A friend experienced exactly the same problem on a 1941 180, it backfired so bad it blew the seam on the air filter. On a second occasion it blew some of the exhaust system off the car.

Problem was so simple, the shank of the plastic distributor rotor had cracked and the rotor was able to move independently of the distributor shaft. And it was a new NAPA (Echlin) rotor!

EDIT: But now seeing what happened to your distributor, I'd say that is indeed an extremely rare failure mode; I've rebuilt dozens and dozens, perhaps hundreds of distributors and never seen that!

If you can't find the Rhino, another option is the Flexane 80 liquid as mentioned on another thread. That should be available locally at one of your industrial supply houses, although I don't know how it compares in price to the Rhino. Has been on my car for about 10 yrs now.

https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=1135&forum=3&post_id=8828#forumpost8828

There are a couple of picts of my setup on posts 10 & 16. Some of the bushings work in pairs and have shoulders that fit into frame & body recesses. Probably there to prevent metal to metal contact & noise, so am not sure how important they are to maintain, but if you want to replicate those, you'll need a slightly different type of mold than the flat bottom or sawing them off.

Here is a link to info on the Flexane. You do want the liquid, not the putty.

http://www.freemansupply.com/DevconFlexane80Fle.htm

EDIT: Was comparing hardness. Don't know about the original rubber or Steele's but Flexane is 87 which is pretty hard. Don't know what Rhino is. There are some silicone rubber mold compounds with a hardness of 45 that I think might work & available in smaller quantities as well. Larger quantities of a harder material of 57. I think the silicone can be colored, but if not, then maybe not appropriate. Haven't investigated that part--or the durability.

http://www.alumilite.com/ProdDetail.cfm?Category=Silicone%20Rubber&Name=QuickSet

Rhino is actually somewhat pliable. my uncle had it on his truck and it was kinda squishy hard, it was weird. can't be any worse than poly urethane, which i think one of the members on here made his own out of poly and showed us his technique also. i have that all over my z3 and it works great, but sometimes it can rip too. i think Rhino would make a great material as long as it didn't break down over time. i mean the original mounts on my car lasted this long, as long as the rhino can go that long i am good with it.

Keegan you have PM with my address. thanks for the offer ;0) you rock!

i need to look at my mounts really carefully to see what all i need and i could probably just make them myself, but i would need to have access to some Rhino lining....know where to get it consumer wise??? i think you are right about the Herculiner....it is more like tarry paint with rubber chunks and it wouldn't be that good to use. i had it on my ranger and the crap just peals right off when you scrap it hard. cheap way to do your truck bed, but not the best way that's for sure.

can you think of any other rubber product one could use that would be available at like Lowe's or Home Depot or something??

and great job on all the work, hopefully i will get to get dirty on mine again in the next couple of days. i am about to call the soda blaster, i am getting a bit jealous of him ;0)

later dude,

Hank

I found the problem with the '37 Packard Six. It is in the distributor. I removed the distributor cap and found that I could rotate the rotor. The rotor was not the problem. The shaft with the six lobes on which the rotor fits came loose from the the plate that connects to the automatic advance weights. The lobes shaft and plate are splined and pressed together then swedged to secure the joining. The joint came loose allowing the lobes shaft with the rotor to rotate freely of the distributor drive shaft. The distributor would still generate spark to the plugs, but not to the right ones at the right time. This is the first time I have encountered a distributor failure of this type. The car started and ran fine, but there was some surging just before it stopped running. I mention all of this as information to others should they have a like problem. Here are some photos showing the above mentioned parts. Special thanks to flackmaster who quickly came to my aid and is sending a replacement distributor via USPS Priority Mail. Thanks David, and to all who offered suggestions.

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Doesn't the Rhino Liner dry hard????? Wouldn't it be too hard for body mounts????? I really don't know. All bed liner coatings i've seen are rather hard.

Thanks Owen. I was never really sure if all V8's were built at Utica or not. THe term "Utica engine number" used in factory documentation has confused me for quite a while and very early on. IT often made me wonder if some V8's were built elsewhere as well .

Perhaps the cylinder head numbers will give us more insight on which V8 he has.

I have a BLUE 352 BARE block that i believe was a replacement engine. Tho little known history, it appears cosmetically excellent and original and there is NO traces of any other color of paint anywhere on it under the blue.

Utica# at rear corner of block is |6| . i.e. the number "6" (or "9") delimeted by verticle bars that are longer than the "6" is tall. It has an engine-VN number near the oil filler tube "SP 21161" .

As far as I know all the regular production 55/56 V8 engines were built at Utica; I guess there could have been some early prototypes built elsewhere. Ditto for the Twin Ultramatics.

What are the numbers on the CENTRE tandem exhaust port of each HEAD????? These are clearly visible by just opening the hood and looking down onto the head where the exh manifold mates to the head.

Is the engine BLUE????

After i get my batteries charged up i will post pics of engine-VN location and the location for the Utica engine number.

Question to others: Were ALL Packard V8's built exclusively at the Utica plant????

Yeah that was the Charlie Starkwether saga. He was one scary dude. I remember the newspaper headlines of the times. Real scary. I have always wondered if the car still exists somewhere.