Hey guys! I am thinking about selling my 1955 Packard 400 below is the link to my thread. Everything I know about this car is in the thread along with all the pictures. I got a promotion at work shortly after picking her up and the time available to work on her is pretty slim. I haven't posted it to any sites like Craigslist or offer up, I wanted to give the guys who know these cars 1st crack. I will just hold onto her if I don't get enough interest I just hate staring at a project I can't get to. Make me a offer!
Mike: 619-922-0114

https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=25541

Thanks for the input guys, here is a list of seals I plan to get. Let me know if I am missing anything.

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Is there any way around this? I didn't see anything in the manual about touching the exhaust?


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I found all of the seals other than the o- rings for the band adjusters. Is there a part # for these?

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How long would you guess it would take a complete rookie to change the front seal?

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So I am gearing up to replace the FRONT SEAL and PUMP SHAFT SEAL. Please take a look at the attached pages. I have highlighted the seals I plan on purchasing to complete this. Please let me know if I am missing any..

How long would you guess it should take a complete transmission newb to complete this task in my drive way with car on stands? I hope im not getting in over my head on this one. Lol

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Guys I finally got her on the road for around a 6 mile ride, heres what I found with a couple questions....


Brakes:
The brakes worked good up until the end of the ride. By the time I got home the brake pedal was really hard to push, it felt like they do when then engine is off. All city driving allot of stops. Are there any tests to determine if I need to rebuild the booster? Any tips?


Acceleration:

When accelerating from a stop some times I accelerate no problem and other times there is a hesitation, I stalled a couple times. After I get going no problems. Could this be a failing fuel pump? Debri in fuel pump?



Torsion Level:

I noticed the torsion level goes in and out. Sometimes I can sit on the trunk to test the system and sometimes it comes on and others it doesn't.
When I got gas the rear end was
Low so I manualy lifted the rear end as high as I could and then pushed it back down and it just stayed there. After I got home it re leveled 5 mins after it was parked? What could cause this?


Thanks for the help guys!

I cut the muffler out and soaked the inside with muriatic acid.

Shook and rinsed inside until the majority of the rust was out.

Rinsed until clear water.

Air dried with hair dryer.

Bought and installed a couple e pipe sleeves and bolted everything back up. Now I have exhaust coming out of pipe!

A couple holes in muffler and on pipe,I will seal with JB weld extreme heat.

There was sooooo much rust in that muffler it was insane! I know this isnt a long term fix,definitly need new exhaust system. I just want to get her on the road for a bit so I can get a full list of what I need to do the next time I park her on jacks for awhile.


I still can't get any more than 15-16 vacuum when running the carb.

What should I check that may be the cause for not being able to get to 18-20? Idle is set to 450 or so.

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Thanks for the replys guys...

Even if I manually hold the valve open and have my wife rev engine there is still nearly no exhaust coming out.

While the car is idling the exhaust pipe isnt even really warm. I can wrap my hand around it all the way up to the heat riser/ manifold.

Guys today I ......

* Got a Innova timing/dwell/rpm gun.

*Got the timing perfect

*Adjusted rpm at idle to 450 or so using low speed adjusting screw. Do you adjust your rpm after warm or cold?

*Tried to tune carb idle to 18-20 vacuum but I couldn't get it any higher than 16. Super steady at 16 really no fluctuation. Is this something I should worry about? Why wouldn't it go higher? Did I miss a step?

*I noticed the exhaust never really comes out of the drivers side tail pipe. I will even manually open the heat riser and still not really feel anything.The pic of the exhaust shows a drip from the drivers side muffler. How long does it take for the heat riser to open? Is this normal?

Thanks for the help guys!

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Your never know, you can do multiple coats with the Bill Hirsh sealer. I did two coats and still have a good amount left over. I wonder if you could just keep recoating until you either use the whole can or feel confident the pin holes will stay sealed.

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Thanks Ross, I was thinking the Transmission was either pulled, rebuilt and painted or it was from another car that had that paint option. I didn't know that was a option for a 1955 Clipper Custom. I think they just swapped the transmission out and the not whole engine because I can still see old ivory paint on some of the engine pieces.