Hi all,

I haven't been wrenching on the Packard much lately as other vehicles and life have taken priority. The "other" vehicles are a '69 Galaxie and ALL of my family's cars. So I haven't been on the site for months.

So to my point... The other auto forums that I frequent for the "other" cars have just gotten bad. Forget the arguing and somewhat "personal" attacks... From what I've read... Apparently, a majority of the auto oriented forums are owned/operated by a Canadian firm whose databases had been hacked. So all of my ID's and passwords had to be re-set. What a pain!

It is so much easier, and enjoyable to frequent and post to this site. I will be making it a point to make a donation. (it's been a while)

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer in their Packards!

Mark

I would think that should be on the backside of the panel. As you say, this would allow the coil spring to sit between the door and the panel and prevent the spring from working/wearing thru the paper/cardboard panel.

vaguely recal this set-up on my '49. It has been over ten years since I pulled the door panel off.

Good luck!

This is a general brake hose question, not necessarily a Packard brake hose question...

If I recall, the last time that I was at Motion Industries (used to be Berry Bearing I believe) they told me that they can fabricate hydraulic hoses. If I have a sample old hose, is there really only length, fittings, diameter, material and any "reinforcement" (abrasive protection) that I need to be concerned about?

I plan on asking them if they do support that kind of application, but I figured that I would as the knowledgeable people here.

Thanks,

Mark

P.S. Nobody carries hoses for my non-Packard application, that is why I am going down this avenue.

Hi,

While I am not doing this to my Packard, it is a modification and I figured to ask the knowledge base here for help.

I have a fuel sending unit (side tank mounted) that already has a single (3/8) outlet. I need to add a second line for a return. I'm working with a new unit (either Kanter or Classic Car Auto Parts) that has zinc coated steel. I planned on drilling the hole and then try to dimple it so as to give the solder more surface area. (the original line was soldered) Or should I just TIG weld it? (I have a TIG welder but have yet to get any practice in onfirst) The original piece had a "collar" around the line. It looked like the plate was stamped that way. Did the factory solder these to save on $ ?

I would think that I could TIG it, but maybe I am missing something that is obvious to the knowledgeable. Otherwise is there a specific solder to use?

Thanks,

Mark

Sorry, not to hijack... I know many people use the Rotella. It is a diesel oil, correct? (maybe it is more correct to say that it is a diesel/gas engine oil) I thought that I recall reading (somewhere) that it was not a good alternative for the gasoline engines, even tho it does contain high levels of zinc. I can't recall the cited reasons. Whatever the source was that I read could very well have predated changes made over the years to the Rotella product.

Thanks,

Mark

That looks like a good 3/16ths of an inch difference in diameter, no? I would think that a custom fit hose for your application may not be able to be tightened enough for a good (non-slip) seal. A universal flex hose (with a smaller diameter end) might be the option.

I have used the Permatex yellow colored high tack gasket sealant to hold hoses in place with good results.

Good luck!

Mark

That's right Owen. I'm on the same page as you. (in determining what to look into) I was just looking/talking springs (first) as they were the topic of conversation the and kinda "right in my lap".

Mark

Agreed, the older engines used much lower spring seat pressures. So springs generally lasted, longer, if not almost indefinitely.

As for source of materials... ...steel from India is big now. But they have had far too many bad experiences (failures) with it and will not use it. Now granted, it was probably with higher spring pressures items. The Dodge Hemi of '03, '04 had some spring and valve issues. ...don't know what they used and from where, or if the design changed in '05.

I'm just starting to look around and do some research. I will check with the PPG to see what they have available.

As I said I am interested in getting into the manufacturing/supply arena. I also have some contacts in the plastic industry also. ...repro knobs anyone!? I've spent 20 years in front of a computer during the week, and under a hood on the weekends. Wait, will this be any different?

Thanks,

Mark

Hi everyone,

I have a friend that has worked at a family-owned spring company for years. Every holiday season we meet and always end up talking about manufacturing and the lack of quality from overseas stuff. I have kept him in mind if I ever happened across an item that I would need to replace/re-manufacture in my restorations(he has other contacts in other manufacturing areas that I can tap also) ...and to make available to others in the hobby. Well this year, he told me that they purchased another small spring shop. ...a shop that manufactures brake springs for one of the large brake vendors and valve springs. That's all that I needed to hear.

So I know that there are vendors out there with valve springs readily available for the old cars. In looking at some of their listings, I can't really see where they are manufactured. So my plan would be to only use U.S. or Canadian wire. To move forward (or even think about moving forward) I would need the specs on the springs used in the various engines across years. ...starting with Packard, of course. Does anyone know where I would find those? ...wire gauge, coil diameter and height? I know that the various manuals list pressures at open/closed heights.

...and I'm not soliciting, I am more than happy to hear opinions and suggestions.

Thanks,

Mark

Some other things to keep in mind... While a given engine's "static" compression ratio from the factory may be 8:1... ...depending upon the camshaft's valve timing (opening and closing) that could lower the dynamic compression ratio to 7:1. A compression test usually tells the tale. ...and then the ignition timing, if delayed, could lower that. Remember all of those 1970's big blocks that had 10.5:1 compression one year, and 8.5:1 the next year. One of the things that they did was to delay the cam gear by 4 or 8 degrees. ...and then ignition timing was delayed a bit, and topped out at 24 degrees or so, when they topped out at 34degrees a year earlier.

Mark