I'm considering buying a 1939 model 1700 four door. I'm not new to cars or antique cars but I don't know anything about Packard's other than they as very good looking machines.

Tell me what I should be aware of if you can with a 1939 six cylinder model 1700. First thing I noticed on the engine is the paint was scorched in the middle cylinders meaning it must have got super hot at one time or it runs hot in the middle. Paint color is much darker then the rest of the engine. See the attached pic and let me know if this is normal or something to be concerned about, thanks

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What I did on my 1954 Patrician before starting it after nearly 40 years of inactivity was to remove the plugs and fill the cylinders with oil which I left there for a couple months. The plugs were put back in loosely to keep out dust (the dust at my shop is volcanic and very abrasive), then when ready I took the plugs back out, laid a towel over the top and cranked the starter without any ignition to pump out the oil. It made a mess and really smoked for a while when first started but purrs now.

Of course, you always want to run it with fresh oil and even more importantly with fresh gasoline and flooring it is the last thing you should do when it hasn’t been run for a long time. Good way to seriously damage something.

On yours, is the head actually ruined or can you have a Heli-coil inserted to repair the threads?

With the RediRad plugged into the radio the antenna jack will not be "floating" as it is now and picking up extraneous noise so the interference should be considerably diminished if not eliminated entirely -- at least while the IPhone is playing. What I cannot answer is if there is circuitry built into the RediRad that will prevent the open antenna socket on that item from picking up the noise when it is in pass thru mode. That would probably be a question to clarify but I think I remember something about no antenna connection needed in one of their descriptions.

You mentioned the radio came back from the shop working and in good condition so assume you had the antenna plugged into the radio for the test and maybe just laying on the bench?? For grins, you might pull your antenna from under the car and plug it into the radio with the antenna laying on the floor or seat (mast cannot be touching any body metal) and see if the noise is still an issue. If there is still noise possibly something is amiss either in the connection of the antenna plug or perhaps something in the lead in wire or radio has developed an issue.

If there is no noise with the antenna plugged in and laying somewhere and you can receive a few stations maybe try one of the small hidden non amplified so no extra power required AM/FM antennas and place it somewhere out of sight. If I understand properly, you don't really care much about receiving the broadcast stations so wouldn't be a big deal if it did not have a large gain and could not pickup very many stations.

Yes, definitely keeping my dad in the house or rest home lol.

I would like to think working on this car would be pleasant and relaxing but has turned into a nightmare.

Well, finally got it to run but not very good. It was the points not being adjusted properly. Seems to have a stuck exhaust valve and when it was running my dad had it floored for a couple minutes I believe thinking it would fix itself. This resulted in hurting the threads on the 5th cylinders spark plug since air was being forced through the spark plug hole.. I went to do a compression check and I knew something didn't feel right because it seemed to screw down a bit further. Upon rolling the motor a valve struck the tester and mushroomed it.

This is quite a learning experience and I'm not giving up, but we do have a replacement head and it looks like to soak the valves in marvel mystery oil by squirting a bit in the carb and rolling it every half hour.

Thanks for all the help, much appreciated.

Jon T.

If you have a girder in your garage you can take it up and roll the car out from under the motor and trans. You can pull the radiator to have enough room to leave the trans in place. You can roll it under a tree with a good strong limb and do it that way. The entire front can be lifted away with an engine hoist, but 40 is a pain because the wiring goes directly to the lights without a junction block as in 1941. So to avoid that you can pull the radiator shell, radiator, and radiator support and pull it out the front the same way as some modern vans and trucks. I wont mention using a pit because they aren't around anymore, but using one gets the whole unit out in 45 minutes.

Soak everything in penetrating oil for a week before starting.

PS - the job that Apple did looks good. I've used them in the past and have a very good impression of the quality of their work. The only other shop I found that advised they were up to rebuild my shocks (Delco Lovejoy Duodraulic) was A1 Shock Absorber Company who wanted a little more than what Apple was charging. Being on the east coast, I just decided I'd stick with Apple.

It was an emotionally jarring experience stroking the check to Apple to cover the cost of 4 rebuilt shocks at $445 per shock. BUT, a necessary one as in the three years of Packard ownership I've only seen a pair of front shocks for a 30/31 come up for sale once on Ebay. I didn't want to merely clean up what I had, see them leak everywhere and possibly damage them to the point of rendering them useless.

Assuming your shocks are like mine, to get the link off, you'll have to remove a cotter pin off each end of the link. Then you'll have to unscrew a plug on each end to release the tension on each adjoining ball joint. I removed the ball joints on the shock side by using a Harbor Freight ball joint separator. Be sure to place a towel over the works as I launched one of my balls about 30 feet when it separated. I soaked my links in Purple Power for a day, then disassembled, removed the decades-old grease, cleaned, painted everything etc. The original seals where the balls connect to the link look they were some sore of rubberized felt, about 3/16" thick. For $.99, I found a sheet of foam about the size of a piece of paper and about 5mm thick from Michaels Arts and Crafts, that seems like a perfect substitute. Its rigid but flexible, and compressible to seal everything good. I tested the foam to make sure it is grease resistant and it seems like it'll work.

Hello everyone. I hope everyone is healthy.

For Sale:Packard Exclusive K.R. Wilson All-Position Engine Stand (No. 838)

KR Wilson made a more heavy duty engine stand for larger engines like Packard engines. The upright has larger and thicker ribs as well as the adapter housing.

Included:
1. Original cast iron base with wheels
2. Original exclusive upright
3. Original adapter (No. 322)
4. Notch plate (homemade)
5. Adapter wing nut

Everything has been cleaned, primed, and painted in original KR Wilson red. This engine stand came straight from a Packard dealership.

This is the 1st No. 838 engine stand that I have ever seen in the years of collecting KR Wilson parts! Would be great to display that extra engine or use it to rebuild it!

$2600
Free shipping to Hershey!

Pictures coming soon.

Thanks, all, for keeping the discussion going. I used an extendable AM antenna (about 3 or 4 feet long), zip tied under the running board. I can't recall if or how I grounded it or whether the base was in contact with the metal structure or not. All I know is it made no difference from having no antenna plugged in at all.

As for the "audio tach" effect, I have replaced the generator with a 6V positive ground alternator (kept the generator on the shelf) for originality.

Do you guys know if I plug the RediRad unit in, will I still be dealing with the "audio tach" effect? The goal for me is simply to be able to turn on the original radio and hear sound coming from that 80 year old speaker with the warmth of those vacuum tubes driving it. But I don't want to drill a hold in the perfectly restored body to mount an antenna. Or, really, to have any visible antenna as I find all of them detract from the design of the car.