1948 Packard Super Eight Misfire and lifter tacket

Posted by Icarus On 2022/8/26 18:56:37

Hello! Last month, I bought a 1948 Packard Super Eight LWB that needed some love and a good home. It's got what I think are a few issues, but coming from diesels I really don't know (I've no experience with flatheads):

1) the exhaust makes a fairly regular put-put-put sound, which my gut tells me is a misfire (it occasionally doubles up too)

2) the engine has what sounds to me like minor lifter noise, a regular "tackatackatack" sort of thing.

3) when originally purchased, the motor was overfull with what felt like 0w20 oil, about a quart's worth. Smelled like gas, too.

Originally I thought #3 was due to a bad fuel pump, but after doing some reading I found out that some people overfill their Packard v8s to quiet lifter noise. Again, my gut says these are all related issues (likely a stuck valve or something like that), but I really have no idea. I've no idea what the oil pressure is, and the odo (for what it's worth) reads 97k.

Any input would be much appreciated!