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I was incorrect with the pilot bearing. I got the wrong one. it should be MRC 204SF 6. I was able to source it from Max Merrit. The one mentioned above has a larger ID. I suppose it could work in a pinch if a bushing was pressed into the ID of the bearing that was closer fitting to the OD of the trans input shaft.

One issue I have been trying to work through is a replacement Welch plug for the access hole to the tail shaft bearing snap ring. Well I found some on McMaster Carr that measure out to 1.505". However the hole is 1.508. Given that they have a slight dome on them I am going to try to flatten them a bit on my hydraulic press to hopefully increased the diameter to the point of sealing off that hole. We will have to wait and see.

I am going with the original air group to rebuild the evaporator. They said they could not only repair it, but also change out the flare type connections to O-ring style connections in preparation for R134a. I have a work order made and they told me it should take about 2-3 weeks to complete the work. Which would be nice if it all fits in the original Evap box without modification to that or the firewall openings. So we will see what happens.

I was able to go over the firewall and inner fenders again to smooth out the sanded areas. I also got the front half of the underside painted like I did the back half already.

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Yes They required the old seat covers as patterns.

So I decided to go with getting seat covers from SMS. I finished removing the seat covers from the front and rear seats (thank God I dont do that for a living) and I hope to get them sent off to SMS in the next couple days. They said 3-5 months.

I took Howards advice and decided to disassemble the grille. I am going to need to match the paint of the egg crate, but should turn out well! the chrome still appears to be in decent shape.

I am exploring other ideas for the A/C system after talking with a member here. I sent the evaporator out to Original Air Group. They said they can restore it and also modify it. So I am going to see if they can change the flare connections over to O-ring type connections. Should know more about that in a couple days.

Howard, Ill give that a go... I may just try to polish in place. Ill see.

KevinPackard, yea it is pretty pricey. I could get them to make seat covers, but whether I am paying SMS or my upholstery guy, I doubt the cost of making the covers is going to change much.

In my situation now is the perfect time to do the seats since they are out. Once I get that front bench seat in I do not want to remove it. Getting that seat out was a terrible job. That seat is so damn heavy with those motors and such.

So good news! I was able to find about 98% of the external trim!! pretty happy about that. The only pieces I need to find are the transition pieces that go from the fender skirts to the rocker trim, and I believe there is a piece of trim that goes under the turn signals but above the bumper that continues the trim line from the lower grill trim that outlines the top of the bumper.

I also picked up the resurfaced fly wheel today. Among other parts I ordered for the manual transmission:
Pilot bearing: MRC 204SF
clutch disc: NCF ND4220 (60s chevy truck)
Pressure plate: NCF 1107027 (71 ford F100 w/ 302)
clutch alignment tool: CTF-53010
Throw out bearing: got it from Max Merit

I started to polish the grille trim and it is looking pretty damn good!! On the grill, it would be a lot easier to polish the mesh and everything else if I could remove the mesh. Is there a way to remove the mesh and reinstall it later?

Looked at SMS fabrics for the seat material. They do have it and it is a direct match, but it is $159 a yard. According to my upholstery guy I need approximately 15 yards, so thats over 2 grand in material and about 2 grand to recover the front and rear seats. That seems like a lot... So I dont know what I am going to do yet...

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The seats are in decent shape but the front needs foam and the rear seat has some insect and mice damage. So I took it to my upholstery guy up here and the outcome wasnt good. He is of the opinion no matter what work needs to be done if the seat covers come off these seats there is a high probability that they wont go back on without tearing... I cant just put the seats back in because it will only be a matter of time before the springs start to come through the front seat, and I am not moving that bench seat in and out of the car more than I have too.

So I am in need of new seat material. I know of SMS but I have heard nothing but horror stories about their customer service and year long wait for material. Does anyone know of any other place to look for material? If I have to go for non original type material than so be it, but I would like to see if anyone knows of another place where I could get new light gray Matelasse type material (for time NO. 61).

thanks!

This past weekend I went home for a car show and was able to spend some time on the car. I got the the inner fenders and the radiator support sanded and really close for paint!! really need to get these parts and the firewall in paint before the temperature drops off too much.

seeing that I wont be able to bring the car out to Pittsburgh this winter I figured the best course of action would be to find and polish all the external trim that is currently not on the car. As some may remember the car was missing some trim when I brought it to the garage, well I raided the old mans stash and brought every single piece of external trim I could find out to pittsburgh. Plan is to go through it and find the best pieces of trim for the car and place the rest back into the Packard Shed.

here's to keeping business in the winter!

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This past weekend I got some time to put the dashboard together! looks pretty damn good! I got the wiring harness strung up, I just need to install the dash lights. I ended up going with OSRAM 3850WW-02B LED's in place of the 57 bulbs. These were suggested to me by Daniel Stern Lighting.

Only issue I have is the parking brake connectors and light socket were detached from the main harness. Am I right to assume that the feed wire for the parking brake light is fed off the feed wire for the voltage regulator? wire 25 - pink? I am not seeing that wire in the factory service manual.

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Working on getting the evaporator box together with a new evaporator core. Looking at sizes and geometry the best one I could find was from a 90 Mercedes 560SEL. it lays in the area alright but the connections stick out above the face. The company above said they should be able to remove the inlet/outlets and orient them in a location that would be better suited for my application. I am trying my best to keep all the connections in the box due to not having much room under the dash for box modifications. Still trying to figure out what orientation would be best since I can not have the core to low for it would interfere with the rod that open and closes the bottom vent. And too high would restrict flow through the core and leave very little room for hoses in the box that go to the original opening in the firewall.

If they would be able to add connections onto this core, it would stand to reason they may be able to check to see if the original core is in good shape and just remove the flare connections for O-ring connections better suited for R-134A. But I do not know if I am at that point yet or what.

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