I also always drill a bleed hole in any thermostat that doesn't have a jiggle valve.

In addition on Packards when the new thermostat allows it I drill two 3/16-1/4 inch holes in it. This slows the warm up a bit, but provides a safety valve in case the unit sticks closed. Those old motor blocks can crack around the valve seats if they get too hot.

Harley Earl was not a nice person and neither was Bill Mitchell. Both of them went on firing rampages whenever they felt miffed. In the fifties Earl became a somewhat senile tyrant and impossible.

At Packard there was Werner Gubritz who was universally admired. He was just too professional for the corporate game. Reinhart and Teague were also top notch talent and did a fabulous job given their budgets.

I don't know where people get the idea that GM products were universally better looking than Packard. I think most Buicks are ugly and Cadillac evolved into the 1959. The 55-56 Packard Caribbean is still the best looking full sized 50's car in my book.

Sure, the Packard radiator is not avant garde and you have to like it to buy it. But gee-whiz the front of the 1938 Cadillac 60-S is horrible.

Anybody who thinks that Packard didn't know anything about advanced styling trends should take a look at the 840 Individual Custom Sport Sedan by Dietrich. It's way ahead of the 60-S.

Packard management was like all management. They concerned themselves most with eliminating personal threats and advancing personal agendas at the expense of the corporation. So they squandered people like Dietrich.

The Cadillacs have weathered time better than Packards. Get behind the wheel of the 60 Special and it is a wonderful car save for the droning of that long stroke V-8. I'm sure though that in 1941 a new Packard was head and shoulders better to drive than the Cadillac.

Packard didn't have a lot of money and I have always felt their only hope was merger. But not with Studebaker. In the 50's Ford was wasting almost a billion dollars attempting to compete with Buick, Olds, and Pontiac. If they bought out Packard they would have done much better than the Edsel.

Dear IBUB:

First make sure the unit is not over filled and then make sure the vent is not clogged.

I would also do a measured consumption check over time because when cars aren't driven these seals often start leaking and if your car leaks a half pint per year you may want to do something more worthwhile. I have also seen the differential housing bolts loose which is remedied by careful tightening and a little RTV applied externally after careful cleaning.

Replacing the seal is a standard in the car procedure, but there are different degrees of expertise that are applied. For example, in the flat rate chisel the skilled labor world they are not paid to do the job right so they don't. The parts are usually worn anyway so the oil stops leaking and somewhere down the road the rest of the car falls apart.

The correct way to address the repair is to pull both axles and record the "Turning Torque To Rotate" using a special inch pounds torque wrench. Next a special bar is required to hold the flange so that a hand wrench can be used to loosen the nut (which is not to be reused, but can't be replaced so you are going to reuse it anyway). You can mark the nut with panit to give you an idea of how to get it back to where it was originally, but that is not really necessary. After the flange is removed you can replace the seal.

As for assembly, the axle builders will tell you that impact wrenches will damage the unit. Period, end of story. Inside the unit is a collapsable spacer (unless you are working on a senior car which is different) that controls the amount of pinion bearing preload. When you reassemble the unit you want to get the nut back to where it was and then adjust the preload slightly to account for wear. So when you have the nut back to where you think was you should again check the Turning Torque To Rotate and if it is near to where it was initially tighten the nut further to increase it slightly (say 5 inch lbs). This may only require a half turn. But beware if the nut is overtightened the spacer will collapse and the pinion preload will be too high.

Usually nobody wants to hear about the time it takes to follow this procedure so they get the impact treatment.

Also, make sure to use Blue Threadlocker on that pinion nut.

How's that?

I have never had a problem talking to people at car shows, and actually find the late model car guys easier to deal with. I adjust and talk about their cars. People don't go to a parking lot because they have better things to do. In the CCCA and AACA it takes a little more effort but I am familiar with so many of the cars I can get instant friends by simply asking "would you like a picture of this car when it was owned by so and so?"

Perhaps my worst experience was at a Packard show when I came across a car that was owned by a long time deceased friend. I was there when it came out of long term storage and rode all around in the thing because it ran so good. They couldn't care less. Oh well, not everybody who drives around in old cars has a normal brain.

Dear Chad:

Your cooling system is not pressurized and the correct fill level is enough to cover the top of the radiator tubs. You will need a light to see the level.

If the temperature gauge reads in the middle and the radiator is still spewing then you have a problem. First check the thermostat and if it is missing install a 160 degree unit (available via the Stant printed catalogue or one of the leading Packard parts houses). When you get the thing, carefully drill two bleed holes in it. These prevent motor damage in the event of overheating and ensure proper filling.

Next check the lower hose. The original had a curved tube with two junction hoses. If it has been replaced with a single hose it may be collapsing at speed.

After that there are the usual suspects, clogged radiator, faulty water pump, or a thing called the water distribution tube which is inside the motor behind the water pump.

Par for the course on these cars is a complete cooling system cleaning. Manuals are available right here on this website.

Your oil pressure is about right for an aged motor, but you need to straighten out the cooling system. 40 psi on the road is very good or somewhere around the middle of the gauge.

There is more about that in the owner's manual available right here.

Good luck with your car.

Actually, I find little if any of Packard advertising very compelling.

Some of the nonsense in the 1930's was just plain dumb. How about this gem? "The cost of owning a Packard is just pennies per mile more than the lowest price cars" That is just completely ridiculous. And that tacky gateway stuff? Yuk!

Their best ads were for the six because they talked about the car. And I guess the six was probably their best all around car.

When I have talked to non-car people about Packard these are what I heard most:

"Oh we had a Packard. It couldn't go around the block without stopping at a gas station"

or this "Oh Packard? They built snob cars"

Now the other day I saw a 55 Cadillac coming down the road and I have to say I thought the thing ludicrous. Ugly. But the OHV Cadillac and the Hydramatic killed Packard. Notwithstanding the fact that the 55-56 Patrician was actually faster than the Cadillac.

And let me add one more thing. For years I knew an old time car guy who started out with Packards. Well, some of the car club politics from a few select Packard collectors really got to him. He sold his Packards and switched to Cadillac.

A while back CCCA rounded up a Packard 12, Lincoln KB, Cadillac V16, and Rolls PIII. The fastest acceleration to 50 mph was, surprisingly, from the PIII Rolls-Royce.

I've driven the PIII and you would never think that to be the case, but then I was driving it according to the instruction manual. I couldn't hear the motor except for crossing bridges when I could hear the echo.

I had very poor luck with rotary pumps.

The old Stewart Warners were fantastic.

Today the best pump is the 6 volt Airtex which is not sold through NAPA but is carried by Bill Hirsch.

I totally agree with Owen's comment about 50 mph cruising. I knew people who drove their Packards for years and years without problems when they used 45-50 mph cruising.

I knew someone with a 626 who drove it from Miami to New Jersey and back every other year. The thing just never wore out.

In the 1930's the speed limit on the Merritt Parkway was 35 mph so 45-50 was a premium speed.

Higher ratios might add 5-10 mph, but hills become a problem. When Nixon (USA) lowered the national speed limit to 55 it helped keep older cars on the road. But those days are gone and so I would stick to secondary routes.

I had an old Ford that I used to drive with my foot to the floorboard. One day I was on the Garden State Parkway running flat out when I crested a hill and came up on a traffic jam. I just managed to stop that Ford from around 80 mph. But I still get a chill when I think about.

Dear kts68:

Given the interest in ring and pinion change let me put down a few cases:

a) The 7th series Speedster at 3:31 required use of Packard Lo to get going except on the level or better, was 145hp and lighter than the Custom 8 at 106hp

b) Bob Turnquist put 3:56 gears in his 8th series roadster and, at 120hp, it was almost geared too high for the motor. Hans Edwards tried 3:56 gears in his 640 and they were too high (I think it went faster in second gear). Thus, the maximum for the 7th series Custom 8 is probably the 4:06 ratio

c) The 3:56 is fantastic in the twelve given non-mountainous terrain. The fastest I had one up to was 85mph and it was most like a modern car. However, I doubt that top speed was increased by much if any although Packard offered the 4:06 ratio as an option which likely provides the highest top speed on the twelve. With the standard ratio a good running twelve will reach 90mph even in sedan form. In the 9th series Twin Six (160hp) the principle performance attribute is smoothness which makes higher ratios only a consideration as the cars age. Getting out of an eight and into the Twin Six provides an instant impression that is hard to get over. Even though the axle ratios were the same the Twin Six seemed far more relaxed.

How's that?