Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Good day all. I just bought a new to me 1953 26th Series Clipper with the 288. I will post in the registry when I get the photos out of my phone. I am working towards the first start. Car is equipped with the correct Delco distributor that is installed with the vacuum advance module with the hard vacuum line pointed forward, which looks correct from photos I have seen. Someone had messed with the spark plug wires and although the firing order is correct, it appears the wires are off by one position. Could someone indicate the factory location for the Number 1 Spark Plug Wire on the distributor cap? I want it to be correct and also be able to tune on the fly using the octane selector plate factory feature. Thanks!

It should be right around the 7:00 position but you can still use the octane adjust scale with the distributor gear a tooth or so off as it sounds like yours might be. The only difficulty might be if the vacuum advance canister winds up in a position where the tubing becomes too tight to allow any adjusting.

What you would need do is put the octane scale in the middle and lock the flange down. Then re-time the engine by loosening the bolt or screw right under the body which holds the distributor base tightly to the flange. By rotating the distributor body to the appropriate spot to readjust the timing and then tightening it down again a new normal is set. Once the body is re-timed and locked to the flange the bolts holding the flange to the block can be loosened and octane scale used for any fine tuning.

Here are a couple of illustrations showing the factory set position. The 53 wiring diagram is a birds eye view of the distributor and while the other illustration is from an earlier year and maybe uses a different dist number, the position shown is still appropriate for 53.

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The actual physical position is proper only if the oil pump which drives it has never been removed or, if it has, that it was put back in properly.

Thank you for your kind and informed replies. As I suspected, the plug wires were all off by one position. Moving them all one spot got me in range for timing without moving the distributor body out of the standard position in order to get the timing in range. I do not know the pedigree of the car or its previous owners. It appears that someone took good very good care of the car and at some point, did not continue. The car then was allowed to weather and deteriorate significantly. It's been a long time since it has run. The motor was painted sky blue but hard to tell if it has been apart. Pretty sure the oil pump gear is in the right place. Everything I see looks right but needs careful attention to ensure no damage is done on the first start. Compression is good, no stuck valves and there is 20psi of oil pressure on my test gage just cranking on the starter. I took out the distributor for cleaning and points and will replace the wobbly breaker plate and failed vacuum advance. Distributor bushings are in good shape with no apparent wear! Thanks again for the help and I will post the results when I pop it off for the first time.

There is really not a right or wrong position for the oil pump gear but having it in the factory specified position makes this sort of thing a little more consistent! In the fifty-five years that I've owned and worked on Packards I never knew there was such a position until relatively recently as I never had such a wealth of information of the Internet or sites like this to rely on.

Update: Completed Distributor cleaning and refurbishment including a new Vacuum Capsule and a Breaker Plate plus the usual Points, Condenser, Rotor and Cap, then put the plug wires in the position recommended by the kind folks here. One tap of the key and she fired and ran smooth for the first time in many years. I had soaked the cylinders with oil so initially lots of smoke but the exhaust cleaned up in a couple of minutes. Even cold, light taps of the throttle produce a quick rev. There's no bogging. Oil pressure at idle is at 29 PSI using a test gage tapped in to the sender port. I didn't run it long because the water pump bearings started to make more noise then they should. I don't want the housing or shaft to get damaged from failed bearings. I guess it didn't like being woken from the long sleep. I will change it out with a rebuild. Looks like Max Merritt has the best price. Again, thanks to the contributors here. There's lots of great information on this site and I appreciate the personal responses as well!

Congratulations!