Not much done today. Found a can of "Easy-Off" Oven Cleaner under the kitchen sink which no one will miss since I redid the kitchen and installed a chest high self cleaning wall mounted oven. Wasn't sure if it was still any good, but took it out to the garage anyway and sprayed down the greasiest/dirtiest parts of the engine. The foam came out the way it should and looked about right when it hit the engine but we'll have to see about that tomorrow.

I've been looking at the trim options for the '51 Patricians. I can't seem to find what the difference is between the 500 trim codes (501,502,503) and the 600 codes (601, 602, 603). I know the 503 code uses dark blue seats and pleated trim while the 501 denotes an orange/beige seats and pleated trim and I strongly suspect that 502 is the same thing in green. The only thing I can think of is that the "600" codes mean the same colors but with leather.

If I had been around to order the car new, I would have ordered the 501 as I like the "warmth" of those colors as opposed to the dark blue and grey. I looked through the literature but my search came up empty. Can anyone point me to where I can find the answers?

Since almost everything needs to be replaced I'm giving serious thought to changing the interior to the 501. The only thing giving me pause is that all the surviving '51 Pats I've seen either in pictures or in the flesh have the 501. If the 503 is rare, it would be one thing that would make keep the original colors.

My thanks to everyone who has helped with this projects and in advance on this question.

After the ice storm of last week, the temperature has warmed up enough (50 - 55 degrees) for me to do a few things with the car. I'm still in the "getting to know you" stage but I'm focusing in on cleaning up the engine. As the attached pictures show, it really needs it. The previous owner has taken everything off the front of the car so at least I won't have to be a contortionist to work on it. He also cleaned and painted the head so the contrast with the block and etc is "striking" to say the least. After I clean up the engine I'm going to make sure the valves are all moving throughout their entire range. I've had enough stuck valve related lifter problems with my '51 200 Deluxe to last me for the rest of my life. If everything in the valve department seems "up for the game" the plan is to order a head gasket, tighten down the head (if I can find all the head nuts), do a desperately needed oil change and do a compression check after spinning the engine - hopefully with the starter to get fresh oil in every nook and cranny. If the compression check reads good, I'll try putting the carb and fuel pump back, hook up some fuel line to the lawn more can (it won't be needing it for a while), install the new engine compartment wiring harness and see if she'll come to life. I rather think she will as she turns very easily and smoothly by hand with the head just sitting on the block. I'd like to have Santa grant me my wish for the engine to run by Christmas but we'll have to see. He might have a few issues with me over my behavior during the last year - but I'm hopeful.

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I've got a few "Saved Searches" on eBay and looking at various listings about "Original Black Plate cars" makes me wonder if part of the reason Old California plates are so expensive is that some people selling cars use them to jack up the price. A car with old California plates seem to go for more money than one with contemporary plates.

Just a thought.....

Thank you Tolandis for that information. You can bet that I'll be following your recommendation.

I've been going over some of the Trouble Shooting Sections of the FSM and posts on engine noises here and I can't help wondering if some of the sounds I was hearing before weren't caused by my failure to re-torque those bolts.

Plus, I didn't spend a fortune on my Torque Wrench (Harbor Freight) so several re-torques would probably give me a good average of 60-62 foot pounds as per FSM.

Thanks again Tolandis for your help.

Thank you for the quick response, Ross. You know, I honestly don't remember for sure if I tried to start it or not. I did try the headlights and they were out as well. Right now we've got pretty good winds with a wind chill of 28 degrees on a temp of 34. I'll try that in the morning as have the battery disconnected at present. It should be something simple as it was doing great. This car has done this before with a previous owner. He was driving it on the freeway when everything quit. He had it towed home and put in his garage where it sat for 28 years. Turned out it was a bad ignition switch and Ballast Resistor. It's not going to get off that easy this time.

Thanks again, Ross

It would appear that my Packards are ganging up on me. Just as I got the '51 200 Deluxe more or less straightened out, my '55 Patrician goes dark.

This evening I got into it to go to the store when after unlocking it, I noticed that the outside courtesy light didn't come on. Looking inside, I noticed Map Light was dark as well. OK, looks like a dead battery right? Wrong. I got my H-F battery charger out but when I hooked it up, the test voltage read 13.2 Volts. I checked for power at the Power Window CB using the red wire that comes from the starter power take off. Plenty of volts there as well. It was getting too dark to do much else as the '55 was parked under the carport. I did check the battery cables and they passed the Ohm Meter test. We've got high winds coming in tonight lasting through tomorrow to be followed by snow and freezing rain (we call them Silver Thaws) so I don't want to get under the car unless I have to.

Any and all ideas are gratefully accepted!

J.

I've just gone through the "Noisy Lifters" and one of the things I've learned from it is that just because you can see the valves moving up and down - that doesn't mean the valves are closing. I had one that was very hard to spot as it almost completely closed and since it moved back and forth, I passed it by. The only way I know to check this is to remove the head or at least lift it up from the block (keeping it horizontal and NOT balancing on top of the exhaust manifold) and watch to see if they all completely close.

But before doing that, I want to add my voice to the ones calling for a re-torquing of the head. I had driven mine only a little bit due to the run away idle but after it had run the about an hour and a half total, I got out the torque wrench and was completely amazed at how much further the nuts went down.

Other changes as a result of the valve work was a livelier engine and almost instantaneous starts even in cold weather. It has changed the car enough that I'm wondering if the head was ever re-torqued after the valve job done when I first got it back in 2010.

Good luck.

J.

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I finally got back to the Packard yesterday after other things getting in the way. As it turns out, that may have been what was needed to allow postings like Howard's above as well as Tim, 55packardguy and others. The first thing I noticed was that the accelerator linkage that crosses over the top of the engine was no longer perpendicular to the engine as it now crossed the engine at an angle. I went and got the one that was originally on the car and "borrowed" the one from the '51 Patrician for comparison. The one from the Patrician was different from the other two and perhaps the 9 bearing Senior Body cars have their own - though similar - parts. The original one from my 200 D has the arm further from the firewall than the one I borrowed from the Patrician as well as the one from the parts car. When I re-installed the original, the cross over linkage was once again perpendicular to the engine. Earlier, I had checked on the throttle shaft and it was trying to bind a bit. I straightened that up and put everything back together and crossed my fingers.

The result was SUCCESS ! ! ! This does look to be a very critical piece of work - surprisingly so. I say that as there was no indication from the linkage at all when disconnected from the carb that there was ANY binding at all. Plus, the amount of change is very, very small. However, I can see no other reason for the results. So, not only is that linkage critical from the Ultramatic's point of view, it is at least as critical from the carb as well.

Thank you Howard, Tim, 55packardguy, Jish 'n Jim, Packard Illiterati, Owen and everyone else that helped on this. Sometimes, it's the little things that slow us up.

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If there is something that will keep you absorbed more than restoring an old Packard, it's restoring an old house! Mine's only 105 years old.

Short answer: Yes!

I live in the inner N/NE area of Portland close to Emanuel Hospital.

I'll be happy to share what little I know.

Jim