I agree; adjust your pushrod so there is at least 1/4" free play at the pedal. If your compensator port is still blocked, poke it free with a wire, or if all else fails and it has somehow rusted shut, I have drilled them with a 1/16 bit right through the brake fluid.

And it's true, brakes adjusted too loose will sometimes grab violently when the shoes finally reach the drums.

Welcome. Those are very fine cars.

Regular 90W GL4 or GL5 will do just fine in the rear.

If you don't know the history of the brakes, I strongly suggest going through them thoroughly (see the posts on "What should come first") Otherwise, dot 3 brake fluid is good. Be certain there are no chunks or floaters in your master cylinder reservoir; the power brakes really don't like chunks. And if the car seems to use up brake fluid, have the power brake rebuilt sooner rather than later.

Hi Henry: Just ran across your blog and want to encourage you/beg you to abort this tranny. I notice in the picture of the torque convertor that the inner shaft does not protrude beyond the outer shaft. This normally sticks out 5/8 inch or so; there has to be a major disaster inside for that to be true.

The black coating inside your case is not paint, it is varnish caused by major overheating. Warning, warning Will Robinson. Abort Mission.

I have built dozens of these things and would not attempt yours, tho I applaud you for the noble effort. If you don't find a unit you like, I have several 55s to choose from which I'd let you have cheap 'cause I like how you are doing your project.

Don't know about the pistons from Egge, but I've bought at least 15 sets from Terrill Machine. They are fine, and have the expansion controlling steel struts cast in. They have all worked just dandy, and the folks at Terril are great to deal with.

There are only 3 cams listed to fit the 51-54 engines; the solid lifter, the hydraulic lifter, and the 359 hydraulic lifter. Someone told me the 359 cam was machined in a few extra spots so the rods wouldn't hit it with the longer stroke.

I think the power increase at higher RPM was due to a bit better flow in the 4bbl manifold, and a little extra space in the head over top of the intake valve to help it flow into the cylinder.

Interestingly, although the manifolds all interchange 51-54, the 288, 327, and 359 all had different inside diameters in the runners. I put a 359 4bbl mainfold on a ported and relieved 288 but found it prone to bogging in normal driving because of inadequate velocity in those long runners.

I agree, poor compression is why many engines don't want to start on 6v.

Drove my 51 200 some 300 miles to visit a friend. His neighbor stopped by and was amazed while I had the hood open. "You drove ALL the way out here on 6 volts"!! "Yup, that big black round thing down thee makes more while I go".

I'm all for the mechanicals first as that will have a huge effect on whether the car is fun to drive or not. All of the Attaboys from friends and passersby will mean nothing if you dread driving the thing.

To push the point a little further, I always do the brakes very thoroughly even on decent cars that enter my stable. That means for me that every component that ever touched brake fluid is replaced or carefully rebuilt.

In a couple of Hemmings Classic Car profiles I have read people say they reused their old brake tubing during the restoration because it looked OK. No No No! It rusts from the inside as well as the outside. At the 95 national in Baltimore I replaced a piece of tubing for a fellow after it blew out on a tour. It was the piece that ran under the engine, was shiney silver and oily on the outside and crumbled like tree bark from corrosion on the inside.

Brakes are the cheapest and most important part of the restoration.

On Packards before 56, the drums are centered on the hubs by the rivets. Once the rivets are gone, the lug bolts will not center the drum adequately and you will get some thumpin'nasty braking. I have those drums sitting around handy.

51 Packard: They started attaching the band struts to the bands with the advent of the Gear Start in mid 54. The bands and struts can be substituted early for late and late for early with no probs. The ones with the separate struts are a pain to assemble, as you know, but should never fall out once installed. I am sure that your bands are not adjusted properly or that the little rollpin that keeps the struts from slipping side to side is missing.

Get your struts back into position (making sure the rollpins are there) and bolt the valve body back up into place as per the manual. There is an adjusting screw for each band that sticks out the side of the case with a big ol' locknut on it. Back off the locknut a bit and hold it still while you turn the adjusting screw in. This should go in about a couple of turns at least till it begins to get stiff as it tightens the band. Turn it in to 20 ft lb (or a two finger pull on the end of the wrench), then back it off 1 3/4 turns and lock it with the locknut. Do this for both bands. With a thin screwdriver you should be able to reach around the valve body and actually work the little levers that tighten the bands as a final check. That should be the end of band struts falling out. Its not a fun job on your back but it ccan be done.

The piston is hanging by ring tension. The cutaway is for discussions just like this one and as a sales tool for customers who are curious about their engines. Oh, and fun. Which I think is what ALL of this is about. I also have a cutaway Ultramatic which I'll post elsewhere to not disrupt this thread.

Brian: Thanks for the great photos and info. Your roadster (on youtube) inspired me to build one also though mine is for general back roads cruising and is not blown.

Anyway, I agree that a full relieve job is not necessary and will just drop compression. I have had good success smoothing out the edges of the little saucers that the valves sit in. As the Packard valves are tilted toward the cylinder the mixture doesn't have to travel too far!

Here are some photos of a cutaway unmodified 288 (=327=356) as the architecture was all the same. You can see how the mixture would flow up out of the port and be directed by the hollow in the head. I also like to cut a big chamfer on the top edge of the intake valves to make a wee bit more space for the mixture to flow over the top and around from the back side. A little finessing goes a long way.

Am looking forward to further installments.

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