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Don't hit me but I have two of those shift thingies. One is for a floor shift and the possible one has 52509 on it.

Number on inside is 395386 which I can't seem to match in any parts book.

Wednesday 29th February 2012

Arrived to find the front motor mount yoke back on together with the new timing mark pointer. Then onto a more substantial matter, installing Juniors head. Block and head surfaces both cleaned, a good squirt of oil into each cylinder to aid in initial lubrication and to help establish compression on first start up, clean up of the new gasket, a good copper spray to each side of the gasket, on with gasket followed by the head. Followed by the washers and head nuts torqued down in increments to 63 ft/lbs, except for one! One of the new studs had stripped in the block! Wade didn't have a heli-coil of the right size but a call by John to Col of Brookers Brakes soon found one. Then, a very delicate operation, tapping the old stud hole to accept the heli-coil without removing the head which was successfully done. Did this by using grease on the end of the tap and carefully and slowly tapped the block, changing the grease a number of times and then carefully cleaning out the stud hole. Fitted the oil filter bracket, housing and connected the inlet and outlet lines, with a short visit by Noel revealing the filter is a genuine Packard one by the script on the canister top! With oil in the engine, slightly overfull, plus more added to the filter canister before the canister lid was tightened down Wade wanted to check there was oil pressure. So, using a booster pack, 12V was used to spin the sparkplug less and carbeuretor less engine. After an initial spin cycle I adjourned to the front seat and observed that the second cycle moved the oil pressure gauge up slightly, so Houston, we have oil pressure.

Then on to fitting a set of NGK plugs while Wade cleaned up the distributor cap and installed it. In order to mount the bracket for the sparkplug wires, the head nut to mount the bracket was cracked loose. But when re-torquing the head nut slippage occurred. Fortunately it was just the head nut stripping on the new stud so wasn't as big a drama as the one experienced earlier, a replacement nut proving all that was needed. Also mounted the coil and connected the ignition wires. Next was the carb and it's associated linkage. The carb itself is fine, although it's a non standard carb, but the linkage was something else. The firewall cross shaft accelerator pedal linkage has been rebuilt and now operated fully without any slop. The linkage setup, as it was, hadn't permitted full movement of the carb butterfly. But now, with the rebuilt cross shaft linkage, the rod between the bell crank on the manifold and the cross shaft was too long. So needed to shorten up the linkage rod except it was as short as it could get. Some time ago I'd brought down to the workshop a container of rod ends and linkage arms, I'd collected about 45 years ago. Finally, I thought, they may come in useful. By swapping out one end of the original linkage rod, combined with shortening and re-tapping the brass body of one of my linkage rods to 10/32 NC thread a rod of the requisite length was available. Except, it didn't work! Although one end of the rod had been bent to reduce the offset between the accelerator cross shaft arm and the bell crank it bound up about half way through the length of travel required. Solution here was to fabricate a length of steel strapping so that the accelerator cross shaft arm pushed directly in a fore & aft movement with the strap extending the cross reach of the bell crank. AND, another linkage rod, the previously fabricated rod not working at all in this new environment. Fortunately Mal's box of bits provided a small rose joint(heim joint) and a rod which together appeared perfect for this new situation. Appears to be working but Wade still isn't happy so will be further reviewed once Wade returns from Gil-bloody-gandra on Monday. At this stage would have attempted a short test start of Junior irrespective but, being out of gas, that too will happen on Monday.

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Monday 5th March 2012

Noel oftentimes uses the term "Dr Wade" and I too must admit to using it from time to time. I was reminded of that, in arriving at the workshop, to find laid out on the bench the parts about to be bolted back onto Juniors engine today. Seemed to be like the instruments laid out prior to an operation. Besides the water pump, the one Wade rebuilt not the new "Chinese" one which Wade has some reservations about, there were the tappet covers together with new gaskets for all. But I didn't get to hang round for long, being sent on an errand to pick up 20 litres of fuel to partly replenish Junior's empty tank. Returned to find Wade had fitted the backing plate to the water pump and was in the midst of applying silicon sealer to mount the pump and new gasket to the engine. With the water pump, fan, pulley and fan belt mounted, emptied the fresh fuel into Junior and turned the engine over using a booster pack to get fuel through to the fuel filter and carb. Except no fuel came through. Instead of pulling fuel through Wade pushed some through using compressed air and a rag to effect a seal between the compressed air line and the fuel filler neck. Didn't take long to get fuel through to the carb using this method, but there was a problem. The right angled fuel line fitting going into the carb was leaking. Pulled it off and discovered, besides the crack in it, it was the wrong fitting. The correct fitting has a ferrule inside against which the fuel line flared end seals against, this one didn't have a ferrule! Not to worry, Dr Wade just picks a correct fitting off the shelf and fits it, no leak now! With fuel up it was time to see if Junior would start, he wouldn't! Timing wasn't right, so back to basics. Set #1 @ TDC, easy to do now with the pointer and marks on the harmonic balancer assisted by being able to observe the valves without the tappet covers in place. Pulled the distributor to free up the bolt and screw at the base that allows for incremental adjustment then ensured the rotor was facing #1 spark plug lead. Was a little off so tweaked into position and the distributor tightened down. Time to give Junior a real test and because we'd been joined by Junior's Dad John, during the course of these proceedings, there now was a proud parent in attendance. After a few false starts Junior came to life, but didn't run for long. Without any coolant ran just long enough to ensure oil pressure and no rattles, noises or very importantly leaks. With vital signs checked Dr Wade left the patient to convalesce while going on to mount the tappet covers. The rear tappet cover was a real b@$t@rd to manouvere and hold in position then get the bolts in place. Installing the front tappet cover was somewhat easier, helped by raising Junior on the hoist to be at a better working height. The rear tappet cover might have been a bit easier to install at a more comfortable working level but old habits can be hard to break.

Here's a YouTube video compilation of the little videos I took of the various start attempts, culminating in Junior coming to life for John.

After John's departure, buoyed no doubt by seeing Junior's first cries after months of silence, I re-installed the transmission inspection plate and the front floor carpet. While I was doing that Wade was fiddling, sorry Dr Wade was testing and diagnosing Juniors needs in regard to the carburetor linkage problem. That done we left Junior and the workshop to visit JohnM. Earlier John had called me, because he couldn't make contact with Wade. However I passed the call onto Dr Wade who arranged to make of all things, a Packard housecall on JohnM's '39 Six TJ Richards bodied Sedan! On the weekend John couldn't get the '39 started, changed coil and condensor, but it still wouldn't go. Arriving at John's, and following a few basic checks with the meter, which indicated the battery was a little low, the '39 sprang into life. Maybe it was the bedside manner? More likely it had just been flooded yesterday following an hour or so of repeated start attempts and now with a head clear, so to speak, was ready to roar. Or does Dr Wade have mystical Packard powers which normal men cannae ken? While there also took the opportunity to inspect the throttle linkage on the '39 and, because John's son Paul had made up a new linkage system, persuaded John to contribute his old linkage to the cause of getting Juniors linkage system working which he was happy to do.

Back at the workshop there was more discussion, fabrication and fiddling all in the cause of Juniors throttle linkages. Ended up making a new linkage rod between the firewall accelerator linkage lever and the bell crank arm. But not before a number of other plans had been mooted, mocked up and discarded. Also turned to a pic I'd taken about a month back when in the process of cleaning up the intake/exhaust manifolds prior to cleaning it up for painting. That one pic showed the bellcrank mounted on the manifold. But most interesting was the bellcrank was 180 degrees around from the way we were now mounting it. Although it "didn't look right" decided to pursue that avenue because around the other way it wasn't working anyway. Well, turned out just what was needed. That and fabricating a new linkage shaft out of a piece of scrap round, two rod end bearing(aka heim or rose joints) together with offsetting the linkage rod from the lever arms with spacers so it operated in one plane only. So now we have a throttle linkage, although not Packard, but importantly it works!

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Tuesday 6th March 2012

Was it fortunate or unfortunate I didn't get to the workshop until lunchtime today? I'd prefer to think of it as a fortunate occurrence because our daughter and one of our grand-daughters visited us precluding hands on Packard time till later in the day. When I did get to the workshop, the usual Tuesday lunch was in full swing and as I sat next to Wade he asked me how I liked the Diet Coke I was drinking. I proceeded to go into some detail about how it compared to Coke Zero and Pepsi Max, much better than either in my opinion, but still failed to be a patch on the real thing. After my speech Wade then informed me that yesterdays experiment had worked. What experiment, you say? Why the experiment using Diet Coke to loosen the temperature gauge sending unit fittings. Would have used Coca-Cola but there wasn't any in the workshop fridge so settled for the next best thing. Used an old Tooheys New beer can with the top removed into which I poured most of a can of Diet Coke then inserted the sending bulb end and fittings of Juniors Bourdon Tube temperature gauge. Wade had been trying for a week or so to loosen the gauge fitting from the cylinder head fitting but without success. Initially Wade had unscrewed the cylinder head fitting from the cylinder head without removing the sending end fitting because the head needed to be hot tanked. Warning - Do not do this at Home! Since then the fittings had been "attacked" from time-to-time but without success. Wade had also used penetrating oils also without success but now with the end in sight the freeing of the fittings was more urgent. Mounted the beer can and its contents on Juniors head yesterday about Noon occasionally jiggling the contents and then left it overnight. This morning Wade was finally able to separate the pair, clean it all up and re-install the tube in Juniors head. Wade also asked if Diet Coke can do that for a gunked up temp gauge fitting just imagine what it must be doing to my stomach! The foregoing reminds me of this recent thread.
Wade! Here I am as a recently diagnosed Type 2 Diabetic and what little I have in the way of a simple pleasure is now painted as a threat to health! Or maybe that's just the Dr kicking in again?

Besides the temp gauge sending unit fix Wade had been busy preparing Junior for bigger things today. Had finished off the throttle linkages, further tidied up the wiring on the firewall and got things ready for the next big step - putting Juniors front clip back on. So after lunch that's what we did. First Wade put a new rubber pad under the radiator collar then the front clip was moved from it's resting place of some months back to it's rightful; position at the front of Junior. Five guys easily manhandled the clip onto the wheel-less front of Junior(it's easier that way) then Wade dropped under the front of the car to issue alignment instructions and to ensure the new rubber pad was in its rightful place. Loosely did up the radiator to firewall stays, so it wouldn't go anywhere then raised Junior up on the hoist. Re-installed the front bumper bar, twice. First time the pair of brackets on each side were inside the frame rail, didn't want to work that way. Second time one bracket per side inside and one outside the rail, worked easily that way. Re-installed, loosely, the mishmash of mudguard(fender) to body bolts then the welting and then tightened up the bolts. Wheels back on, dropped Junior to the floor again and inserted a spacer between the front hoist arm and the frame to gain clearance for the running boards. Then back into the air and bolted the mudguards(fenders) to the running boards. Another mishmash of bolts and nuts here, some of which were replaced, they just had to be. Finally a new upper radiator hose was installed before time ran out for the day. Tomorrow, running board side trims back on, new lower radiator hoses and pipe to be installed, re-install the inner mudguards(fenders), air cleaner on, bonnet(hood) back on and aligned, tightening of various finger tight bolts and Junior should be just about ready for a test run.

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Wednesday 7th March 2012

While Wade started cutting and fitting new lower radiator hoses, I started on re-mounting the running board side trim pieces. Wade offered this advice "the points go to the front", only trouble was both ends were pointed! Fortunately the left side trim was marked on the inside "l/side front" together with an ">", so that sorted out the direction I should be heading. With Junior about half way up on the hoist it was a pleasure to use a mechanics stool to scoot under the car after aligning and inserting the attaching lugs into the mudguard(fender) and the running board. I was going well with the left side until Wade had to drop Junior down a fair bit to enable a different angle of attack on the lower radiator hoses. I was also co-opted into this exercise, using long socket extensions from the left side while Wade positioned the hose clips from the right side. Once the lower hose was in place filled the radiator and started Junior up. First back-fired through the carb but a little judicious advancing of the distributor soon fixed that. For the brief time it was running appeared to be running well, again no contrary noises and no oil or water leaks, but.....there was a fuel leak! Fuel appeared to be running from the accelerator pump so Junior was shut down and the problem addressed. While Wade was removing and dis-assembling Juniors carb I returned to the running board side trim and finished fitting both sides. In the meantime Wade had discovered the cause of the fuel "spill", a piece of plastic(I think) thought to be interfering with the jet. Wade also took the opportunity to change out the rubber tipped needle for a steel one he had, doesn't trust the rubber ones and their compatibility with modern fuels. Carb back on and all was well but this start up required a 12V boost. This although Wade has had Juniors battery on charge for the last day or so. Ran this time for quite a while with Wade adjusting the idle speed and mixture not helped by the lack of a return spring on the throttle linkage. So that was the next matter to be addressed with a return spring from the lower bell crank rod to a bracket mounted to the steering box mounting bracket. Then Wade switched over to his old Optima battery(7+ years) in lieu of Juniors battery while I attempted to re-install the right quarter kick panel. The kick panel had been removed because one of the fender retaining bolts was now a nut and bolt in lieu of the captive nut scenario it should be. Just couldn't line up the mounting screws on the kick panel so gave it away for now but will return to it tomorrow. Then the big moment, the test drive. All went well except, after a corner or two, the rain belted down and then stopped just before we returned to the workshop!

Back at the workshop Wade used an infra-red pistol style digital thermometer to check the temperature because the temp gauge only went up to a bit over cold on the gauge during and after the run. Maybe the sender is allergic to Diet Coke? Temperatures along the head checked out at a range of 170 > 180 degrees so knowing there was good heat in the engine Wade re-torqued the head. Then onto adding more bits back onto Junior. The inner mudguard(fender) panels took a bit of wiggling and jiggling but they are now back in, and the splash shield on the left side of the engine was re-installed. The bonnet(hood) was also re-installed. And a stronger return spring replaced the too weak one originally mounted. Only a few pieces left now, the air cleaner, the horns and the kick panel are I think all that remain to be re-mounted. Did try to remount the air cleaner, it's an oil bath for those interested. But, because Wade had used a very thick insulating gasket between the carb base and the manifold, the retaining strap holes don't line up, so that's another matter for tomorrow. Tonight Wade will take Junior home and tomorrow mornings return run to the workshop in peak hour will be a very good test. Tomorrow I'm also taking the Coupe down for Wade to take a look see at the OD, it won't engage.

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Mal,

Great story about getting the engine running again.

I too found a problem when the front bumper on my 115C would not fit right after being removed and replaced by a local body shop. The left front fender was removed to be refinished because of damage done by brake fluid. Don't forget to screw in the master cylinder cap when bleeding brakes. Anyway, placing the brackets on each side of the frame rail, instead of both on one side, fixed the problem.

I also noticed the fan belt. It looks to be too narrow and riding in the bottom of the water pump pulley groove.

Thanks again for sharing with us all the adventures at Wade's.

(o[]o)

Thursday 8th March 2012

Well Junior certainly had quite a work out in the traffic this morning. Besides the usual chaos on the roads there was chaos from the skies as well. Sydney was drenched overnight and this morning by wet and wild weather with Junior taking it all in his stride. No problems at all going home or coming in this morning apart from traffic so thick OD operation couldn't be tested. Wade will take Junior home again this evening with the plan being that John and Annet will pick him up tomorrow.

Once in the workshop first thing was to chamois Junior down to provide 1) a dry surface on which to work over, and 2) handsome him up for tomorrow's handover to the proud parents. Although how handsome he remains is very dependent on Sydney's weather! Then I started on the kick panel, again. Actually went in fairly easily second time round, just took my time, started from the bottom screw, used a little pick to locate the holes and, hey presto, the kick panel was back in. While I was doing that Wade was addressing the air cleaner locating strap. Decided upon a length of aluminium strapping which he was going to cut down to size when Rick said "What about this?". "This" was a length of steel strapping which held a Lexus auto trans to the pallet it was delivered on for a repair Rick was doing. It was a little longer than the Packard strap and needed to be shaped to suit because it had doglegs at each end. Then after Wade straightened and ground off the rough corners I was enlisted to help with a trial fit to measure and mark hole spacings. Easiest thing I've ever done, no measuring or marking required, it fitted perfectly. So don't ever let anyone tell you Lexus parts won't fit a Packard! Wade then proceeded to clean and paint the Lexus Packard strap with some quick drying spray paint and took the opportunity to take off and paint the grotty looking OD relay cover at the same time.

Meanwhile I turned to the short length of about 2" x 2" x 1/4" angle iron Wade had secured as a bracket on which to mount a pair of horns, no not Lexus and not Packard for that matter, to Juniors head. Knowing this was coming during the course of the engine re-build Wade had installed a pair of longer head studs as the second rear pair of studs on the engine to serve as a mounting point for the horn bracket. This way head nuts are used as head nuts and torqued down, then the angle bracket is mounted on top of the head nuts and held in place by nuts together with lock washers which are hand tightened only, not torqued. After a false start where I drew up and marked two holes on the angle, fortunately realising in time before any drilling or cutting had occurred, that the holes were at the wrong end of the metal for the orientation required I finally got my act together. Remarked and drilled holes and marked the angle for the cuts required. By this time Wade had finished spraying and so together we finished the marking and drilling of the holes required to mount the horns to the bracket. Next was cutting about 1" of excess metal off the length of the angle. Used Wade's 4" angle grinder together with a new cutting disc, then another new disc, then an old disc, two more old discs and an old disc of John's. We were ably assisted by Graham with the grinding but even using all those discs we weren't through the metal. But we were close enough that, using a mini sledge, the length of metal being parted off could be forcibly be removed by hammering one way then the other, etc, etc. Off to the bench grinder to return a semblance of respectability to the angle and I was also thinking I could grind a big corner off the angle but soon returned to sanity. Instead, addressed the long side parted off, then each end which had been oxy cut to size so were quite daggy, then a general pretty up to remove the sharp corners. Didn't look too bad in the end, even if I say so myself! While I had been doing grinding, grinding and then some more grinding Wade had been addressing the electrical supply and connection side of the horns. New wires and connectors and cleaned excess POR-15 off(I wonder who did that?). But, with the coming the bracket, Wade cleaned it up and sprayed it with quick drying paint and sprayed the horn relay cover too.

Here's where I have a little confession to make. I didn't take the Coupe to the workshop this morning! On my arrival in my daily driver Wade made a comment about my being a "fair weather driver" to which I must plead guilty. My explanation excuse, the weather! Although Wade had to brave peak hour traffic AND the weather in Junior, my trip paled in comparison to his but still I didn't want to do it. Instead I said to Wade I'd bring the Coupe in tomorrow morning instead if that was OK with him. It was, but at this point, while waiting for paint to dry and the weather having cleared Wade suggested I go home and return with the Coupe for diagnosis and treatment of the OD problem after Junior was finished. Didn't need to be asked twice. Returned to find Wade had mounted the bracket and the horns on Junior and was finishing up the wiring. That done, then mounted the Lexus Packard strap and the air cleaner. Job done. Time to turn to the Coupe and it's recalcitrant OD. Armed with his multimeter Wade checked the under bonnet(hood) connections and continuity as well as the kick down switch, all OK. Then lying on his back under the dash, second nature to Wade in his Packard work, Wade found one of the wires on the switch on the OD lockout cable had been dislodged. Instead of just refitting it, because it was a spade connector, it was replaced with a collar type connector, can't get dislodged now. Went for a test drive and, we have OD!

I won't be at the workshop tomorrow so won't be seeing Wade again until early April. Also won't be seeing Junior pass back into the loving arms of parents Annet and John. However I will catch up with them in a weeks time for a 3 day Packard run to Lake Macquarie organised by PACA member PeterL who lives there. Should have a great time. And speaking of having a great time, so will Gina and Wade who are off to New Zealand for about 3 weeks part of which will encompass the South Pacific Packard Clubs Northern Exposure Rally 2012. Wade and Gina are "borrowing" a Packard of a New Zealand mate of his which will reciprocate his mates use of Old Blue during PACA's 2009 National Packard Southern Highlands Rally. Wade also mentioned his mate is preparing a car for the next Peking to Paris run so I asked if he could get a pic of the car he's preparing. See in the list of entrants a few from New Zealand but didn't sight Wade's mates name. However I see there are 3 Packard entered! Including one from Australia! Have to keep an eye on this when the time comes.

John, concerning your comments.

"I also noticed the fan belt. It looks to be too narrow and riding in the bottom of the water pump pulley groove." - Wade had noticed that, would have replaced it if he'd had a replacement at hand, and instead is going to take the matter up with Junior's Dad.

"Thanks again for sharing with us all the adventures at Wade's." - No need to thank me, my ever growing ego is growing even bigger as I type this!

And Stephen, steve-52/200, although I said this "...will be taking up your questions with Wade tomorrow." back on the 27th Feb and even printed out your questions I haven't forgotten you. It's just going to take much longer to get the answers than I first thought.

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Monday 19th March 2012

No, nothing happening in the workshop. Just thought I'd give a mechanical update relating to the Packards which were on the Lake Macquarie Run in this thread.

Firstly the Packards with direct links to Wade.

Mal & Kath's '41 120 Club Coupe - Great, no problems at all.

Noel's '39 120 Touring Sedan aka Fleurette - A very happy man, well at least he was when I last saw him this morning at Pennant Hills about 20 miles from home. I think the only thing done was Peter Packard adjusting the timing slightly to overcome pinging.

John & Annet's '40 110 Touring Sedan aka Junior - Both still happy, well at least they had smiles on their faces as they passed us at Pennant Hills which for them meant about another 50 miles to get home. Other than some vapor lock issues on the Friday, it was hot, the only real "incident" I am aware of is the tail pipe being loose. Harvey fixed that, this morning in the motel carpark, with a "bush mechanics clip"! Their real problem had been last week when Junior returning home from hospital(the workshop) blew the gasket at #'s 3 & 4 exhaust ports. Believe John had had similar exhaust gasket problems before so, in Wade's absence, John removed the manifolds and had them surfaced to obtain a true fit. No problems with that on the run.

Wendy & Richard's '37 115c Sport Coupe aka Emily - Although Emily never made it to the starting line, the intention was there. But.....on running her a week ago in prepartion, filling up with fuel the resultant coughing and spluttering convinced them that it was better to be discrete. So their modern mode of transportation was used with Emily having to wait until Wade's return for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment to enable her to return to full health.

Jeff and Margaret's '52 200 Deluxe Sedan - Nothing to report, that I'm aware of, so appears all is well.

Now to the "others".

Big Bad Barry & Pam's '35 1200 5 Passenger Sedan - Only matter of note was, on the Friday trip north, the temperature started to rise on some of the long climbs so Barry backed off and the temperature settled down. Barry advised he achieved 13.2 mpg for the trip up and some of local runs.

Harvey & Carol's '37 Super Eight Club Sedan - Nothing to report. I know Harvey and Carol arrived home because Harvey rang me later.

Ann & Peter Packard's '56 Patrician - The most trouble plagued Packard on the run. Appeared to be suffering from vapour lock on the hot trip north so while the rest of us went off and enjoyed ourselves at William Dobell's house Peter stayed behind and added an electric fuel pump together with a filter to push fuel from the tank. Seemed to do the trick until the next day, on the run to the Wallis Creek Watergarden, the Pat played up again. This time, while most of us enjoyed a guided tour of the gardens, Peter and a few cohorts for moral support(Noel being one), tackled the Pat again. Shouldn't have been a hot enough day for vapour lock, but the car was hard to start and was cutting out intermittently. Peter eventually tracked the cause down to the rotor button, it's a wonder the car ran at all! The Pat now started easily but there was still an intermittent cutting out. Seems they made it to Pennant Hills and this time there was a short from a loose wire. That's where we left them, so Peter, feel free to update us or to correct my reporting if need be!

Veronique's '29 Standard Eight Runabout. I say Veronique's, because husband DavidM is off in the Maxwell retracing the first West to East crossing of Australia in 1912. David, I can report the '29 is in good hands as I'm sure you already knew. My view is there aren't too many women who would jump in their husbands "old car" to participate in a Packard run while he's off lolly gagging across the continent! At the rendevous on Friday Veronique reported "vapour lock" and suggested a cure of adding kerosine to the fuel tank. Don't know if this "cure" was put into effect but I do know Veronique made it to Lake Macquarie because, although leaving earlier because of the lower touring speed of the '29 she was already there when the rest of us arrived! The only other incident was suffering from fuel starvation when heading to Hunter Gardens on the Sunday morning after filling up with fuel. The convoy pulled over and Veronique gave her diagnosis of the problem as well as a couple of suggested solutions to our "old Packard" expert Peter Packard because he has a few of that vintage himself. Turned out to be the easiest fix Peter had all weekend. The fuel cock wasn't fully open. And although the solutions suggested by Veronique weren't required, the symptoms she offered in her diagnosis, matched the problem when found. David, over those many many years, she obviously has been listening and taken a lot on board. A real gem!

Peter & Annette's '38 120 Touring Sedan - The "locals" who organised the event had no dramas with their Packard. At this point I'd like to thank them both for the work they put into organising a great weekend away. A job more than well done!

STOP THE PRESSES!!!

After typing all the above Noel sends me an email, reproduced in part below.

"Unfortunately the trip home was not good for a couple of folks. Just after I left you, at the entrance to the M2 Motorway, John and Junior were having an argument - Junior had stopped for no reason. I offered to help but being of "no knowledge" was dismissed. Thinking about it, perhaps it could have been a battery problem because I noticed that John was driving with the headlights on - no idea why.

Then, after I parted company with Peter and Ann, they continued on the M7 to the M5 and at Pheasants Nest the transmission on the '56 gave up the ghost! Peter called the NRMA who sent a tow truck to take the beast back to Canberra. No news yet as to whether the tow truck got the car back OK.

My trip was pretty good, except that Fleurette has a quite bad wheel wobble at about 65 mph. Yes, don't tell me, I should drive at under 60 mph!! I think that a balance may have been thrown off on the bad roads around Cessnock. Just a small problem. Fleurette is now home in the garage."

EDIT - See I inadvertently used a thumbnail pic of the Patrician. Would normally replace it but, seeing what eventually happened, decided to leave it as is.

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The picture,where Pete repairs his Packard reminds me of myself on many occasions where the vehicle refuses to cooperate with me.

Although I know it must be an optical illusion, the bolt for the exhaust pipe hanger looks like it goes thru the gas tank. I know Aussies are inventive, but that stretches even my imagination.
It is hard to believe that Patrician ran at all with a rotor that far gone!
Thanks for all the pictures - I enjoy them.