Packard Forum Index » Project Blogs

Ah, yes Guscha, it was a long race but worthwhile and I always believed I could finish!

Well, the topic of refilling a gas tank has been discussed often, but I have not seen any reference to 'bubbles of gas switching off the pump', so maybe the cut-off is activated differently on American pumps -?? Perhaps fumes switch it off? Here I would stand for 10 or 15 minutes trying to fill my tank, with the pump switching off maybe 50 times as the bubbles climbed the filler tube. The gas would not flow in fast enough for the whistle to even work. So my 'fill at home' method is a wonderful one for me!

Are you sure the whistle (or tank vent line) isn't plugged?

Quote:

If yours is an early 51 tank made before they removed the whistle and you used one of the sloshing concoctions that is a good possibility. There have been a few reports of that stuff getting up into the whistle and hardening.

Thanks for your suggestions gents . . . and apologies for my delay in responding.

I blew air (and also sucked air) by mouth through the breather tube and there was just a little bit of resistance so there is no major blockage. But there was no whistle either, so something is amiss with the system. I would expect a whistle to happen even when using my lungs to suck air through. Likewise, no whistle happens when I rapidly pour the gas in from a can. Gas goes in quickly without backing up in the neck, probably as quickly as if it was being pumped from a bowser, yet no whistle is heard. Yet there is a whistle fitted to the tank (- judging from photos I've seen).

So - why doesn't the gas back up in the filler neck when I pour it rapidly from a gas can? It flows in quite OK, so it would seem the breather tube is OK(?)

Or maybe the very small amount of resistance to air flow is causing the problem.

My tank was (thankfully) un-rusted, and looked metal-shiny after a clean, so no 'gunk' was needed. So the whistle must be a dud it seems.

I can only surmise that the problem is not a vent tube blockage, but due only to the gas station pump 'switch-off' mechanism constantly switching off as bubbles back up the filler neck.

My question is: do US petrol pumps use the same switch off mechanism of bubbling gas coming up the filler neck?

You may not have the whistle. I believe the attachment and whistle housing was visually the same but they eliminated the inner whistle part sometime in Dec 1950 so was only on the early run of 1951 cars. They issued another bulletin later on advising how to eliminate the whistle in the field if there were complaints of slow filling at the gas pump so it could also have been removed by the dealer.

Thanks Howard. I reckon you are right about the whistle being 'not present'.

Here are a couple of pics of a recent weekend outing held in our home town of Bathurst, NSW. We all enjoyed great Spring weather when about sixteen Packardians turned up in six Packards and three moderns. There could have been a couple more Packards present, but two couldn't make it due to being 'out of order' for that weekend. Our very own Mal Harris was also 'out of order' with a dose of the 'flu and we missed him (- and his car). A local Packard owner also gave us a look at his almost completed restored '39 One Twenty.

There were a couple of scenic drives through the countryside to visit small villages for lunch, and the Packards all did a great job of delivering us without any problems.

Visits included a tour of an historic mansion nearby, a speedway motorcycle museum and large formal gardens near Oberon, which are about the largest in the southern hemisphere and spectacular.

This was a repeat of a similar weekend outing held back in 2012, and I think most who attended would like to do it again in a couple of years time.

[img width=350]<a href="http://s829.photobucket.com/user/Larry51_2009/media/Lees%20PPPP%20-%20Public%20Packard%20Project%20Pics/Bathurst_weekend15/DSCN0788_zpsixbr61z4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz218/Larry51_2009/Lees%20PPPP%20-%20Public%20Packard%20Project%20Pics/Bathurst_weekend15/DSCN0788_zpsixbr61z4.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSCN0788_zpsixbr61z4.jpg"/></a>[/img]

Nice outing, thanks for the photo. Just curious, how many of the 6 Packards were RHD?

G'day Dave,

From the left -
'34 is RHD,
'37 is LHD,
'38 is RHD,
'39 is RHD,
'51 is RHD
'54 Clipper is LHD.
Both the '37 and the '54 were imported in recent years from the US while all the others were original imports with RHD.

While Lee hasn't mentioned it, but I will, back in August his '51 Deluxe Club Sedan was successful in taking out 3rd place in the 1951 - 1960 section at the Shannons Sydney Classic. A great reward for all the hard work put into the restoration!

Attach file:

---

  (32.02 KB)


  (40.71 KB)


  (49.59 KB)


  (22.97 KB)


  (41.65 KB)

Thanks Mal - very kind of you.

Here are a couple more photos of the Bathurst weekend outing. I had some computer problems last night while trying to upload more pics but now all is well.

Packards lined up in front of 'Abercrombie House' circa 1870.
[img width=350]<a href="http://s829.photobucket.com/user/Larry51_2009/media/Lees%20PPPP%20-%20Public%20Packard%20Project%20Pics/Bathurst_weekend15/DSCN0635_Topaz_LR_zpsyjzqfew3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz218/Larry51_2009/Lees%20PPPP%20-%20Public%20Packard%20Project%20Pics/Bathurst_weekend15/DSCN0635_Topaz_LR_zpsyjzqfew3.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSCN0635_Topaz_LR_zpsyjzqfew3.jpg"/></a>[/img]

Another Packard will soon be 'on the road'
[img width=350]<a href="http://s829.photobucket.com/user/Larry51_2009/media/Lees%20PPPP%20-%20Public%20Packard%20Project%20Pics/Bathurst_weekend15/Tent_4LR0002_zpsplcry10m.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz218/Larry51_2009/Lees%20PPPP%20-%20Public%20Packard%20Project%20Pics/Bathurst_weekend15/Tent_4LR0002_zpsplcry10m.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Tent_4LR0002_zpsplcry10m.jpg"/></a>[/img]

Abercrombie House
[img width=350]<a href="http://s829.photobucket.com/user/Larry51_2009/media/Lees%20PPPP%20-%20Public%20Packard%20Project%20Pics/Bathurst_weekend15/Tent_4LR0003_zpsjief9zwy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz218/Larry51_2009/Lees%20PPPP%20-%20Public%20Packard%20Project%20Pics/Bathurst_weekend15/Tent_4LR0003_zpsjief9zwy.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Tent_4LR0003_zpsjief9zwy.jpg"/></a>[/img]

Guess he was in a hurry for a beer . . .
[img width=350]<a href="http://s829.photobucket.com/user/Larry51_2009/media/Lees%20PPPP%20-%20Public%20Packard%20Project%20Pics/Bathurst_weekend15/Tent_4LR0004_zpshc7wwwqp.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz218/Larry51_2009/Lees%20PPPP%20-%20Public%20Packard%20Project%20Pics/Bathurst_weekend15/Tent_4LR0004_zpshc7wwwqp.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Tent_4LR0004_zpshc7wwwqp.jpg"/></a>[/img]