Trying to fix my 56

Posted by Marvin On 2021/12/15 21:23:16

I’ve spent the last four weeks reading through a lot of topics with amazement of the wealth of knowledge that is collectively out there. About five weeks ago, I purchased a 1956 Packard Patrician that was sitting in a driveway for the last sixteen years. I can’t give a rational reason why I fell in love with this car nor why I won’t part with it. Most of the parts are there and it will need so much before I can drive her. I’m not trying to make her a show car plus to be blunt, I can’t afford to. What I am hoping for is just to drive her and have a blast doing so. Right now, I am trying to hear the engine come to life. It is frustrating and painfully obvious that I have just enough knowledge to be dangerous.
What I know so far:
I’ve removed the valve covers and observed all 16 valves moving up and down freely. All of the push rods appear straight and rotate slightly as they move up and down. I’ve performed a compression test on all 8 cylinders with the plugs out and carb off. All are between 100 – 135 psi. My thought is the low numbers are because it has sat for so long. The distributor appears to be 180 degrees off. I attempted to check this by rotating the engine to the timing mark while holding my finger over #1 spark plug hole. When I felt a strong gust of air and the marks lined up, I assumed this was the compression stroke and the rotor was 180 from the figure in the manual. Also, l noted the rotor turned counter-clockwise. So, I went from that point placing the wires in the firing order that is in raised letters on the intake. I have spark. Now on to the fuel. I rebuilt the carb and have it in place. (Not connected to the fuel line) I used a vacuum pump to remove 6 gallons of foul fuel from the tank. It was a dark amber in color. The fuel pump is not producing any suction or pressure from either hole. Judging by two complete fuel pumps and three dissected along with an electric pump in the “part totes”, I’m guessing this was an issue for the previous owner. What also doesn’t help, is the fact that he started multiple tasks without completing one. Wiper assembly is in pieces, heater is in the trunk, etc. Plus, the exhaust I fear is held together by stubborn pieces of rust, (many holes)
Don’t know anything about the condition of the coolant system, brake system, or the push button transmission. The wiring looks sad. Some of the connections are actual wire nuts and a few are just bare copper wires twisted together and covered in scotch tape. Thinking about re-doing the wiring one component at a time.
All of this being said (written), I feel joy every time I pull into my driveway and see her. She has style. Last weekend I found an out of the way switch and flip it to the left. It took a minute, but she rose up to level out. Before she looked like she was dragging her tail. I was elated.
What I am hoping for from this post, is the ability to post on her resurrection and be able to ask dumb questions like what is that tan thick stuff under my carpets and where do I find a replacement when it comes time for new carpet. Thankfully the car had thick clear vinyl on the door panels and seats. I’ve removed the back seat vinyl and it appears to only require a good shampooing. I was trying to examine the carpet and looking for signs of rust. What I found were three mouse nests and a very sad strained and worn-out carpet. I also discovered why the radio appears small when looking at. Because, what I thought was the radio is only part of the whole radio. I haven’t seen vacuum tubes since the 70’s. No clue how to diagnosis. Decided to save that one for the spring. My hope is to have it drivable by spring. If anyone lives near Williamsburg Virginia and wants to stop by, I would be very appreciative. For now, it’s just me and the cat. The cat just looks at me like she has answers but won’t share.