Dear rsvs:

Door handles usually droop due to wear in the mechanism.

You have two easy options:

a) build up the square on the handle and regrind it in non-drooping position

b) very carefully heat the shaft with a torch and give it a twist. Note: too much heat will melt the pot metal.

I won't go into the hard options like disassembling the mechanisms and building up the worn parts.

Hope this helps

That ground strap story is interesting.

Usually Packard put the chassis ground strap on the transmission cross member. However, if the battery cable was not going to the engine then that would create big problems.

The usual method to test this problem is checking the voltage between battery ground and the body, and battery ground and the motor with accessories turned on the the motor on fast idle. A ground problem would show up as more than .4 volts with 0 - .2 volts ideal.

Dear CaptainBristol:

Let's try a few basic things:

What happens when the motor is not running and you turn on the lights? If things are normal then you have a regulator problem.

If not, then disconnect one head light. Still pegged? Disconnect the other. Still pegged? You have an intermittent short circuit.

You can confirm be disconnecting the voltage regulator battery wire with the motor idling.

Next a word of advice on your gauges. The Packard manual advises against trying to use the ammeter as an indication of discharge rate. Thus I would follow Howards advice, buy an accessory ammeter, and hook it up in series with the main harness takeoff at the starter. Then see what the readings are when you turn on the headlights.

Off the top of my head I would suspect a faulty dimmer switch on the floorboard, or a short at the switch. Who knows, maybe the parking lights are going out when you turn on the headlights due to a short circuit.

A short in the harness can hopefully be isolated by wiggling along the harness and disconnecting wire at the switch.

Hope this helps.

Dear Packard1949:

The technical term for your problem is called a "coast down stall". In computer controlled engines these are usually confined to problems at the air intake. That should provide a few clues.

My guess is that you have dirt in the idle circuit of your carburetor. This is supported by the motor running worse when you remove the air cleaner. I would try racing the motor and momentarily placing your hand over the carburetor. The suction will help disldoge any dirt in the air bleeds. If the car runs better then you have a dirt problem. Air leaks can also cause a coast down stall, which may be rememdied by careful tightening of the screws that hold the base to the float bowl section.

Whomever sold you the Mighty-Vac made a good recommendation as the unit is fine for checking motor vacuum. Your idle vacuum should be between 17-21 inhg. Your readings of 11-14 are low so I would do a compression test. If the static compression is good (100 or higher) then your timing chain may be worn or you may have a vacuum leak. Usually those readings due to vacuum leaks would also have significant driveability problems.

I have a really sensitive vacuum gauge that I store in a foam lined box, I don't use it except when I need to look at mechanical problems like weak valve springs, broken rings, low cylinders, and faulty ignition.

There is another possibility and that is a problem with the overdrive relay. When these relays get old the ignition interruptor sticks and kills the motor. This is that extra wire on points side of the coil. It can be disconnected and the overdrive will still work.

Hi folks

Before everybody starts poking around their voltage regulator and manually closing contacts let's look at what is actually going on with this polarization stuff.

Firstly, if the cutout is closed with the motor off the ammeter needle will be buried or the the Gen light will be on so you don't have to take the cover off the regulator.
In either case not disconnecting the battery will result in a fire. Sticking regulator cutouts on old regualtors are one of the reasons disconnect switches became popular

What polarize means is to momentarily feed battery voltage to the generator armature. That is A - armature and B - battery. The field terminal (F) is a pulse modulated ground and should not be used.

This procedure is highlighted in the Delco Manual, but they don't say what it actually does other than to say that not polarizing the generator after the battery is disconnected can result in "severe damage". This is of course contrary to mass experience because, were it true, every car with a disconnect switch would burn up.

Usually what happens is that the generator doesn't charge until it is properly polarized.

So just what is Polarize? The regulator has dual windings around a soft iron core. When battery voltage is manually applied to the armature the north and south poles of these soft iron cores are established which allows generator voltage to close the cutout.

Hope this helps

Just a note on these olds bulbs.

Light bulbs get dimmer as they age. You can test this by placing a new bulb next to a used bulb on a piece of white paper.

As for LED turn signals, one way to load the flasher is to parallel a heavy draw bulb to the flasher. This is easier than trying to find a suitable power resistor. The bulb can be hidden in a box under the dash.

If maximum candle power is the objective then I would certainly consider using relays controlled by the switches. Those automotive switches are old and subject to high resistance. It may not look 100% original under the hood and fenders but if done carefully nobody will notice.

Also, chassis grounds are important as well. You should run a long test lead from battery ground to to a multi-meter at a given light to check the voltage difference with the light burning and a battery charger hooked to the battery. Anything higher than .4 volts is a problem (0 to .2v is ideal). But mind you, that old metal loses conductivity so you might end up running a ground system parallel to the wiring harness.

Dear Willis:

Dwight Heinmuller sells sets using Packard 440 wire, and you can also get a fitted set from Max Merrit.

Both of these sets are plug and play.

Hi folks:

The 356 motor hydraulic lifters used to interchange to White truck motors which were Packard Six with hydraulic lifters. We were always able to get those, but supplies were limited.

I found an old paper by KD tools about valve noise and it advised against trying to adjust away noise (no suprise)because that will result in burnt valves. The original Packard motors with solid tappets were very impressive, but wear will cause audible noise. Unless you have access to some really good equipment you will not be able to replicate factory performance in a garage. I used some special machining techniques to minimize this problem and they produced acceptable results although not silent as a good low mileage motor. They had some really good mills and grinders at the factory and those motors were very true.
I really do not think there is a motor builder anywhere who can set up the Packard 8 as good as the factory.

My modern car has solid lifters and there is audible valve noise that wasn't there when it was new. However, I don't fret about it because if I can hear them then I know they are closing.

Dear Pat:

I assume from your note that the problem has improved and that is good. If the lifters were starving for oil then it is possible that the clackers got damaged. I believe you can get a Dodge V-8 lifter via the auto parts store that will work.

However, the motor could also have dirt and sludge it in, so pulling the oil pan when you do the lifters is a must.

Finally, worn valve guides can also make noise so you should remove the valve covers, unload the lifters and check for valves that move alot when you push on them.

Hope this helps

Hi Rich:

I have known people who did the movie thing too. I won't drop names because some are still doing it.

If you want to do movies the best approach is to contract to be onsite with the car for an hourly rate. This means you will also be in the shoot, but believe me there is nothing exciting about it. The work is really boring.