That is awesome! I love everything about that. So glad you can share that with him!

I've had the best luck on my thermostat housing using the following procedure:

1. Cork gasket (either get from one of the vendors or cut your own, cork gasket material is available at most autoparts stores by the roll).
2. Attach gasket to thermostat housing using a thin coat of permatex no. 2/indian head shellac/RTV - your choice, I prefer the indian head shellace.
3. Put a thin layer of grease on the gasket on the side the faces the head - this allows you to remove and re-install without having to replace the gasket every time. I use the same procedure on my oil pan, and I've had that off a few times with no damage to the gasket.

Good luck!

Don, I used a NAPA 6203-FFA on my center steering link bearing. The post where I describe the work is linked here:

https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=16514&post_id=176163#forumpost176163

+1 for GL-1 mineral oil. It made both transmission and steering gear feel much better.

Looks like you got a good amount of gunk out. My car also runs just under 180 most of the time, so I think you’re in good shape!

As far as the shifting goes, I’ve found if I’m in 3rd gear by the time I’m going 20, I can just leave it there until I have to come to a dead stop. I generally don’t even downshift to second, just come to a stop then put it in first when it’s time to take off. I’ve found if I’m rolling 5 mph or faster, I just leave it in 3rd and ease into the throttle! I do downshift to second if I’m slowing down on a downhill, and don’t want to ride the brakes too much. I also drained the transmission and refilled with GL-1 mineral oil (I got mine from Napa) and that made a huge difference in how my transmission shifted, and sounded.

My 120 has a similar operating cycle. They do tend to run warm at idle, especially if you've been driving for a while. When you had your water pump off, did you also inspect the water distribution tube>

Looking great though! I hope the evaporust helps you out - it did wonders for my block.

I cruised for 60 miles this weekend, speeds between idling at lights and 60 mph, no issues, car never got above 180 - 185F, and it was 85F out.

I've had my water pump on and off several times, and yes, all four bolts are the same length.

I've been running a gano filter for a few years now, and it works great. Highly recommend.

For continued cleaning, you might consider running evaporust in lieu of coolant for a few months. It will dissolve any other iron oxide you have in. Change it out once it's black.

If you don't want to run anti-freeze, one option is to mix in cutting oil. In my experience, I lose less than half a gallon when checking my gano filter, and often you can re-use drained coolant, if you drain it into a clean container.

Glad to hear it, and that all makes sense! I do think a leak down tester would tell you a lot more than a compression test, and it’s super easy with the front clip off. YouTube is your friend on how to conduct. When I did it on mine, I took all the plugs out, took the flywheel cover off, and incremented the engine over by carefully using a pry bar on the ring gear - a few teeth one way or the other makes a huge difference sometimes.