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I wasn't aware of any supply problem getting the original factory-improved (hardened) retainers, I routinely got a set from one of the national Packard vendors a year or so ago. Has the supply run dry?
Yes, it's run dry at Kanter. Fred says they're all gone and don't know if they'll ever get any more. I haven't called the other vendors yet. From whom did any of us buy retainers most recently?
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I don't have one of those valve retainers on my desk at the moment, but when I was a kid, I had this BSA motorcycle and I took the cylinder head to a machine shop where they put small block Chevy valves in it rather than new seats. So how special can those retainers possibly be?
Very, very special, Tim. Packard V8s use a very large diameter valve spring. In fifty years, I've never found anything close to a direct interchange. And no, Tim, absolutely nothing on the small block Chevy valve train is interchangeable with the Packard V8.
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Those lunati springs, although require head work, solved my problem and should be good for way mor revs then stock ever was.
Yes, every day I modify something to fit the Packard V8 or modify some part of the Packard V8 to fit some replacement part. It's just time and money.
My machinist pays $1.89 for a Mopar hydraulic lifter almost indistinguishable from the Packard hydraulic lifter. However, that tiny bit of difference in the radius of the pushrod cup and Kanter gets $12.00 for a lifter.
Bottom line - If we don't find hardened Packard retainers still available from one of our vendors at a reasonable price, I'll be buying aftermarket springs and retainers and modifying the head spring seat to accept them.
jack vines
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