Packard Forum Index » Project Blogs

Mal,

The scupper vent I believe was a 1934 feature. I know that the 33 standard and super eight pretty much used the same generator as is shown in your photos, the 12 may have had a different generator. In the literature section on this site there are some old electrical data sheets which give the correct part numbers for the generator and associated regulator box on top. There were several different model numbers for both the generator and regulator.

Hope this helps

Hobbs

P.S. when is wade getting back on the fossil?

Thursday 16th August 2012

Started the day by going over with Wade to see JohnM and his '39 TJ Richards bodied 110 Sedan. Coming up for registration inspection soon, an annual check, and it'll pass easily. Will also be seeing John again on Sunday at the Eastern Creek Display Day where more than 1800 vehicles, not just Packards, will be in attendance. Earlier in the year when John had the paintwork repaired I drove the Packard to the repairers and back and the floppy interior rear view mirror was very distracting. Told John I'd give him a NOS period correct mirror, not Packard, to replace it. Finally remembered about the mirror today and brought that with me. However it turns out the mirror isn't floppy because the ball pivot isn't worn! It's floppy because the bolt that holds it to the centre windscreen dividing strip is loose, spins and can't be tightened. Will need to remove the centre strip cover and the windscreen garnish mould in order to have a better look at the problem and then fix it. That's a job for the future.

Back at the workshop, seeing fuel pumps are flavour of the month, Wade finally finished installing a new kit in The Fossils which had been gummed up from just sitting there! Hobbs, the answer to your question of "when is wade getting back on the fossil?" is - when he can. At the moment he's still waiting for Steve to finish the bonnet(hood) top panels. Then it's going to be like the thigh bone is connected the knee bone and the knee bone is connected to the leg bone, etc, etc. Once he has the bonnet, it will be installed then the process of aligning it, the body and the radiator shell will begin, once that is done then the front mudguards(fenders) will be installed and aligned. Also to come, which might be concurrent with the mudguards, are the running boards. Etc, etc, etc. So until the bonnet panels arrive the Fossil is fairly dormant. And thanks for the explanation about the generator on the '33, satisfies my curiosity. While Wade was pumping away, with one slight assist from yours truly to start some screws in a diaphragm cover while Wade held it under tension, I was cleaning parts from Big Red. Cleaned oil pump, oil pump regulator, valve springs, main bearing oil distribution tube, various fasteners, timing case cover and more. Reason being, so all is in readiness for when the engine returns from it's rebuild.

Oh, and Wade had a call from RobT in Adelaide. Seemed Rob wanted to log onto, of all things, this Blog! Wade tried to talk Rob through the process over the phone but wasn't successful. Will now call Rob tonight while sitting in front of his own computer and talk him through it from there. What I think it stems from is that Fred(pepepackard) mentioned to me in a phone call last night that Rob needs a fuel pump for his '40 110 Convertible Coupe. So it looks like I might not now have a spare pump as previously thought. Fred also mentioned he's had an Ultramatic failure in his Clipper and that needs to be rebuilt, fortunately there's a guy in Melbourne who can do it.

Attach file:

---

  (43.03 KB)


  (49.50 KB)


  (18.89 KB)


  (33.50 KB)


  (33.90 KB)


  (61.37 KB)


  (38.05 KB)


  (44.74 KB)


  (36.19 KB)

Monday 20th August 2012

In this thread in the Shows and Events Forum I said this yesterday "...a very enjoyable day.......except for the pic's at the end of the album. All will be explained tomorrow...". What's that about? It's about my misfortune yesterday in my Coupe. Returning home after the display day had a slight misfortune when the Coupe jammed in 2 gears about 1 mile from home. The 70 year old gear linkages are very sloppy, so much so that when shifting from 2nd to first both gears engaged, the car doesn't want to go anywhere and the engine stalls. My usual remedy is to manipulate the bell cranks on the steering column either manually or with one of these -> but using some discretion. Although this remedy has worked previously. it didn't yesterday. Being caught stranded in the outside lane at the start of a turning lane at a busy intersection wasn't exactly fun. Call to Wade, who was still at the display day, brought no joy as he could only suggest what I had been doing anyway, but I teed up with him to open up the workshop and I'd arrange a tilt tray tow truck, or tttt for short, to get me there. Upshot was the first tttt couldn't do it, didn't have a set of dolly wheels to slip under the locked up rear wheels of the Coupe. Second tttt did and once loaded we proceeded to the workshop where Wade had arrived just a few minutes previously. Once off the truck the Coupe was left parked outside, doesn't suffer that indignity often, usually only when on a run or rally.

So this morning the Coupe was the first order of business. Initial inspection found another problem, in addition to being stuck in gears, the clutch arm tensioning spring was broken too! After jacking up the front end and strategic placement of a large jack stand Wade went under the Coupe on a creeper and found still another problem, one of the brake switch connectors had been ripped off its cable, probably by the broken spring! After a few judicious taps, the linkages were free and normal operation could continue. Then installed a clutch arm tensioning spring and finally a new connector on the brake light cable. All done in about 1/2 an hour. Of course this is only a temporary "fix" it really needs all the linkages out and all pivot pins, holes, etc brought back to spec. But to do that will require workshop time as the Coupe will be disabled by taking them out to fix, and I don't have spares! So that along with dropping the fuel tank will be done at a later date. NOTE - By always shifting into first from top it doesn't engage 2 gears at once and that is the shifting technique I try and use. Obviously I didn't yesterday and so suffered the penalty.

With the Coupe now mobile I drove it home, garaged it, and as I'd left my daily driver at the workshop, walked to the train station, caught the train 3 stops and walked again to reach the workshop. About 30 minutes walk all up, I'll count that as my exercise for the day. Back at the workshop, and hear this Snapey, Hobbs and others, Wade was working on The Fossil! Apparently on Friday he'd refitted the rebuilt fuel pump and today was wiring up the Startix. Once wired up it was tested, and it works. A real nifty electrical/pneumatic device which, when activated, will restart your engine automatically if it should stop. It is to be noted the engine wasn't started, only whether the Startix was operational. The engine will probably be started again in the near future but only to test the rebuilt fuel pump and will use a temporary tank doing so. The Fossils fuel tank will be dropped and cleaned, after the experiences with the carb and fuel pump, and all lines cleaned and flushed too. Speaking of that, the same treatment will be applied to the '33 outside patiently waiting its turn. And in turn, speaking of the '33, Wade had a call later from the owner about teeing up a Sunday visit, thats the only day he's available. This is so he and the guy he's proposing to use for the body and paint work can see the '33 together. Apparently there's no rest for the wicked Wade, has to work 7 days a week!

That left me to setting up another set of wind chimes and POR-15 being applied. Wade also chipped in cleaning up parts of Big Red's shutter stat for paint even as I was painting. And of course a couple of pieces were missed, but not to worry, there's always another day for painting. Also while painting Wade had been outside with the '33, I know he told me doing what, but now can't recall, a bad sign. Left things at that having to return home earlier than usual to fix a shower tap, I love a hot shower in the morning! In my opinion hot running water is one of the most significant advances made in the history of civilisation!

Attach file:

---

  (36.45 KB)


  (34.75 KB)


  (42.74 KB)


  (40.74 KB)


  (43.03 KB)


  (29.18 KB)


  (39.39 KB)


  (37.83 KB)


  (29.16 KB)


  (38.39 KB)


  (63.44 KB)


  (32.60 KB)


  (15.19 KB)


  (26.06 KB)


  (37.21 KB)

I really enjoy the details and pics of the cars being repaired. I am thankful we didn't see a picture of the morning shower - civilized or not!

Mal,

I too enjoyed the photos. You are looking healthy and fit. Recovery from your surgery must be progressing nicely.

Too bad about the transmission shifting problem. You are lucky not to have broken a gear or case. I guess it just goes to show how rugged these Packard transmissions are.

Here is a bit of unsolicited advice concerning your latest problem. You may have worn shifting linkages and maybe worn parts in the steering column, but I would advise you check the shifting interlock mechanisms in the transmission. The interlocks become worn and this is what allows the transmission to engage two gears at the same time. True, the levers can become jammed, but the interlocks are the key to keeping the transmission in one gear at a time.

Stay healthy and keep the activities at Wade's coming our way.

(o[]o)

Tuesday 21st August 2012

Late start this morning and found Wade tackling the left front suspension, reason being to replace the upper bushing. But because there's no weight on the suspension with the engine out and sitting on the hoist a little ingenuity was required, just like in this previous post. Only trouble was, it didn't work, binding up rather than taking up. After a number of attempts Wade put it aside and left it for another day. But now I've found we have a pic from the last time round it might be better luck next time. While Wade was tackling the suspension I disassembled yesterdays windchimes then started on assembling another set for some small parts as well as the air cleaner off the '33. Regarding the aircleaner, I'd never seen inside one before but seeing Wade had ground off the lip and taken it apart now was my opportunity. Now I know why it's called an aircleaner and silencer, similar to muffler technology. That done I then started cleaning up the inside of the frame rails in the engine compartment and the top, back and bottom channel of the front crossmember. With the engine out now is the time to attend to this. Was only going to give it a wipeover as initially it looked reasonable but ended up doing a full scrape, wire brush and wipeover otherwise I couldn't have lived with the result. And fortunately for Wade the kit for the '33's fuel pump arrived so after giving away the comealong exercise he turned to that. But was somewhat frustrated in that the kit from Max was missing a few pieces one of which he sourced from "shelf stock", while the other was "patched" and will work OK.

Quote:John,

You're preaching to the converted. Wade does this after recent experiences with Fleurette and Juniors transmission shifting problems. This will be part of the procedure when the time comes to lay up the Coupe and properly attend to the problem. In the meantime I'll be very gentle and careful when shifting.

Attach file:

---

  (24.21 KB)


  (40.59 KB)


  (43.24 KB)


  (27.28 KB)


  (23.16 KB)


  (19.88 KB)


  (42.62 KB)

Thursday 23rd August 2012

No sooner had I arrived at the workshop than Wade whisked me off together with a bagful of tools, multimeter, torch, rags, etc to have a look at JohnM's TJ Richards bodied '39 110 Sedan because the headlights weren't working. Although I did manage to take a pic of the '33's carburettor which Wade had rebuilt yesterday in my absence. At John's, Wade first established there was power going to and at the headlight relay and also power coming out of the relay to the headlights. But the headlights didn't work although the parking lights did! Wade was pretty sure both bulbs wouldn't have blown but, on taking the lenses and bezels off, sure enough both bulbs were cactus. The headlight lenses by the way were on the wrong side with left on right and right on left but will be remedied when the new bulbs are installed. How do I know they were on the wrong sides? Because the lenses are marked "right" and "left" and this was something I learned when I had my '38 Eight which have same/similar headlights. But not having any replacement bulbs at hand returned to the workshop where Wade thought he may have some.

But seeing Wade didn't have any of the 3 slot bulbs required and I did, albeit at home, that's where I went. Found the bulbs, including a pair of halogen bulbs. I also took the opportunity to go to Mr Filter at Girraween to try to find a replacement filter for, I thought, the '33. Found a modern filter fractionally taller than the original, which is literally falling apart, but some judicious surgery and it'll fit and no one except readers here will be any the wiser. Then went onto the home of PACA's publication editor Jeff, PACO52, to deliver some mail. There I learnt Jeff is in hospital having just had his appendix removed but is recovering well and expects to be home tomorrow. Get well Jeff!

Back at the workshop found Wade under the bonnet(hood) of the '33 trying to track down electrical problems there. Left Wade to that while I took up where I'd left off on Tuesday and started painting the air cleaner, other parts and finally the inside of the frame and front crossmember. Did the aircleaner first, then realised while painting it that I'd seen the '33's aircleaner sitting on top of the '33's head as a temporary measure. By this time Wade was back in the workshop and, on asking the question, found out it is actually The Fossil's aircleaner! Moved onto Big Red's frame which necessitated Wade raising and lowering Big Red a number of times on the hoist so I could access different parts of the frame rails.

Painting done then it was outside to see what Wade was now up to and found him installing the rebuilt fuel pump on the '33. Also connected up the vacuum lines and is presently in the process of reconnecting the fuel line to the carburettor. The fuel line to the tank will not be connected until the line and tank are both cleaned. During all this Wade had a call from Russell, Russpackaus, who was in the vicinity on business mind you and wanted to drop in. This he did along with a new employee in Russ's business, Rob. Great way to induct new employees Russ, give them a tour of a Packard workshop, never happened to me! So tomorrow all going well, after the rebuilt carb is installed, the '33 will probably be fired up using a temporary fuel source, for the first time in about 6 years.

Attach file:

---

  (32.78 KB)


  (38.54 KB)


  (36.50 KB)


  (43.15 KB)


  (45.09 KB)


  (32.82 KB)


  (16.52 KB)


  (40.01 KB)


  (22.03 KB)


  (41.59 KB)


  (33.92 KB)


  (40.64 KB)

Friday 24th August 2012


"...So tomorrow all going well...the '33 will probably be fired up...for the first time in about 6 years..." Famous last words, also known as the kiss of death, because all did not go well and the '33 did not fire up! First up, on arrival, found Wade trying to fit the heat shield to the carburettor. Appears the reason it wasn't fitted was that part of the linkage setup was bent so therefore the shield had been left off! But with a little grinding to the shield as well as some judicious action the shield now fits. I'm sure Wade's action was much more circumspect than whoever did the original action! Then the insulating block had to be ground to remove the surface imperfections to eliminate the chance of vacuum leaks. Fitting the carb to the manifold was not helped by the car being outside, especially for me the gofer, as in go for this or go for that! And in the middle of the exhaust horn there was a stud with a nut on it, this also interfered with the carb linkage! Off with the carb, out with the grinder and problem solved. Next were the fuel line fittings. But, because the needle and seat supplied by Max were different, the fitting on the outside of the float chamber wouldn't accept the fuel line fitting. A scramble through a couple of boxes of "bits" found a fitting that would do the job, but...it was a 90 degree fitting in lieu of the straight fitting required. Meant some bending of the fuel line, but that was helped by the fact that at some time in it's past a section of rubber hose had been used from near the float bowl inlet to down where the line hooks around across the front of the block. The rubber hose was also replaced with modern fuel injection hose. That side done, around to the fuel pump side to finish connecting fuel lines and also hooked up a temporary inlet line to the fuel pump to draw from a fuel container perched on the inside of the mudguard(fender). But the fuel container, partly filled a couple of weeks ago for the 356 start up, was empty! I had used about 1/2 of it in my Coupe to make sure I made it home on Monday, but the rest????? So off around the corner to the fuel station and back with with fuel. All set, reconnect battery, some "start you b@$tard" down the carb throat and the motor turns over albeit slowly although Wade had charged up the battery overnight. But no sign or sound of any action and neither did the glass bowl fill on the inlet side of the fuel pump. What we did have was some smoke drifting from the solenoid housing on top of the starter causing some excitement from yours truely. By this time Wade had had enough, and although there was a quick check of the distributor which looked clean inside further investigation will wait for another day.

And I think I can answer the question I posed back on 8th August of "...someone may be able to shed some light on the fact that Big Red's 320 block had a single looooong tappet cover while all the other 320 blocks that Wade has seen have two tappet covers. Any comments or insights? ..." Noticed the '33's block also has the single loooong tappet cover and I now recall the Big Red's block has a casting date of '33 on it! So I'm surmising the early 320's were like that.
Early in the piece today, while Wade was undertaking his action on the '33 carb, I had been shaving the plastic from one end of the filter element bought yesterday and it now fits inside the aircleaner "hat" better. But it is about 1/2" too tall and is going to get a haircut on Monday. But first I wanted the foam, which will seal the cut end of the filter, on hand so I know how much to cut off. To do so, on leaving, I drove to Grippy Rubber to purchase a metre of adhesive backed foam for the modern filter element to be used in The Fossil's aircleaner. Then home, then off to the book parade!

Attach file:

---

  (20.63 KB)


  (45.49 KB)


  (22.58 KB)


  (23.85 KB)


  (24.88 KB)


  (19.95 KB)


  (40.71 KB)


  (26.18 KB)


  (47.38 KB)


  (30.68 KB)


  (43.76 KB)


  (36.62 KB)


  (17.74 KB)


  (35.70 KB)


  (18.54 KB)


  (14.74 KB)

Monday 27th August 2012

Wade was literally clearing his desk top when I arrived at the workshop. No, not a PC, Laptop or other electronic device but the good old fashioned wooden type, you know, a desk top! He'd tried to access a phone book earlier and couldn't get it out because of the buildup of stuff, this precipitated the clean out. And sorry to say I was a contributor, with parts, journals and boxes of mine spread over one end of the desk, but no more! Some went into "stock" while other stuff of mine I've taken home. Wade also rationalised the remainder of the stuff into that which needed to stay, that which could be shelved and that which could be tossed. Result? See pic below.

It was then off to see JohnM and his TJ Richards bodied '39 110 Sedan. Scooped up the bulbs I'd brought over, tools, torch and multimeter and off we went. At Johns inserted a pair of bulbs, and......nothing. Tried another pair of bulbs,......still nothing. Last chance, when I had my '38 Eight I'd bought a pair of halogen bulbs for it off eBay but never fitted them, but again......still nothing. Wade checked there was power at the contacts, and there was. Then checked the orientation of the contacts at the base of the bulbs and therein lay the problem, at least for the original type bulbs, the contacts are 90 degrees out from that required. With the bulbs I'd brought over, when installed, the contacts are horizontal while the contacts in the bulb socket are verticl! While for the halogen bulbs, they wouldn't work even though the contacts have the correct orientation because they are single filament, not double. At that's where I got lost, not a bright spark, when it comes to things electrical. Most would say not too bright in most respects. Apparently, the halogen bulb needs an earth???? With this hiatus, packed things up and left John to it......again. Then back at the workshop, what does Wade find? A pair of bulbs with the correct contact orientation. These were spares for Big Red but it looks like little brother TJR will be a beneficiary of Big Red's current enforced lay up.

Also had a call from Noel who asked if I knew he'd dropped over some rubbers last week which Wade required. Said yes but some weren't as required whereupon the phone was passed over to Wade for detailed consultation. Upshot is Noel needs to source a set of 4 Radiator Rod Bushes. Mounting the radiator on the chassis will also clear some bench space with the radiator, collar and mudguard(fender) brackets currently taking up plenty of space. Noel also put the hard word on me to do a little job for him, install the decals on the oil filter, air cleaner, etc. Well, if he's game for me to try to do it, so am I! Not much recent experience but plenty 50+ plus years ago building plastic model kits, lets see how I go. Noel also passed on that he'd seen Mat's, packard34, '55 Caribbean and it's coming along nicely with the front end refitted with much better gaps, the interior detailed and a new windscreen, Although it only took 3 windscreens to get there! Noel will be over on Wednesday because tomorrow Wade and I are attending the funeral of TrevorF, one of the founding fathers of the Morris Minor Picnic Club. We'll be going in the Coupe about a 40 mile run, to Faulconbridge, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.

Attach file:

---

  (35.33 KB)


  (26.74 KB)


  (39.05 KB)


  (33.89 KB)


  (30.66 KB)


  (39.57 KB)


  (16.61 KB)

Tuesday 28th August 2012

Good trip with Wade up and back in the Coupe to Faulconbrige for the Funeral. Returning to the workshop, where I'd picked Wade up in the morning, there was an examination of the Coupe's radiator collar and mounting stays as a reference for Noel's Coupe chassis. Reason being yesterday Wade had temporarily mounted Noel's radiator, collar and stays on the chassis but it's currently tilting forward so something isn't right. Wade had also installed the upper radiator hose but it seems to be too long and could be a contributing factor to the radiator lean. Had also tried to install the lower radiator pipe metal bend but it needs some further tweaking, read 'bending', before it's right to go. Seeing we couldn't see much today, returning tomorrow in the Coupe for undercar examination of the radiator collar stays. Also the routing of the fuel line from the tank to the fuel pump because, as yet, Noel's chassis is missing the line.

Attach file:

---

  (23.09 KB)


  (52.81 KB)


  (50.73 KB)


  (41.38 KB)


  (39.65 KB)


  (44.50 KB)


  (38.58 KB)


  (19.29 KB)


  (17.42 KB)