Wednesday 9th April 2008

Early at workshop, so started on removal of the temperature sending unit from the rear of the head. With this out we'll be able to work on the dash and instrument cluster on the bench when re-wiring starts. Unfortunately the sending unit is well embedded and even after numerous applications of penetrant I failed to budge it and don't want to lean on it too hard as I don't want to break it! So before I left today gave it another good spray and will return to it tomorrow.

Next was the cowl vent. Removed this fairly easily as it's held in place by the nuts and bolts that affix it to the bars it pivots on and the handle to open/close it. Also applied penetrant to the pivot points as one was a lot tighter than the other only letting the vent open about halfway, and it's much freer now. Old gasket is completely shot and I'll have to clean out and paint the cowl vent's channels before the new gasket is installed. I'll also paint with POR-15 any areas under the dash affected by the ingress of water.

By this time Wade had arrived and after some discussion I started to undoing the drivers side front fender. Only did the panel between the radiator and the grill as this was the one that gave me trouble on the other side, but this time seeing it had the correct fasteners it was relatively easy. The reason this front fender was also taken off is because neither front fender had beading between it and the body while the rears do! And also to better check for rust in the front corner of the body.

Then it was back to assembly of the front end. Lower bushes had been machined and they pressed in easily. Wade then started the laborious process of reaming them out to fit the new pin and this was done slowly to ensure it was done correctly. There was some shuffling of shims to ensure the correct fit and it ended up that a shim was slowly ground down and all went together perfectly. Next was disassembly of the other control arm, upright and stub axle. This presented a few problems in pressing out one of the cotter pins but with John's assistance this was accomplished. Tomorrow I'll clean, metal ready and paint these ready for re-assembly, hopefully on Friday. But that will dependent on Wade's availability. He's putting the '37 Super 8 up on Rick's hoist on Friday to lube and inspect it prior to Wade and his wife Gina travelling to Gilgandra, about 4&1/2 hours west of Sydney, to visit Gina's 90 y.o. mother next week.

While Wade and John were tackling the cotter pin, I was back under the front of the '41 undoing the rest of the fender bolts, only snapped 2 this time but this was one of the 4 fender to body studs of which only 2 were still intact on this side! The problem bolt turned out to be the one in the upper front corner and it wouldn't budge, or break, for want of trying. So Wade used his small grinder and together with a cold chisel then back to the grinder, and this time with a cutting blade the head of the bolt was removed. Judicious use of a screwdriver followed and the fender was off.

Forgot to mention that Wade, before he came into the workshop went around to the brake guy because he couldn't get the brakedrums off Ed's '37. Wade had taken Harvey's drum puller and they came off easily. And it turns out the reason Ed had taken his '37 in was that he had a falling pedal, it was getting lower and lower to the floor. This has now been traced to slightly worn cups which, although not leaking, allow air to enter into the brake system. And Wade got the machined oil filter adaptor for his '34 back from Ivan. There are still a few pieces needed for this conversion but, when all's done, will post pic's and dialog in the Pre-War Forum.

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Quote:

Howard,

Thanks for confirmation of the tube casing being fixed at the clamp. And my cable does move, where you have indicated by the arrow, since it was lubricated. So we'll affix the tube casing to the clamp fitting to eliminate any possibility of the casing floating and interfering with the operation of the cable.

Quote:

Eric,

The "Willys" cowl being from a closed body car has drawbacks when it came to windscreen fitment. I presume the good rust free Maxwell cowl is from an open car so that's a step in the right direction and the windscreen posts and frame you already have will fit. Saying that, the thing with the Maxwell cowl is that the cowl shape at the firewall is more rounded while the Packard grill shell with it's traditional shape is not along those lines. That Packard cowl on eBay even without a firewall may still be a fair proposition as the firewall on the Maxwell cowl would probably require modification anyway. With the Packard cowl, fabrication of a new firewall could have been purpose specific to suit your requirements with the 327 S8 in the 115 chassis. Or, adapt the "Willys" firewall to the Packard cowl. Just a few thoughts on this particular aspect of your speedster.

Quote:

Dave,

No need to take anything apart, you've given me enough to work with. So, stay warm!

Dave,

Thanks for the pic's and advice. The kink I'm referring to is in the hard casing where this meets the section with the groove for clamping to the frame. From your first pic it appears there is a kink in your casing just after it meets the grooved section? Also, can you confirm whether this hard casing is integral with the clamped section or separate? Mine is separate, but I wonder if it should be integral with the clamp piece and has become separated over the years?

And I will follow-up the leads for the knob.

Quote:

Don,

Great story, keep 'em coming!

Eric,

The increasing Packardness of the speedster and your continuation of the fine traditions of Packard R&D can only benefit this project. Wouldn't it be nice now to find a Packard cowl to top it all off?

Quote:

Kev,

Warren 2007 was July when I made my trip to the US to look at the '41 Coupe.

Dave,

Nice looking Packard and welcome to a great Packard site. There's plenty of friendly and experienced Packard people here who are willing to share their expertise and help if they can.

Again,

Eric,

Your luck's in again, congratulations. Always knew there was a floor shift out there somewhere, but didn't expect a chassis as well! A question though, about the front end, are you still going with a "straight" axle? A '25 speedster wouldn't have the coil spring front end the '37 has. Have one for me as I'm sure you'll be celebrating.



And Peter,

Give me a call any night and we can walk through the picture part.