As of 2017, Shell Rotella T4 Triple Protection 15W40 has 1200 PPM zinc. Personally I doubt they would change the formula and keep the name. 🤔

By the way, there's no such thing as motor oil "not having zinc" in it unless you have a century old unopened can. All modern motor oils have a baseline of about 800 PPM zinc. For example, your basic Pennzoil 10W30 has 900 PPM.
http://www.pqiadata.org/Pennzoil10W30.html

VR1 per their website has 1400 which is about the most you'd want to run in anything normal as too much ZDDP will cause unwanted chemical reactions. Though extreme applications (racing) you might see 2000 PPM, those engines obviously have a MUCH shorter MTBO.

I see no problem running either VR1 or Rotella in a postwar Packard. VR1 is probably a bit better, but not because it has more zinc, because it's specifically formulated for gas engines. Though unless you change your oil on a mileage (vs yearly) basis, it probably barely matters.

Just my

BTW, check out this article. Tells you everything you need to know. 😃
https://forums.aaca.org/topic/294134-engine-oil-recommendations/?do=findComment&comment=1612046

Progress…

I got 1-5/16 socket and was able to get the nuts off the sidemount support with no problem at all. Surprisingly, the bolts from fenders to the cowl came out without a fuss. So now, I just need to work on the bolts to the running boards. Those are all VERY rusty, so they may be a challenge. But worst case, I can carefully cut them off if needed.

So….I’m getting close and I’d like someone to make sure I’m not missing anything for the front clip removal.

1. Remove front bumper and brackets….done
2. Remove hood….done
3. Remove running board trim….done
4. Remove support bars under fenders….done
5. Remove bolts from fenders to cowl….done
6. Remove nuts from sidemount supports….done (I put these back on until I’m ready to actually lift off the clip)….done.
7. Remove bolts to running boards….
8. Disconnect wiring harness to right headlight bucket and secure….done
9. Drain coolant
10. Disconnect radiator upper and lower hoses
11. Remove bolt under center of radiator (this should be easy for me since Allen just replaced it)
12. Recruit the Three Hooligans.
13.. Lift up and out .

Is there anything I’m missing?

Although I understand that some have had retrofit stem seals, there is no rubber in the engines from the factory.

What about the engine sucking in nearly pure MMO?

Not sure for flatheads on valves. If anything it would be the intake valves since the engine is pulling a vacuum on the intake stroke.

The V8's have a rubber boot on the intake stems. IDK if the flathead engines have anything similar.

BTW, the oil pressure comment earlier is the same as I saw on my V8 going from 15W40 to 10W30. Packard recommended 10W30 in 1956 and I don't see much reason to go heavier than that except to compensate for a worn engine. Obviously the relief valve on your oil pump should limit pressure regardless of oil weight.

Yes, I mean there's always going to be some price difference if you buy it from a Packard retailer vs. say, Rockauto where I got all the other prices. But of course, for things like engine and Ultra seals, someone has make the tooling and reference the drawings to make it and that's extremely difficult to do affordably at a small scale

Even for rare stuff like say, A/C vents, no one is going to spend 10k on injection mold tooling so they can pump out 10,000 at $10 apiece. Would need to be 3D printed AND cleaned AND custom painted which is a non-trivial cost per piece. Same thing with other rare parts like the starter bezels.

Had the Panama out a few times today. Lunch date with my wife along with a nice drive. Filled up with gas on the way home. Took it back out this afternoon to pick up kids from school. It has been running a bit rough at idle today, which I thought odd. I put in 8oz of Marvel Mystery Oil into the fuel tank because I have a valve or two that try to stick.

Leaving the parking lot after picking up kids, the car left a HUGE cloud of blue smoke. Massive. It was very heavy for a good hundred years or so, then tapered off. Eventually send to go away.

I've had some blue smoke on take off very occasionally, but it's normally a very small amount. Nothing like today. Obviously rings are a possibility, but could valves cause the same?

-Kevin

Economies of Scale - there are a lot more Mustangs out there than Packards. Small lot sizes/runs come at a premium. You have a lot of downtime changing over tooling and once you drop below a certain number it can become a loss for the manufacturer quickly. At a plant I once worked at we manufactured a component at a loss only because it complimented 12 other components that were profitable. I'm sure there is some tax associated with it being Packard but, doubt that is the real driver.
Mike

Quote:

https://c.tenor.com/QdXlGjynt2wAAAAC/tenor.gif

Never really noticed before but did anyone else realize just how expensive some stuff is? I know it's expensive for a reason but I was still caught off guard 😂

Obviously these are cherry-picked examples. But true.

P.S. The context is that my uncle has a 67 Mustang and is thinking about reviving it. Would be a very similar project to my Clipper in terms of scope and goal.

I see you live in Woodinville. I used to spend a lot of time there at Vintage Auto Parts back in the '60s!