I had a stuck shifter issue recently on my 1940 and had to manually move the shifter forks to realign them. It's actually quite easy to do but it's a frustrating thing when it happens when you're trying to get out of an intersection with a line of cars behind you.

One related question - what kind of oil do you put in that little slot? 30W?

Amazing! You are incredibly organized! You're "17 footer" is approaching 16' or maybe even 15'!

As we approach year end and my 1940 Packard looks to the comfort of a warm garage instead of the nasty cold rain and potential snow of the Northeast in the weeks ahead, I look back at another year of great fun with the hobby and the people that make all this so enjoyable! A great part of this is the wonderful community of enthusiasts, experts and just terrific individuals who help one another to keep these incredible vehicles on the road year after year! Just this past year, I've had advice on how to to deal with a stuck accelerator/throttle linkage, replacing a chipped flywheel and chipped starter gear as well as overheating rear brakes.

A big thanks to Big Kev for making this forum possible and to all of you who have helped me. Let's keep this wonderful community going or, rather, rolling! I'm also thrilled to be part of Flackmaster's effort supporting Kevin's project and I will be upping my contribution.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and best wishes to all for the New Year!


George

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Count me in for $100.

George

I also had the same issue with my 1940 160 Convertible Sedan. Problem was solved by installing new springs in the front.

The reference to the $1.15 minimum wage in the previous post reminded me of this story which I believe had been posted here a number of years ago but is still worth a laugh:

The Ohio Department of Labor claimed a small town Packard mechanic was not paying proper wages to his help and sent an agent out to investigate him.

Agent: "I need a list of your employees and how much you pay them."

Shop owner: "Well, there's my trainee who's been with me for 3 years. I pay him $200 a week plus free room and board."

"Then there's the mentally challenged worker. He works about 18 hours every day and does about 90% of all the work around here. He makes about $10 per week, pays his own room and board, and I buy him a bottle of bourbon every Saturday night so he can cope with life. He also sleeps with my wife occasionally."

Agent: "That's the guy I want to talk to... the mentally challenged one."

Shop owner: "That would be me."

Good point. Thanks.

Thanks to everyone for your input. I'll continue to diagnose further.

One additional point - I've confirmed that the parking brakes are not dragging so that is not the issue.

I'm not sure if I have an issue or not so I'm hoping that more experienced minds can advise - The rear wheel hubcaps on my 1940 Packard are always hot to the touch after a drive. I've checked the temperature and have seen around 115 degrees which is much hotter than the front hubcaps which are just warm. What is the guidance on the brake temperatures transmitted to wheels and hubcaps and is it normal for the rear wheels to be hotter? Presumably they are carrying more load but the weight shifts forward when braking. Thoughts?