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Quick question- does anyone know if the manifold nuts on a 1931 Packard 840 are steel or brass- same question for washers. The ones I removed were steel.

Thanks

Find me an original and unmolested car and we'll both know the answer. I can say that 7th, 8th and 9th Series engines I've seen restored by the top-notch shops with the highest credentials seem to all have steel nuts and washers.

Ha Ha! For what it's worth, the manifold nut and washers ffrom Max Merritt for an 840 are brass- they list the same brass nut for 1930-36 Standard eight and 1930-39 Super eights according to their catalog

Stephen

I used brass on my '34 when I rebuilt it because I thought it "looked right". Don't recall what it had before that.

I am not a metallurgist, but I was told years ago that if you use steel, the manifold is apt to break before the nut strips, whereas, the softer brass would fail.

Good Evening all...When machines are this old, and have been repaired/rebuilt as many times as these have, it is almost more about what folks could get their hands on rather than what might have been original.

Repairs, in my humble opinion, for the first 25 or so years were just repairing 'Old Cars' that were just used for transportation.

As we take them apart now, we're seeing largely repair parts, and not original nuts and bolts, much of the time. Ernie in Arizona

Brass nuts don't rust on

NUT: 5/16-24 17/64 1/2
LK WASHER: 21/64 15/32 1/16
FLAT WASHER: 21/64 5/8 1/8

STEEL. Parts Book states "PLAIN" for Nut & Flat and "STD" for Lock.

If there is or was plating on them ive never seen it. PARTS BOOK does not spec plating or SPECIAL which would make u think it was plated. 12s were Nickel Plated along with the tip of the stud but have never seen any plating of the 8s. Would have made senses to use brass nuts, which i have seen on other marques, but have not seen on PACKARDs. Restoring i go for SS nuts and flat. Forget going with a SS lock - if there is a good SS lock out there i havent found one.

There is a good virgin 1200 a few miles away. Next time im out that way ill stop by and take a lookc. NEVER SAY NEVER

For what it's worth.... I just finished R&Ring the engine on a '39 Six that I believe to be the original block and it had brass nuts on the steel manifold studs.... For washers, I thought maybe brass 'shakeproof' or 'star' washers would serve better than conventional 'locks'.

Decided to go with Max Merritt's brass nut/washer set- Kanter also recommends brass, but they were out of stock- Cheers!

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