Packard Forum Index » Project Blogs

disclaimer: the following project will undoubtably contain nonconventioal methods and improvisation until proper procedures are further required. postings may and will contain sometimes questionable language, alcohol, dog hair, cigarettes, wasted time and money, bad grammar and spelling, and objects that may self destruct. some descriptions of parts may be simply known as "the thing, a doo-dad, little guy, or i dunno what the hell it is but it's dead jim." be aware that ideas come as they are worked trough. some areas of the body may be chopped,sectioned, frenched, fabricated by hand, removed all-together, or just tacked in til further notice. the budget for this build is however much i can spend before the mrs. yells at me, then wait 1(one) week and do it again. please feel free to list advice- whether i follow it or not it will be appreciated. if you have a weak stomach seeing the desicration of history- please step away now. let's do this thing....


10/01/2009:
i've had my packard 200 deluxe, known as willard, for about two weeks now. he needs a lot of wok including new floors and interior, a fuel cell, complete braking system, and a bunch of stuff i don't know about yet. i do know that it runs as i've been down that road...and couldn't stop at the end due to the lack of a master cylinder and brake lines. at the moment the gas tank is a 32oz glass mason jar stapped to the inside, passenger fender (pic1). i've removed the hood alltogether for easier access to the engine bay. under eric's suggestion i decide to remove the water pump to clean the distribution tube. first the old thermostat housing 'cuz its a tetnis shot waiting to happen(pic2). note the two handmade gaskets some jackass wedged in there. i didn't want to pay $50+ for a new one so i found a similar replacemeent at autozone for about $10. its from a late sixties dodge truck and fits a modern thermostat which i glued in there. i then primed it with 1000 degree engine primer. color is rustoleum 248956 chrysler red (pic 3). odd coincidence. next i drained the engine and radiator- through the hoses because the drainplug is fubar'd in the radiator(pic4). i then pulled the radiator to find nice leafy suprise(pic5). while i'm here might as well remove the top apron for cleaning and easier mounting of the future external transmission cooler(pic6). and finally the water pump itself(pic7).

Attach file:

---

  (115.46 KB)


  (105.43 KB)


  (111.97 KB)


  (120.27 KB)


  (129.51 KB)


  (124.69 KB)


  (127.03 KB)

Lookin' good Mike! Also looks like a lot of grease scraping is in order on that engine. You gonna paint the grille or have it re-chromed?

Mike,

You are a brave man!
It appears that 'Willard' has definitely been having an "a-packard-olyptic' experience facing his personal 'end of times.' But you, our Packard Project loving friend, have begun his resurrection.

So, scrape that thing-a-jig by the what-sa-ma-call-it and see it you can piece Willard back to Road-Warrior status.

DanL

PS - I enjoy your blog and attitude. Good Luck!

Oh, BTW,
Thanks for the pictures.
{Otherwise, we wouldn't believe it.}
Don't get lost in some of those dark places between corroded parts.
DanL

responses first:

eric- i gave it a good once over with my handy dandy scraper, but i'm eventually gonna pull the whole thing for paint. as for the grill i'm not sure yet.

danL- thankyou for posting your positive input {otherwise i wouldn't believe it}. and sorry about the dark areas as i have him in backwards and out from under my shop lights. that and like eric i seem to do most of my work between 11pm and 3am.



10/04/2009

it seems whenever i want to do something a ton of other shit pops up. i pressure wash garbage tucks early sunday morings to score a few extra bucks so i can't spend a lot of time out here tonight. also, i'm makin our lunch for tomorrow. we, my uncle and i, usually bbq when we finish and tend to alternate on who brings what. tomorrow is me i'm bringing meatloaf and smashed taters. yum!
2 lbs ground sirloin
1 cup catsup
1 cup italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tblsp brown sugar
2 tblsp minced garlic
2 eggs beaten
salt and pepper to taste
preheat oven to 350 degrees
mix all ingredients
mush half into a baking pan thing and sprinkle mozzerella all over
use other half of meat concoction to cover all the cheese and fill the pan
place in oven and run to the garage.
i got to eyeballin this tube deal. i used some needle nose pliers to bend the tabs on the right side straight out and gave her a little tug. nada, instead my arm slips and i find a new opponent. the cross brace thats welded diagonally across the area ahead of where the radiator sits (pic1). the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expeting different results each time. so yeah, i found out how sharp that damn brace really is. after smoking a cigarette i decided to try a set of linemans pliers instead. totally paid off as the tube slipped out nicely on the first tug. but seeing that he tube is almost as long as my pecker, i almost immediately run into the cross member (pic2). some thinking and i used one hand to twist the brace and the other to slide the tub. but now the grill, which i didn't remove. beause i have a deluxe the grill has a center piece. so i put a little pressure on it with my foot while twisting and sliding above. packard twister anyone? the tube easily slid out and immediatly barfed a rust snowcone on the ground. it was indeed clogged, but only by 1/4 inch on the very back end(pic3). i would stay and clear itout but it's been about an hour and my meatloaf needs attention.
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tblsp brown sugar
mix together and coat top of loaf
place back in oven for additional 10-15 mins.
while i have a few more minutes i decide to clean my nuts. they are quite rusty an dirty(pic4). whilst cruising the isles of a local autoparts store i found a "new to me" product. rust evaporator sounds quite interesting. i usually use CLR but this is worth a shot(pic5). more on this later as my meatloaf is ready(pic6).

Attach file:

---

  (120.21 KB)


  (107.92 KB)


  (96.43 KB)


  (113.98 KB)


  (123.77 KB)


  (143.51 KB)

The meatloaf sounds and looks much better than the rust and remover. Hope it tastes as good as it looks.

I second the meatloaf, Mike.
Definitely better looking than all the other nasty stuff.

Congrats on the distribution tube removal. Line pliers (or needle nose, or something) is needed to ease it loose. (I think I actually used a wire with a little hook to catch on of the holes in the tube to assist sliding it out.

Be careful as you have the tube out. It bends easily (brass?). Also ease it back in, gingerly.

One more tip from an un-named-Packard-geek. "Make sure the distribution tube is not still on your workbench when you replace the water pump." I hear it takes longer that way.

Good Luck.

DanL

Now you need to change the name of the thread from "The A'Packard'lypse" to "The Meatloaf Packard".

well the meatloaf was delicious however the broken water pump bolt ain't. even more was the screw extractor i broke off in it. still solving this one and trying to not have to helicoil it if i have any option. i'd bet a dollar to a donut this pump has been off in the last 50 years because this bolt looks to be cross threaded. will post pics, final solution and reassembly as soon as i can.

i will be following along with you as i am a new packard owner too. i started a blog also. i was going to title my blog "fudge packard" but decided against it since i didn't want to offend anyone that i need to get advice from.
i have one complaint tho' you did not shape your meatloaf into the shape of a loaf! thats weird.