Monday 19th January 2009

Before going to the workshop made a phone call to Brian Horne, and teed up a front-end alignment for the '41 @ 10:00am on Thursday morning. I'd also rang Wayne, the guy with the engine and trans on the Central Coast, on Saturday and I'm to ring him back Thursday to arrange to go see it soon. Just before I left for the workshop a courier arrived with the front and rear windscreen seals and the quarter window rubbers for the '41 from Max. Ordered on the 9th and received on the 19th, halfway round the world, is not bad at all. Only problem is, now I've got to pay for 'em!

At the workshop found Wade had the '37 Super 8 up on Rick's hoist, Rick being off on holidays this week. But first checked the windscreen rubbers for apparent fit by holding them up to the '41, with Wade's help, to make sure they are what is required. Seeing there was nothing to do on the '41 assisted Wade in removal of the '37's speedo cable. The speedo had stopped working 1) because the cable had snapped at the trans end, and 2) the speedo itself appeared to be jammed. Wade had already disconnected the speedo and removed it from the dash but was having difficulty in getting the cable out. Ended up removing the front floor to reveal 1) a piece of wire tieing it to the x-member and 2) a clamp also holding it to the x-member. Besides that, where it ran behind the heater it was wedged in necessitating loosening of the heater mounting bolts to give sufficient clearance to allow the cable to be freed. Last struggle was it was wedged between the oil pressure fitting/line and a heater outlet bend. Fortunately the heater outlet bend could be rotated enough to allow the cable to be finally extricated from the grasp of the '37 and the cable housing and the cable were then cleaned up.

Into Wade's crew cab Holden Ute and it was off to General Instruments, the guys who did the new handbrake cables for John's '39 and my '41. And there, for those many many Chevy lovers, was a blue '57 Bel-air in the workshop. Gave them the speedo and old cable and they indicated they fix the speedo first then will make a new cable to ensure 1) it works, and 2) to get the cable length right. Should take a couple of days, although Wade was hoping turn-around time might be more like the day it took for John's brake cables. Then on the way back called into Altronics for Wade to exchange a part he'd bought last week. Next was Grippy Rubber as Wade needed some rubber to make new seals for the headlights and Trippe lights for his '34. I took the opportunity to look for a bigger rubber grommet to replace the one I used for the accelerator pedal rod, but without any luck. And a note about the Trippe lights, the reflector is in two parts with the lower part able to swivel up and down, suppose this enables fine adjustment of the lightbeam. Pity, but I didn't take any pic's of this and Wade took them home to work on them.

Back at the workshop Wade took the inoperative reversing light switch off the '37 and using a door switch's contacts fashioned together a working switch which tested as working on the bench. However installing it into the '37 didn't give the same result and will some fine tuning to get it operating properly. Wade was also saying today that, after the National Rally in March, he'll be doing some serious work on the '37. He intends to pull the engine and trans mainly to find and fix all the oil leaks. He's also mentioned doing the shocks the other day but what else I don't really know. But if it's anything like my '41 and John's '39 there's sure to be more than just that. I also noticed the diff centre had a liberal coating of oil, grease and dirt on it so it could well receive attention too. Wade, when you read this I'm not being critical, just saying it as it is!

The other news in the workshop is that Darren has been working on Kevin's Daimler 5.3litre V12. The fuel tanks went in on the weekend and Darren replaced all the flexible hose pieces in the fuel delivery system today. Then this afternoon it fired up for the first time since it arrived who knows how many months ago. Sounded like it might be running on one bank only but after a number of starts and runs was sounding better and running smoother. 'Cause this might have been contributed to by the liberal dose of fuel injector cleaner added initially. And then after adding fluids there was power steering and auto trans movement as well!

Won't be back to the workshop till Thursday when we'll take the '41 to have it's front-end alignment.

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Tolandis, thanks for the info and advice.

Does anyone have a National or other Seal MFG part number for the inner and outer rear seals? There was no part number or mfg stamp on the outer seal plate.

I am usually pretty good at finding a modern replacement part number if I have an original (non-Packard) part number to work from. If anyone has an old National seal catalog and could look it up for me, then I would appreciate it. I dont want to spend $75 if I can get the seals way cheaper at Napa. But I need to have a part number to start with.

Thanks,

More than likely if the water pump has been in place for a long time, then you are going to need the pump back plate to block gasket.

Quote:
You're right there Eric, given away much too much and way too soon. Sooo, now

Talked with my friend Roger (you remember growing up with packard). They just finished re restoring a 34 LeBaron boat tail speedster. He specifically remembers not having a problem getting it out or in. Actually when it came time to put it in they already had the transmission mounted. He said it just barely made it, with very little clearance. So he says you should not have to jack up the body.

And don't forget to check axle end play. Make sure you have approximately the same amount of shims on either side. Tap the axles to one side, then with a dial indicator see how many thousands end play there is and consult the manual.

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1956 Executive Sales Brochure
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Thanks to Mike Grimes for the donation of all of this content!

Don't have their number handy, but you can look them up. I have been using A & P Bearing in Canoga Park, Ca. for over twenty years and just about always manage to come up with what ever bearing or seal I need. And usually a lot cheaper.
I believe they are on Canoga Ave. If you can prove you are some sort of garage the discount is bigger. Here is where your pest of a brother in law or neighbor comes in handy.
Many times just call with dimensions and they can help
Thanks.

Thanks, will do. Just wondering if someone had experience trying to get the distribution tube out while the grill was in place. I can't remember from your blog, do I need to buy special gaskets for the water pump?

Worse come to worse, you can pull the grill and leave the core and fenders in place.