Paul:

I have scanned two items on adjusting the Bendix brakes and sent them in for posting. One is Bendix Service Bulletin #204 dated December 1, 1929. The other is an old magazine article. Hope they help.

Jim Wayman

Paul:

There is a Bendix brochure on how to adjust the brakes. I don't see it under the literature and manuals section, so will scan it and send it in for posting.

Jim Wayman
'29 640 Phaeton

Thanks for all of the suggestions. What I want to achieve is getting the aluminum back to looking like it was when new. I don't want to paint it to achieve this result, jut clean off the oxidization and baked in stain from oil, etc. I tried a weak acid solution on a small area but didn't get down to bright metal. Maybe I need to "kick it up a notch".

Jim

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to restore the bright silver aluminum finish to my 1929 Big Eight crankcase. While it is in good condition, it has turned a dark gray after all these years. I have had it cleaned in a high pressure hot cabinet and have had the exterior further cleaned with plastic beads, but the dark color remains. I have experimented with the tappet covers by glass beading them and they come out shiny silver. Don't want to subject my crankcase to glass beads, though.

Jim W.
'29 640 Phaeton

Thanks for the article from the CCCA Bulletin. What was the date of the article? I tried to print it out, but the print comes out too small.

Thanks,

Jim Wayman

Plan to do touring in the car as well as the usual weekend driving. Do you have a source for bearing inserts?

Thanks,

Jim Wayman

JP:

No. Wanted an open Packard to restore, which is what I am doing with the 640 phaeton. Have moved to Colorado where I have a much larger shop.

Thanks,

Jim

Thanks for the hint. Finally got the cap off with a combination of methods. Put a space heater next to to bellhousing end for several hours to warm up the crankcase in that area. Then put a sling on the crank flange and raised up the rear end of the crankcase upside down to put pressure on the cap. Then put a small engineer's jack between the top of the bellhousing and the crank flange and screwed it as far as possible. Alternately tapping downward on the crankcase flange at each side of the bearing cap and tightening up on the jack and it cam out after about two hours of slow work. Although I had been told that the bearings were good, it is a good thing I removed the crank. Obviously never been apart. Some scoring of the crank and burning of bearings. Anyone know of a good babbit shop in the Denver area?

Thanks to all,

Jim Wayman
640 Phaeton

Good suggestion. I have already taken the block off of the crankcase. If I can't find another solution, I may have to reassemble.

Thanks,

Jim Wayman

Had already tried to jack the crank, thus pushing up the bearing and cap. No success.

Thanks,

Jim Wayman