Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

The battery on my 39 120 was way on its way to dying, so I drove the car to pick up a new one at Batteries Plus yesterday. (good price by the way - $80 for a Group 2 battery) On the way over there, as a test I turned on the headlights while driving about 35 mph and the gauge registered just below neutral. The generator has been recently tested at the rebuild shop and it is capable of turning out about 8 volts.

On the way back to the house with the new battery installed, I tried the lights again with the same results. My local old car guru told me that the old 1/2" fan belt was much too narrow and was riding in the bottom of the both the water pump and harmonic balancer pulleys, so the generator wasn't being turned at the proper speed.

So I stopped by NAPA and bought a 19/32" wide belt that fits nicely in the grooves. However, it is a toothed belt, and is thicker than the old one. The bad part is now I can't get the belt on as it won't fit underneath the vibration damper, as there isn't enough clearance between it and the front frame. I suspect that the front rubber motor mount has done the usual collapsing, which narrowed up the gap. It looks like if I could raise the motor slightly I could get the fan belt installed ok.

Question is - how to I raise the motor? I guessing that 2 short pieces of two by fours and two jacks might work, but has anyone else had this issue? The only other way I see is to remove the hood and hook up the hoist, but I'm trying to avoid that technique.

Thanks

Not sure what 39 has but If the motor mounts are similar to the two piece rubber sandwiched in the center under the water pump as was used thru 50 then that sagging is common and frequently a problem in accessing one of the water pump bolts. Many have had to resort to a piece of lumber positioned as close to front of oil pan the crossmember will allow and then using a floor jack to lift slightly. Alternately you can use a block of wood on either side to catch the ledge were pan bolts and then a two x four under both of those and the jack in center.

One thing to check before that procedure is make sure there are no outrigger or stabilizer brackets on either side of the block bolted to crossmemeber. Many 356 engines use the stabilizers but not sure how many others might have. Those brackets need to be loosened so the engine can lift the small amount without straining the rubber on those pieces.

I must say I'm often amazed at how many folks have the incorrect width belt and suffer thru overheating or discharging batteries as a result! Pardon for overstating the obvious but the belt must ride on the flanges and never touch the bottom of the pulley.

If it's a case of the belt almost squeezing past onto the damper, I've had luck lubricating a section of the belt with dish detergent (don't use oil or any mineral grease) and then tapping it thru the gap onto the damper with a piece of broom stick handle or equivalent. Done it this way with 356 engines a few times with success. Clean the detergent when finished.

Well, with a lot of help from the guys at NAPA, I found the correct fan belt for a 39 eight, and I suspect the six as well. It is a 22485, and is 19/32" wide, and 49-1/8" long. It is a toothed belt. The belt that was on the car was just over 1/4" wide. I was able to get it under the harmonic balancer by putting a piece of wood on a hydraulic bottle jack and positioning it on the driver side of the oil pan/block, and lifting the side of the engine up about 1/2 to 1". No damage to the edge of the pan, and the fan belt went in easily.

I'll post this on the Parts X-Ref as well.

Wow, I'd think a 3/8" belt where you should have had a 19/32" would have led to all sorts of overheating and discharged battery problems - glad you got it sorted out.

Maybe these charts from Dayco will help others facing this situation; though the catalog numbers aren't current a good counter man should be able to cross-reference to modern equivalents. The chart takes a little interpreting, they're not the best at distinguishing different engines, etc.; interesting that they got some of engines as V8s!

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And I'm anxious to see some of the 43-45 models they have belts listed for.

One another note I saw the listing for different V8 fan belts with and without AC. Parts list shows two belts also. Wonder what the difference in belt construction might be since the same vibration damper pulley, generator pulley and fan pulley is used for both. 6 vs 4 blade fan but with using the same pulleys wouldn't think the extra load would be enough to require a different belt.

Anyone recall the number of cars Packard assembled between 1943 and 1945? I've seen the number somewhere and kind of recall it was 30 or 40, I'd assume all for government use or the military.

O_D, Surprised to hear Packard made (assembled) automobiles during the war. Were they made from parts stock? Seems this would be the only source. Have you captured any number identification data on these cars? Most interesting.

(o{}o)

I remember a photo showing a vast warehouse with many new cars of all makes lined up. I think it might have been one of the WWII homefront photo compilations done during or maybe after the war by Life Magazine. There were at least two rows of Packards of various models. Don't recall any mention of years or any being newly made so assumed it was all 41-42 models stockpiled and issued as needed.

No, I have no data on them and have pretty assumed they were war casualties or scrapped at war's end. Yes, they must have been assembled from what was available, I'd guess they were all Clipper-style. I've read at least two references to them (perhaps the same source, repeated?), I'll see if I can remember where I read that.