Advice on Engine Rebuilding

Posted by Mark Graber On 2013/9/24 22:21:43

Greetings Packard Lovers,

I plan to deliver my 356 to the engine rebuilder in a day or so. I would appreciate some advice. We are dealing with an engine that probably has 140K miles or more. My rebuilder is well versed in older engines and has done a few Packard inlines. A rebuilt transmission is on order.

In the process of getting it to be a reliable driver I have recored the radiator, Jason rebuilt the generator and I will be sending him the starter. New carburetor and fuel pump are done and I replaced clutch and throwout.


From here, I am taking the "if in doubt replace it" approach. Oil pump and water pump seem like good things to replace/rebuild. So, from the perspective of doing it once, correctly and completely, are there other things to consider beyond the "normal" rebuild?

For example, would replacing the vibration damper be a good idea?
And, are there any particular rebuilding pitfalls with these engines that I can pass along to my rebuilder?

My thanks in advance,

Mark