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John,

Thanks for the updates, although they were all tales of woe. But hope the fix/es are simple.

Also received a couple of email updates:

1) From Big Bad Barry "....Thanks to all you ancillary crew who gave me heaps, and thanks to Mal for deducting points for the non Packard parts of my car. But, you missed a few of the other non packard parts I have fitted. By the way who needs to take a camera when you travel with Mal...."

2) From Jeff "....We made it back OK in the '52 200 with no problems. I had my front tyres (tires?) balanced the day before we left with additional steel valve stems inserted to replace the rubber ones - finally fixed the spinning hub caps and cruised back on the expressway at 65 mph with no problems. By the way, Wade had also helped improve the '200's performance before your time at Wade's Shed...." Wade's Shed connection duly noted and original post edited to reflect same.

A further update on the '41 Coupe. Filled up with fuel this morning and came up with these statistics:

Total trip mileage of 287.9 miles or 463.33 kms giving 20.45 mpg(Imp) or 17.08 mpg(US) or 13.82 Litres per 100 kms. The engine now has about 7,000 miles on it since the rebuild in June 2010. From an initial 11 mpg(Imp) straight after the rebuild when it was running in, it progressed to the vicinity of about 18 mpg(Imp) on the return trip to Kangaroo Island about 18 months ago. Still improving, so I wonder what it'll be like next year for the 600 miles/1,000 kms each way trip to the 2013 Phillip Island Packard National Rally?

Hmmm, wonder where that name "Ozstatman" came from?

Peter's final report is in and reads "....Well, after all of the problems with the 56 Patrician on the weekend, I thought that I had found the last one when at Wahroonga, I discovered a wire from the ignition ballast resistor which was gravity shorting on the bonnet hinge. The car ran sweetly after that and after Noel exited we continued what appeared to be a crisp 110-115 kph run to Canberra. After Liverpool we noticed that the temperature gauge was starting to rise and the engine started to sound loaded, similar to towing a tandem trailer (c/w Packard). We pulled into Pheasant's Nest service area for a tire check and the transmission got very grumpy. We pulled to the side of the Servo and checked the engine and it was definitely hot, from exertion, not ambient temperature. The trans fluid was boiling hot and some had been escaping via the breather, so that means around 200C. The engine started and was fine in Neutral but there was no Low and when Drive or High was selected there was an obvious excessive load on the engine. We decided to press on but only went 100m as when Direct Drive engaged it started to slip. We stopped immediately and had a think about the problem. I determined that the Low Range band strut had fallen out due to the hard time that I had given it over the weekend and the band is cocking in the housing and binding up the transmission. I blame myself as I had not adjusted the Low range band since gearbox overhaul around 3,000 miles ago. The pan needs to be dropped to assess the actual physical position and condition of the Low Range band. I am hoping that the band is not damaged. I am also concerned that the Direct Drive clutch has exhibited slippage. This may be related to the low range piston over-extension but only an inspection will tell. An interesting item (for Jeff mainly) is that with no front band actuation the reverse gear is the same ratio as Drive and makes for almost 100 mph performance rearwards (if you really wanted to impress the locals!) I have scheduled the remedial inspection for the April long weekend. I shall keep Noel, Mal and Jeff posted on the results.

We arrived at Pheasant's nest at around 11.15 am and arrived at Canberra at 8.30 pm. We had a very interesting detour to Mittagong en-route and saw some very unusual Packards. But that's another story, including a 526 fixed head coupe and a 1938 Packard Six RHD Cabriolet...."

Thankyou Peter and the long suffering Ann. Ann, I hope the plants you bought at the Water Lily Nursery weren't too traumatised by their Packard experience? And Peter, if you ever do the 100 mph in reverse thing I'd like to be there to see that! I'd be impressed, local or not!

Phone call from Wade today, the land of the long white cloud is living up to it's name with plenty of rain over both days of the Northern Exposure 2012 Rally. Wade is driving his mate Brian's '46 Clipper and says it's like driving most other Packards "it leaks". Nevertheless he and Gina are having a good time. Also told Wade about the Lake Macquarie Run and the various trials, tribulations and to a lesser extent triumphs there. Wade did mention he had noticed the tail pipe on Junior and had used a bigger washer on it because it was pulling the old washer through the hanger. Looks like that fix has to be revisited.

Quote:
In preparing the Coupe for last weekends run to Lake Macquarie I found the fuel line! Where was it? On the back seat where I'd obviously placed it and forgotten that I'd put it there. Except now it's on Wade's desk at the workshop waiting his return.

A couple of updates.

From John, Appin, re Junior: "....Thought I had tracked it to the coil but a new coil has done nothing so onward in my search. The tailpipe nuts are soaking in WD40 for hopeful easy removal. That's not going to be too big an issue I don't think. Another hubcap purchased and on the way. Cable for the OD ordered but will take some time. Haven't looked at the carb yet...."

And from Veronique, re DavidM and the Maxwell's transcontinental travels because the Veteran Car Club Website only has 4 pic's from Day 1 and no other info. "....Don and David are both very happy. The little Maxwell is driving 50km per hour at the perfect speed. It is going up hills and they have driven 450km in total. Plus it is firing on two cylinders for the first time. The Renault on the trip cannot keep up with Maxi. How wonderful David and Don both hope Maxi will continue running in the same manner until 4th April to arrive at the Sydney GPO. The differential is very noisy but they hope to be able to fix that...."

I'd like to be in attendance on April 4th at Noon at Martin Place outside the Sydney GPO to welcome David and Don back after their epic crossing.

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Couple of updates from Veronique concerning David and Don's progress in the '12 Maxwell.

Yesterday - "David and Don are still in the running. the differential is making a real big noise and they have undone, removed, adjusted, replaced some item and are hoping that it will be OK for tomorrow run.

Today was a free day for the men to undo and rebuild anything they needed in order to get all the machines working.

So far they are still in the race, and are not coming home just yet."

Today - "The Thoroughbred Sports Car Club are thinking of meeting David in Bathurst on the 2nd April as a car run if Maxi is still running and gets to Bathurst.

If they organise a run I am thinking of going with the 1929 Roadster What do you think?"

What do I think? In view of how Veronique and the Roadster went on the Lake Macquarie run I told Veronique that was great! Would love to go myself but have other commitments, but will try to make it to the finish line instead.

Link to daily photo updates of the Expedition on the VCCA Site.

Update from Veronique on "Maxi"

"Leaving Perth the boys had problems as the car decided not to function, as a result they missed the start in the heart of Perth. They finally got it started and arrived in York with very unhappy faces. The car had no power and could not ever make it on the flat.

When the arrived in Kalgoorlie, they found a workshop to die for and were able to dismantle and rebuild the petrol tank, the conduits to the carburetor and all the electrical wiring to the coil.

Today David and Don are doing well, at one stage they were worried about the differential as it is making some bad noises.

The boys have now travelled 2576 kms in total since departing Perth on the 16th March. The differential noise has been singing for the last 1000 km with the noise not getting any worse. They are hoping to find a workshop in Dubbo with machinery to fix the problem. They have dismantled the differential twice by the side of the road and cannot see any major bad problem. The pinion is not sitting properly on the crown wheel and needs to be machined, to stop the noise.

They have decided to risk the noise and continue until the end of the rally. I guess the worst that can happen is he will need to get a new crown and pinion cut AGAIN....

Tonight they made Peterborough, tomorrow night will be Broken Hill for two night stop over. (they might get lucky and find a workshop)

The engine apparently sounds fantastic and runs on two cylinders for the first time ever. All the engine bugs have been sorted, it runs up the hills and travels between 50 to 55 km per hour on the flat. David is very happy about the engine, he said it ticks like Swiss watch.

Not bad for a horse and cart replacement of the era.

Let's hope that the differential holds out and all the breakdown are behind them."

NOTE: I've only just realised that the VCCA Site has Daily Blogs on this page.

The link on the VVCA Site for the 2012 Expedition now appears to be getting updated on daily basis plus the previously missing daily updates are now all complete. Click on the link above then click on Daily Updates then click on the daily pic's you wish to view, similarly click on the Daily Blogs for day by day commentary. Only trouble is no mention of "Maxi"!

In my guise as Secretary of PACA(No! That role doesn't require me to wear my underpants on the outside!) and in DavidM's absence trekking across Australia in "Maxi" I was deputised to follow-up with PACA members who hadn't renewed their membership yet, most by email. One of these was WarrenJ, who I subsequently realised is Packard Downunder here on PackardInfo. Here's part of Warren's reply

"...I am sure I have a form at home so must dig it up, complete and return...I read your blog on the Packard Forum from time to time... You may like to see a few photo's of my current project - 56 400 H/T... Engine and Trans rebuilt, currently getting a lot of chroming done... Getting ready to have a concerted effort to get it finished over winter... Currently working on interior (doing trimming at night school...) find a few photo's attached... thanks for the reminder..."

To which I responded "...am I able to use your photo's in the Blog and the words relating to your 400? Always looking to add info on any Packards I come across as you might have noticed. Your 400 is looking good and seeing you're planning on finishing it this year I imagine you'll have it at next years Packard Rally at Philip Island. If so I'll see you there and be able to say "G'day"!

Back to the pic's, there's an engine shot with a reddish Coupe behind it. What is the Coupe? Your engine, as well as the 400, looks great. Would give Hank (Cli55er) a run for his money! Another engine question, what is the coating on the exhaust manifolds?..."

Warren replied "...I was reading with interest last night the recent issues encountered by those on tour. I am keen to follow up what happened to Peter Toet's Twin Ultra... I have had the TU for my 400 rebuilt locally by a company recommended by Fred Pepepackard who have done quite a few Ultra's and Twin Ultra's here in Melbourne. The proof will be in the pudding... I am following with interest the threads on installing a 700R in lieu of a TU and if proven an effective swap, will in due course install one in my 56 Clipper (photo attached).

The coupe in the background belongs to a mate of mine and is a 37 Ford - Standard. It has been rodded many years ago and sits on a shortened Customline chassis - 351W, C6 etc... I rewired the whole car for him as I owed him a few favours... he recently bought a very interesting Packard... a 38 extended wheelbase hearse. Car is a 110 but is very unusual in that it is effectively a roadster hearse... you may have seen it before... was ex Kinsela hearse from Sydney...

I have no problem putting photo's of my engine in the Blog... I have attached a few other shots of it during assembly and a list below of what I did to the engine if you're interested... I should take a better quality photo of it sometime... I am yet to do the rocker covers as I am still undecided re 2 pack paint vs powder coating... also still considering what the best method of having the 'Packard' writing on top painted red...

Manifolds have been Jet Hot Coated - ceramic coating done by 'Jet Hot Coatings' in Castlemaine in Victoria. I generally do this with all of my engines as the finish is great and it lasts... it also keeps the heat in the exhausts so it goes out the back instead of the engine bay... from memory it costs me about $250 for the inlet manifold and same for the pair of exhaust...

Great to chat... Would like to catch up at Phillip Island... assuming I pull my finger out and get it completed by then..."

Engine is 374 cu ins - stock size - rated at 290 HP
Bored .40"
Big Ends and mains .10"
Cam bearings stock
All new bearings including conrod top bushes
Crank rehardened
Cam Ground
New cam thrust plate - Jack Vines
New valves, guides & springs
New timing gears and chain
New Oldsmobile Oil pump and new distributor drive shaft to match - Jack Vines
Rods & pistons balanced
Chrome moly rings
Cyl Head machined - incl skim on exh surface
Block decked
Ports relieved
Combustion chambers worked to unshroud the valves.
Inlet and exhaust manifolds 'Jet Hot' coated (ceramic type silver coating)
Engine Block original colour is bronze - rocker covers to be silver with 'Packard' in red

Leading me to respond"...Concerning the '38 Hearse, I had heard about it and would have loved to have seen it in the metal but never got to see it before it went south to your mate. It was owned by Neville(deceased) and LesF who are good friends of Noel. In fact Les is doing all the mechanicals on the resto of Noel's '41 160 Club Coupe. I'll see Noel's Coupe, and whatever else Les has at his place(know he has RobertS's '36 Convertible Coupe there at the moment and I think RichardS's '39 Convertible Coupe is still there getting the left door repaired), on Sunday after our PACA run because Noel wants to use my Coupe for some reference points for his resto. As is my habit I'll take LOTS of pic's and send you a link to the PICASA album I put them in.

Peter Toet is doing the T/U strip down, inspection and diagnosis on the Easter Week End and has said he'll keep us informed...

I'd sure like to see you and the Four Hundred Coupe at Philip Island.

And another thing. I see in rereading the Owner Registry entry for your Four Hundred you also have a 51 200 sedan. I'm going to make a real nuisance of myself over this 1) Not so important, but could you include it in the Owner Registry?(In my role as Owner Registry Czar I would be remiss if I didn't ask!)& 2) Much more important, Robert Neal is writing a book about 51-54 Packards and is seeking pictures of the dashboards of RHD 51-54's - See Post #21 in this link from the AACA Website -http://forums.aaca.org/f134/right-hand-drive-packards-214309.html Fred is providing some of his '54 Clippers dash and I will be taking some of JeffM's '52 200 on Sunday. I'm also chasing a few other 51-54 owners here in Sydney/NSW. If you know of any RHD 51-54's in your neck of the woods dashboard pic's would be appreciated...."

And this from Warren "...I started my 51 many years ago and did all of the rust replacement and chassis work and then got wound up in (many) other projects... The dash is unfortunately dismantled and I don't have any electronic photo's of it. I will finish it one day... After I finish the 400, then after I repaint the Clipper etc etc... I'm sure you know the feeling.

A good reference would be JackM in Swan Hill. Jack has a really nice original 53 that definitely has a good dash in it. Jack is getting on a bit now so would be best to go thru JohnM, brother of HeatherM here on PackardInfo, who I am sure would procure the required photo's...

I will put the 51 in the register in due course. I am more than happy to chat re the engine etc... I cruise the forum quite often...but seldom actually take an active part. Not for any real reason - just have too many irons in the fire... I fear that once I got involved I'd spend too much time there..."

Pheeew.... what a correspondence.
Warren for allowing me to broadcast our exchanges.

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See this link for a mainstream media write up, Sydney Morning Herald, of the 2012 Expedition Across Australia. But still no pic's of "Maxi"!

And the usual link to the VVCA Site.

More correspondence from/to Packard Downunder.

From "...photo of my mate's 38 Hearse. This is a copy of the original photo that features in the Packard Book (name escapes me but is a blue thick book - I'll have to check the name at home... maybe 'Packard - A History of the Car and the Company' or similar...) which is incorrectly captioned. The photo in the book states that it is in 'something or other' lawn cemetery in (maybe) California, however is definitely the Kinsela Packard - built in Australia.

My friend's name is GraemeL who is actually a member of the forum. If you ever saw the show 'Cruisin' on TV, he was one of the regular hosts. Very knowledgeable guy - especially on Fords and hearses of all persuasions...Graeme is going to dig up a few other photo's which I'll send thru also..."

To "...Found the pic on Page 706 of the "Kimes Book". As you say, it's definitely the Kinsela Hearse. Could you ask Graeme who built the body? As I'm sure that will be a point of interest. Please thank Graeme in advance for any additional photos. And speaking of Graeme and the Hearse, and especially seeing he is a PackardInfo member, could he include it in the Owner Registry?..."

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