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I need help! does anyone sell all the components necessary for doing a valve job on my 327? I know Kanter sells some of the parts but i was hoping to find a complete kit the overhaul? also are there any special tools I will need. any help is appreciated.

If Kanter doesn't have a complete kit, then probably no one does.

Two places that did have a decent assortment of parts is Terrill Machine in DeLeon, TX and Egge Machine. Egge has a website you might be able to navigate but I believe Terrill is still the old fashioned way. They usually have an ad in Hemmings with a listing of parts, prices and contact info.

I'd guess they don't sell "kits" because you never know what you'll need, other than a valve-grind gasket set, until you diassenble and assess the condition. You may or may not need valves, or springs, or guides, or lifters, or keepers, etc. Maybe even seat inserts (a machine shop job). But I believe that any and all required parts are available. If you need to change the guides, it can be a challenging task with the block in the car. The job can be done with the manifolds on the engine, though it makes it easier if they are removed. Access other than from above is via the right front inner fender. Don't forget to plug the oil return holes in the valve chambers or more surely than not one or more of the valve keepers will fall thru into the oil pan. No matter which vendor you buy valves from (unless they're OEM), they'll almost certainly be made by Egge.

If you're not familiar with valve work on this type of engine, I'd suggest you read up thoroughly on the subject before getting started, there are often many decisions to be made along the way and experience is the best teacher to making these decisions. Send me a PM with your email if you'd like a copy of a little primer on valve work that I had published recently. It's not a step-by-step, just some commentary on things to consider.

The tools you'll need depend on how much of the valve train requires service. At the least you'll need a torque wrench (for retorquing the head), a valve spring compressor, and valve-grinding compound and one of the many types of tools to lap the valve and seat. Better would be to have the valves (assuming enough metal margin is left) resurfaced by a machine shop, and borrow a power seat refacer (if the guides are not excessively worn). If you need to change the guides, you'll need a drift to pound them down and a chisel to break them off unless you first remove the cam and lifters. It may also make sense at the same time to take a look at the timing chain/sprockets.

Unless you are an experienced mechanic it is best to take the car to an auto machine shop or mechanic with the required valve grinding tools.

The work can be done with the engine in the car.

Traditionally, piston rings are replaced at the same time. This is know as a "ring and valve job".

It is possible the valves are just stuck. This is common on Packard engines that have sat unused for years. The solution is to take off the head, and free up the valves. The valves and seats may be in perfect shape. In this case no machine shop work is necessary.

Rusty, I'd disagree with you to this extent - if the owner has good mechanical skills, is thoughtful, studious, patient, and is willing to study up on the job and even watch a skilled mechanic do a valve job, I think that he should be able to do a credible job on his own, assuming that the guides are good and that power seat refacing isn't needed. I've done more valve jobs on L-8 Packards than I'd care to count and very often the owner, after watching and participating, could probably do a basic one on his own. After all, this is, when doing it right, how we increase our skill set.

In their day, the first valve job ("carbon a valve job") on a flathead engine of almost any type was about 25-40,000 miles; it was often the second valve job that included doing rings.

Owen I think we are in agreement here.

If no valves are burnt or warped and all the valve guides are tight and the rings are good then it is not too hard to fix the car at home. Flathead Packard valves do have a tendency to stick if the car is out of commission for several years. In a sense sticky valves are a good sign as it means the valve guides must be good. If they were worn and loose the valves wouldn't stick.

In this case all that is necessary is to free up the valves and clean off any sludge or rust and lap in the valves with fine compound.

On the other hand, we are talking about a 50 year old car. If the problem is a worn engine then it will be necessary to reface the valve seats, grind the valves true, and knurl or replace valve guides and possibly replace valves and springs.

This is beyond the scope of the home mechanic simply because it requires thousands of dollars worth of specialized tools. I am perfectly capable of doing this work myself but I always take it to an auto machine shop simply because they can do it better and faster than I can. They have the right tools.

From the tone of the original question I get the impression the questioner is not an experienced mechanic. Further he does not give enough information to tell what level of repair his car needs.

If I had the engine in front of me I could take the head off and tell straight away what it needs.Until then the question of whether he can to the job at home or needs more extensive tools is up in the air.

What I was trying to do was inform the questioner of what his options are, and help him determine if he can do the job at home or not.

If he comes back with the head off I'm sure we can help him figure it out.

I had removed the head and have 3 stuck valves, I soaked everything in Marvel oil and placed the head back on 3 months ago. I just assumed a valve job was in order, is there a trick to freeing the stuck valve without damaging it?

It's all according.

To do a real nice job, take all the valves out, clean them, check for wear, then lap them in with fine compound and reassemble. If none of them are burnt or badly worn. And if the valve stem is not too wobbly in the guide.

While you are at it check the cylinders for wear. If there is little or no ridge at the top of the cylinders, and all cylinders have a smooth mirror polish chances are the rings are fine.

.010 thou taper in the cylinders indicates bad wear. Scratches indicate broken rings. Pistons that look chewed, or have a hole in the middle, are bad too.

On the other hand if the valves are not badly rusted or gummed up there is a simpler way. Spray some oil around the valve stem. Make sure the cam is in the "valve closed" position. Give the valve a light tap with a small ball peen hammer right in the middle. Do not tap on the edge and you will not bend the valve.

The valve spring should pull the valve closed with a snap.

Turn the engine over a few times and if the valves are opening and closing normally, put the head back on and you are done.

By the way this all assumes that when the engine was running it had good oil pressure, there were no bangs raps or knocks, and it did not burn more than 1 quart of oil per 500 miles.

If it had no oil pressure, no power, there was a cloud of blue smoke out the back every place you went, and the engine sounded like a washing machine full of tin cans then all bets are off.

Thanks for the advice all, I appreciate it! Rusty, the last time the engine ran was in 1959 when the car was put away in a garage, since that was 7 years before my birth I can't attest to how she ran but with only 34K on the clock I am hoping it is still in decent shape.

ok egge dose not make their own valves! i deal with their supplier ! however that supplier has an agreement that they sell those valves only to kanter,packard industries, and egge. not sure if terrall uses them or not. all these suppliers do have all the parts required to put together a "kit" for your car.

as for the machine work. unless the shop still has very old equipment, they will be using a modern "serdi" type machine like our shop dose to do seat work. which will require the engine to be out of the car and the block completely striped.