for most of the trip. Thank goodness for low traffic volume and side roads! It looks as if a brake bleeding operation is in the Four Hundred's immediate future!
Still, it was nice to see how the Dual Ultramatic performed on the road and to feel it shift at the appropriate points. I pushed the Four Hundred's speed up to 40 miles per hour, which is the fastest that I've had it thus far, and the car performed rather well. This, of course, was on the trip over to the shop when the brakes were hard, but still very effective. . .
I also spoke to him about the Patrician's broken left exhaust manifold and my hopes of getting it off and replaced without either pulling the engine or removing the left front fender. My friend simply smiled and really didn't have much to offer as far as advice. Hopefully, he'll think on that one.
I've attached two photos of the Four Hundred parked in front of the house after a short spin around the neighbourhood. All in all, however, it was a very satisfying afternoon.
Attach file:
(166.04 KB)
(46.81 KB)
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