Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

And what special tools are needed?

Duane stripped mine and painted it; now I am waiting impatiently for its return to action.

It was taken apart and new bushings installed, now the rest of the work seems to be in the process of being ignored.....

How long should a careful reassembly take?

If you are familiar with the workings of a distributor, about 20 minutes should be needed.

Pat - I disassembled the distributor of my 55 Clipper for cleaning, painting, and new points and condenser. It did not need re-bushing, but everything else was taken apart. Like O_D says, 20 minutes - if you are familiar with the job. I made a mistake when re-assembling mine, or later when I attached a tachometer lead to the distributor. I cracked the insulator where the coil lead is attached. It gave me all kinds of problems. Just be careful when you put it together.

(o{}o)

No special tools needed, just a proper size screwdriver and small ignition wrench.

Some lubrication is needed: Apply a small amount of Lubriplate grease on the cam for the points rubbing block; a small amount of oil under the felt will be needed (I also wet the felt with some oil then put it back on the shaft); and squirt some oil in the oiling tube once the distributor is back in the engine. Whatever oil you use in your engine will work just fine.

Hope this helps.

Thanks much.

This is rapidly turning into a major irritation..... Friendly vague promises and no specifics.

He seems to have an issue installing the shaft in the bushings..... "They aren't tapered"?

Any secrets there?

The new bushings may need to be reamed to size. Any good mechanic should know this. If not, pick up your parts and run away, don't walk.

(o{}o)

I'll agree with others that indicate 20 minutes. BUT THAT ASSUMES PARTS THAT FIT!!!!!!!!
U have already indicated various fit problems with bushings. Many general service mechanics do not have reamer sets nor wven an adjustable reamer.
Bottom line:
Parts that.require HAND FITTING THEN THE JOB BECOMES A TIME AND MATERIAL operation. Which could extendnd into several hours dependingon how much hand hewing is reqired.

Pat,

Not trying to be a wise ass, why don't you just send it to Jason at AER? He is fairly close to you or check with Ross.

Well, for one thing, Jason never responded to the two emails I sent him. I asked in another post if he was still in business since his web page did not work when I tried it.

For some silly reason I went elsewhere.

Probably my third choice would have been even more amazing.....

Does actually completing a job cause some kind of psychological trauma I am not otherwise aware of?

I don't quite understand why you didn't phone Jason at AER, I did give you the phone number. Based on my experience he responds very quickly to phone calls.

Putting a distributor back together is exceedingly simple assuming it hasn't been mongrelized.

You gave me the number well after this fiasco/experience started, when I was committed to option 2.

I'm not much of a phone person because I tend to work at night, often too late for calls (at least to anyone I know).

I am reminded that many people that are older place greater reliance on the phone than I do. Email makes much more sense because it doesn't rudely interrupt one.....and frankly it cuts the blather....

P.S.
I'm now promised installation tomorrow evening--no later. Fingers crossed!