My parents live in Broad Channel, one of the costal communities of NYC. Thank God my parents evacuated and went to stay with freinds in another neighborhood. They had about 4 feet of salt water in the first floor of their home, and the extent of the damage is not known at this point. Hopefully the structure of the house is intact, and only the first floor will have to be completely gutted and rebuilt. Talking to family there really hits home, and I wish all effected the strength to hang in there, get over the shock of loosing most or all of their homes, and the power to rebuild. I also hope insurance and federal aid will help to get the town settled again. I know it will be needed.
Take care everybody. -Mike

The last 2 sundays I got a few hours in the shop...Headliner removed, dash and wiring harness out and wires marked, windshield and rear window out (Man, did I breath a sigh of relief after the windshiled came out and we didn't brake anything!!) The old rubber sure does get hard after 60 years. Shop is also all cleaned up and organized. We already had our first snow of the season yesterday here in Munich! I couldn't believe it. Glad all my vehicles are indoors.
Floor pans also had some rust from the inside, so we will see if they also need metal work... Would be cool to be done for the Euro packard meet in Belguim in June, but I think that is optimistic...

From the jalopy Journal aka HAMB

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=17349

Gusha lebst du noch?

Got a few hours in on the packard today, pulled the rest of the tid bits off the firewall, and got most of the interior out of the car...Carb is also mounted on the engine, and engine and trans are tucked away in a quiet corner. Slowly and steady...Gregor my 'garage mate' took apart his 54 chevy pickup. I think we are from two different schools, He got the whole thing taken apart, but it looks like the vehicle exploded in his half of the garage, parts strewn everywhere! I am more the "take part off the car and put it in closet with attached screw" kind of guy...

When he sends out his cab and parts to get sandblasted, I may also send out the parts that I have off the car(fenders etc) Hope we don't uncover too many surprises :-/

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Oh man! That makes me feel sick. There is no accounting for taste.

True! I am still amazed at how big the fenders seem when off the car! I Remember replacing a fender on a 1993 mazda 323 a few years ago, and my replacement Part came in the post. Can't do that w Clipper parts.

Today was a holiday here in Germany, so a good packard day. Had a friend helping out, which makes things go a lot faster and easier with 2 people. Manifolds and vac lines installed, generator installed, and put the correct gasket between the water pump and block. I think the gasket I used the first time is used inside the pump...The gasket kits cover more than one model of 8 cly packard engine so there are more gaskets there than one will need for one engine.
Got the clutch and trans ready to go, now just waiting for my pilot bearing to get here, and can join them all together.

Also got the car located in my bay in the garage, and removed the front clip. Unfortunately three bolts broke when removing the passenger fender, so they will get drilled out soon. The drivers side I was more cautious and used oil, hammers and wirebrushes before applying torque. They came off without drama.

Undecided if I should bolt the carb on now, or leave it off untill the engine is in the car...The cardboard block off plate should keep anything from falling in the engine, but I guess the carb would be a little bit more secure against errant nuts or bolts....

No progress on the packard poetry...I'm away from tools and packards this weekend, perhaps I'l find some time for pen and paper

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Well, even if it was a pain, it's done! and I'm sure it looks good and works well, so congrats. Hope the next job is a little more enjoyable.

Is posting three times equivalent to writing in ALL CAPS?
Haha, I've also made such things. Good luck on The conversion.

Starting to look a little more complete, fuel pump cleaned and mounted, oil filter and lines also cleaned and mounted, fan and pully, trans painted engine color. Distributor installed and bracket for generator. Threads cleaned and thread sealer or loc-tite applied as needed....mating surfaces also cleaned up nice...
One thing crossed my mind when I found today this gasket in the set I got from Kanter.....When I installed the water pump a few days ago, I thought(remember thinking) wow the passage where the water goes through is just like a hole about 1/2 inch in diameter and not a channel like I remember....Is there a gasket included in the set that doesnt have the 'channel' in it, but only a hole? (perhaps for another year or inside the pump?) Did I install the wrong gasket? Should this one be between my block and water pump? grrr.

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