Re: 1951 Packard 200, "kabusted 288 engine"

Posted by Rusty O\'Toole On 2013/11/8 15:40:18

Packardguy I don't know why you chose to use PMs. It is inconvenient and unnecessary. This thread may be of benefit to someone else with the same problem. Also I may make a fool of myself again and someone smart can correct me. Therefore I will give you a public answer.

It sounds like you are not too familiar with old cars or any cars. For something that is this serious you need to consult a good mechanic. Are there any antique car clubs in your area? Can they recommend a mechanic?

Trying to answer your questions from this distance, without seeing the car, is like trying to diagnose an illness by long distance. Are those red spots acne or measles? Or does the kid just have freckles? Before we tell you to saw his leg off better see a real doctor.

Bad compression indicates something wrong. It is actually fairly common on cars of that age. Mechanics would do something called a ring and valve job and the car would be good as new.

This was normally necessary at around 50,000 miles and the car would go for another 30000 or 40000 miles. Then the engine would be shot and due for a complete rebuild, or scrap it and buy a new one.

In other words, your car passed its Best Before date when Cher was a virgin.

Now what is to be done? That depends on the condition of the engine and whether it has had major work done on it before.

I don't know the answer to that question. If I had your car in front of me I could figure it out in a few hours, maybe less.

This is where finding a good mechanic comes in.