Re: 1956 Packard 400 After Market Vintage Air Conditioning

Posted by Dave Brownell On 2014/4/7 17:57:50

Thanks for all your suggestions. The advice to start from the t-stat and work and shim down was what took up most of Day two, and at the end of Day three, with another disassembly and more shimming, the leak is still there. When the engine is revved, the pump will pulse and spray out the top, just under the A/C foot plate. Right now, after another six hours, I am going to call a temporary truce and straighten up after leaning over things to no avail. This is proving to be a nice geometry lesson on the relationship of brackets and bolts.

I learned the hard way why you should put a punctured tennis ball on the hood latch spikes, top and bottom and those nice pointed 56 fenders always seem to be in the way. Tomorrow is another day to practice what I have learned, and if it doesn't turn out much better for the effort, then there's one more day left in the week to return the car to the way it left Conner Street....without A/C. I'd rather be able to drive it than stay cool.

I come from stubborn stock so there's always a good chance that I will be victorious in the coming months. But "giving it a rest" is the best way I know to keep from breaking things and yelling at innocent loved ones. Besides, another way to work around the problem often comes after a good night's rest.

And thank goodness that this old car is not my only transportation. If it were, temper and cursing would take on new dimensions.