Packard Forum Index » General

Hello Everyone,
I work for a private collector who has now taken interest in Packards.
Our first arival is a 1937 V12 2/4 , awesome car. I love it !

I have joined in hopes of having some bugs worked out , and to share what I have too.
Already solved some wiring problems,and some brake lock up issues due to linkage adjustments between the vacuum booster and brake pedal links.

It purrs like a kitten , starts and runs ok except for after say 5 or 6 miles it feels like it stumbles and has issues with enough power on hills. I replaced the inline fuel filter , cleaned out the fuel bowl at the pump, etc. , It has always been run and used pretty regularly before we got it.
It also has an electric fuel pump added in.

Because it shows up after a bit of driving , I am thinking Coils ? or some ignition part heating up and degrading ?? It starts and runs so smooth I was opting out initial timing , but that is my next step..
Carburator ?? I even pulled the fuel cap and ran it in case it was vapor locked...just trying some common things till I learn my way around it.
Have a basic owners/service manual so far.
Great site here , belong to several other forums associated with different vintage bikes and cars.

Thanks

First, check that you have a vented gas cap. This is most easily tested by: when you start to stumble, park the car and keep it running, then walk to the fuel door and loosen the cap; if you hear a "thwunk" and the problem cures itself, now you know.

Second guess is coil. Is it leaking? Of course it could be bad even if not. Others here recommend the "flame thrower" coil as a replacement, if necessary.

I'd check the gas cap as mentioned above and look for any possible air leaks anywhere in the fuel system between the pump(s) and the tank. Anything that can add excess heat to the fuel system, including auxiliary pumps and filters placed too close to a heat source, can cause issues that often show up after a few miles of driving, especially in warmer weather. Filters on the suction side of the fuel system are notorious for causing problems, especially in warm weather. Any missing heat shields and insulation related to the fuel system can cause issues. It's very common to have fuel delivery issues in warmer weather when using the gasoline sold today. The best choice is aviation fuel, if available, and second choice would be ethanol-free gasoline. "Tier One" gasoline may give better overall results than discount fuels. Operating at higher elevations in warm weather can aggravate problems with vapor lock or fuel percolation.

I have a '37 120 convertible for 2 or 4 which I very much enjoy ....and I'd love to add a V-12 in the same body style.

Sound like good old Vapor Lock to me. Run it without the Air Silencer and c what happens. These big black cans help bring on VL.

Thank you both for the quick replies.
I did check the cap , thinking "vapor lock" , heard no thump when pulled ,
and even ran it a bit with it off.
pulling all the plugs at the moment , located the timing marks on the damper ,
so just going to check that also.
It does have the two coils and 2 contact breakers , one advances , one doesn't if I am understanding
it right.
Thanks for the fuel suggestion , and will check the lines also.
We do have access to aviation fuel,and it has non ethenol 91 in it at the moment , lucky to
have it here locally.

If your thinking coils.

Get 2 6 volt ones and just set them in there.

Repros are out there.. also.

Just to say that after installing a freshly rebuilt carburetor, the car ran fine at idle, and would run fine on the flat. As soon as we put the pedal down a bit to go uphill, it sputtered out. So we went on a fuel line and electrical Easter Egg hunt, since it could NOT be the carb, just rebuilt by one of the foremost rebuilders. But guess what, everyone makes a mistake now and then. We spent days chasing this down (The Duchess Project in and around Post #75 to relive the pain trying to solve this. Unfortunately the videos were deleted.) The solution was simple. The floats were incorrectly set as determined by the rebuilder after returning it for warranty work. We decided to send the carb back after we replaced the rebuilt carb with an old beat up carb that had never been rebuilt and the car ran just fine.

I've had a few problems over the years with new or rebuilt parts that didn't function correctly. I've had a number of problems with parts that I "knew were OK", but somehow were not.
On the other hand, I've solved a few problems that stumped people who made a living working on cars.

Thanks everyone !
Well , I had pulled all the plugs and it looked like it was running a bit lean.
Dug out an old school timing light that I could run off a 12v Battery, and checked the timing.
Established It was advancing ok on increased rpm , but the initial timing was set 8* retarded from where it
should of been at idle , adjusted that and took her out for a few runs , big improvement !
When revving it up before the timing just barely advanced to where it should of been at idle.
Still seems a bit lean , so going to give that some tweaks 2mrw.
The manual came in yesterday so that was a big help in wrapping my head around the distributor and such.
Now for some night time reading on fuel and carburator.

Great site , spending time sifting thru posts , such a valuable resource.

Late timing would allow the plugs to run hotter than normal, which might give them the appearance of plugs that had run lean.
Normally, over-advanced timing will lead to pinging under load, but late timing can lead to higher combustion chamber temperatures, and overheated exhaust valves and spark plug tips can cause pre-ignition pinging under load. Late timing can also cause carbon deposits to become very hot and cause pre-ignition.