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Wednesday 2nd December 2009

Arriving at the workshop found Wade making a battery hold down strap for Noels '39 120. He'd had trouble starting it this morning as the battery was very low and even with the trip to the workshop, about 8 miles, it didn't charge up. So because Wade's doing a wedding on Friday for a friend, and using Noel's 120 because Big Red is still seriously inconvenienced, Wade's also using his Optima battery to ensure he gets to the church on time. Optima installed, then it was into replacing the sparkplugs because there was a miss with the 120. And yesterday, apart from that, the 120 performed flawlessly on the Morris Minor Picnic Club run. So the Autolites I'd cleaned up and gapped the other day were replaced by Wade's spare set of Champions, but with no discernible difference. Must be the points, because Wade had replaced them with a used set from Old Blue. Next the 120 was put on Rick's hoist and greased, Noel had mentioned he would like to do that, and seeing the hoist was vacant I took the opportunity to do so.

While it was up on the hoist Wade noticed that the flywheel had a white paint mark on it and seeing there wasn't a mark on the front pulley or a pointer either for that matter he used John's timing light to more scientifically set the timing. So 120 lowered on hoist, timing light connected to #1 plug lead and stowed on chassis rail, engine started, hoist raised, under the 120, timing light doesn't work! 120 lowered on hoist, engine off, timing light disconnected and back to the bench to disassmble and fix it. Turns out to be the contact at the lens end was moving and avoiding contact. A drop or two of superglue to hold it in place and back together again. Then timing light connected to #1 plug lead and stowed on chassis rail, engine started, hoist raised, under the 120, and timing light works but no sign of the white marking on the flywheel. Advancing or retarding the distributor fails to find the white marking either. So has it been timed to another cylinder, #6 maybe? 120 lowered on hoist, engine off, timing light disconnected, re-connected to #6 plug lead, engine started, hoist raised, under the 120, and timing light works and again no sign of the elusive white marking on the flywheel. Didn't try further, surmised the white marking could be anything and, rather than pogo-sticking a '39 Packard on a hoist, Wade set the distributor timing with his finely tuned ear while under the 120.

Next was adjusting the shutters on John's 110, Such a good a job was done on ensuring they would open now they wouldn't close properly! After some to and fro Wade finally found the necessary balance so now they close properly as well as open as they should.

Back to the 120. Harvey had mentioned that the steering boxes of both '39's he's working on were bone dry and suggested it wouldn't hurt to check Noel's if Wade had the chance. Well here was the chance, Wade took the filler plug out and what do you know? Bone dry! Fortunately Wade had some Penrite Steering Box Lube on the shelf which has on it's instructions "Easy to use being just pourable at ambient temperature." Well if you believe that you'd still be waiting for the first drop to pour and it's now about 5 hours since Wade did it. And how did he do it? Into the microwave for 30 seconds, not much happening. Another 30 seconds, still not much happening. And a final 60 seconds, now we had something pourable.

The turned to Big Red, not much has been done with the old girl for a some time while waiting for parts and machining. Now have all the parts but the crankshaft and rods haven't returned from being balanced so there's still a big holdup there. But the right front brake drum has been off for a while and, now that the fluid leak at the wheel cylinder has been fixed, back on it went. Wade also had the front seat out to resew the buttons back into it. He'd done all the rear seat, squab and back, at home as well as the front seat squab. But because the upholstery for front seat back is integral with the seat back surround it was too big and cumbersome to take home to work on. Plus there was the added disadvantage of the steel seat back not allowing access to rear of the upholstered back unlike the other back and the squabs which didn't have that impediment. Rather than have the upholstery undone to access the back an alternative solution was to drill holes in the steel back to permit Wade to thread through a nylon line to re-secure the errant buttons. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Should be, but to get there required perseverance and some trial and error. There were 2 buttons on the front seat back which had "popped" but Wade was re-securing all 6 just as he'd done for the others replaced at home. Some measuring and marking on the steel seat back and a hole was drilled. Wade used a long mattress needle to push through from the button position on the upholstery to the hole drilled at the back but no amount of fiddling and jiggling could get the needle to the hole. Some eye-balling of the hole relevant to button position revealed it was about 2" out of whack! New holes drilled, this time 2, as part of Wade's plan for securing the buttons and after a lot of further fiddling and jiggling got the needle into the hole. The passage of the needle wasn't helped at all by the wadding, padding and springs and things which conspired to be in the way of it's journey to the seat back hole. However, that done a button was threaded onto the eye of the needle and with me pulling the pointed end through with a pair of pliers, surprising how hard it was to pull through, we got there. After the first one was in place it was comparatively easier as the first holes now served as a reference point and as our technique improved with practice. At the moment the buttons are loosely tied and will probably be finished tomorrow.

Oh, and here's something interesting, check out this thread Matt Snapes Speedster?. Turns out Matt dropped into see Wade the other day, and it turns out he did so because Matt's son has his car serviced by John at the workshop and told Matt about Wade and his Packards. Matt's interested in Wade's spare '34 rolling chassis, engine, trans, etc for his proposed racing Packard. Wade also has a copy of Robert Neal's "Packards at Speed" which he's lending to Matt and, Matt if you read this, it's now sitting in the workshop waiting for you to drop by to borrow it!

Quote: John,

Which handle? The one from Harvey or the one on my Coupe? I'll be giving Harvey his handle back on Sunday, and if you're there you might be able to negotiate a change of ownership with him.

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The door handles currently on your 41 look like the ones on my 40. Harvey's look different than mine.

The assumption here is that my handles are correct for 1940 (which I think are correct but I am not the one to ask to be sure).

Hi Mal - this is a pretty incredible thread you have going here. Great to see such enthusiasm.

I sent Wade an email last night re his kind offer to lend me his book, to be honest I don't want to impose and I am very flattered that he would make such an offer to a relative stranger. I am hoping the wife will buy a copy for me for Xmas - and maybe also Robert Neals book on Packard motors ...? I suppose there is no harm in asking.

Anyway, I hope to get a chance to drop by next week and will bring the overalls if I can find the time. I can't really think of a better way to spend an afternoon.

Thanks to all of those that are currently helping with my enquiries re Racing Packards and to yourself and Wade in particular for being so generous with both your time and expertise.

Regards

Matt Snape

Quote:
Matt,
for the kind words, and yes I am enthusiastic. Does it really show that much?
As for time and expertise, well Wade certainly has the expertise so I must be the one with the time.

It'll be good to see you next week down at the workshop.

Hi Mal and Wade, Please be advised that I believe Noel's engine to be assembled with the valve timing one tooth retarded. You will have to time it by ear until the next time the engine front clip is removed and the valve timing corrected. It does not develop its full horsepower but it goes well under the circumstances. Best regards Peter Toet

Quote:
Quote: Peter,

That explains it then, with Wade doing the right thing in the circumstances.

Monday 7th December 2009

After donating blood in the morning it was off to the workshop. Should mention though that yesterday before I went to our clubs Christmas lunch I went to look at a Packard for sale. It is a '40 110 LHD and the dealer selling it only wants AU$39,900! Now Packards don't come up for sale here very often and especially through a car dealer. This dealer is located on Parramatta Road, which at one time was mile upon mile of car yards of various descriptions, so I thought Sunday would be a good viewing day. Not so, this dealer is only open Monday to Friday, my how times have changed. That said, when next I'm in the neighbourhood during business hours I'll drop in and look it over then.

First up was completing the upholstery job on Big Red's front seat buttons. Wade had rummaged through Gina's button box and come up with some fine specimens for use on the seat back. So with me pushing in the buttons to a reasonable depth on the seat Wade was around the back tying the nylon cords threaded through the buttons.

Next, with no work possible on Big Red, still waiting on parts, or work needed on either of the '39's, it was now the turn of the somewhat neglected '34. Some weeks back Harvey had picked up some lengths of bailey channel from Spectrum Rubber. Now the question was how do you bend it? The original channels, although complete, had the felt or whatever it is crumbling from it's 75 years of age and exposure to the elements. The replacement channel, although not the same as the original which is fully metal backed, when installed looks the part and as originals were not available this solution was adopted. I'm not going too far into it but the first attempt at bending the channel to follow the perimeter on the new rear window glass at first looked good but on closer examination there were kinks on the out of sight side. Much head scratching about how to bend the channel without kinking it but no obvious answer. So round to see the Mowads, a local panel shop, to tap into their expertise. Unfortunately it didn't extend back to 1934 so Wade was left to his own devices. Back to the workshop, this time cut the channel to a more user friendly length because it had been like wrestling with a snake previously when doing the second bend needed. Also measured and marked the centre of the first bend on the outside of the channel as a bending reference point. Next "Special Packard Bailey Channel Bending Tool" was brought down from the shelf and the first bend made, perfect! Then the second bend, after measuring and marking again, and a bit of tweaking there you had it, a good usable bailey channel. Then came removal of the rubber seal in the window frame channel, it's the metal channel sealed to the bottom of the window glass and is connected to the winding mechanism to raise and lower the window. Being old, perished and rusted in together with being less than 1/8" wide and about 1/4" deep presented it's own set of problems. Equipped with a Stanley Knife, more of that later, a small metal pick and a screwdriver Wade picked while I Stanleyed. Took some time but managed to clear all the rubber, or rather what was once rubber, from the left rear channel. Turned to the right rear then with Wade again picking and I Stanleying. This rubber bore some resemblance to it's name and proved harder to clean out of the channel although we were making progress, slow progress.
Then Mal Stanleyed himself. All work came to a standstill as I slashed about a 1" cut into the back of my right thumb below the knuckle. Bleed? Yes, it bled, but surprisingly no pain. Still no pain and it's now well over 4 hours since the gory event. Wade became nurse and doctor administering first aid by bandaiding it up and Rick proffered a blue rubber glove which is being used as a thumbstall with the fingers cut off. Purely for practical purposes mind you, I'm definitely not imitating Michael Jackson in any way!

So ended my time at the workshop for today. Won't be there tomorrow as Wade is out and about, and while out will drop Noel's '41 160 front shocks into Tony "Shocks" for rebuilding. And I'll report back in on Wednesday together with a special guest!

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Wednesday 9th December 2009

After some extra curricular activity this morning caught up with Wade, and to my surprise Wade's wife Gina, when I arrived at the workshop. Gina had dropped in, but it was more of a surprise when I arrived because at the time I strangely looked like Santa Claus! My extra curricular activity had been playing Santa to the kids of my daughters mothers group. So still clad in full Santa regalia I arrived at the workshop. This elicited those there sitting on Santa's knee and having their photos taken.

After the festive photo's were done it was into Packard work or should I say into John's '39 110 to chase some parts. First stop was Lee Bros for some needed hardware then to Hare & Forbes for a large drill bit. That done I suggested to Wade we drop into see the '40 110 Sedan for sale on Parramatta Road. Did that, the car yard guy was pleased to let us look it over and of course I took some pic's. Their main line of business is Aussie and US muscle cars and 50's/60's Chevs. The '40 is LHD, no OD, no Radio, has had a recent quick paint job, upholstery is reasonable but some tatty corners, engine has new plugs and leads, new starter solenoid, but many wires with partly missing insulation and came from Oklahoma. The asking price is AU$39,900 but as my '38 Eight sold for AU$23,000 in much better mechanical condition, good body but old paint and good interior with radio I can't see them getting that price.

That done, back to the workshop and into the '34. This time installed the left rear upper bailey channel to the wooden door frame. First trimmed the previously bent channel to size, then secured it to the door frame with the result looking real good. More tomorrow as the right rear is bent up and installed then the front windows.

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Thursday 10th December 2009

Today was work on the '34 day, a rare occurrence. Yesterday new bailey channel had been installed in the left rear door. This morning a piece of channel was cut to working length, bent to shape then installed in the right rear door in much less time taken for the other side. And that left us plenty of time for the next phase, the front windows, and wasn't it needed. Started on the right front quarter window which had been re-chromed and new glass fitted. Wade had previously re-furbished the frame for the window and equipped it with Steele Rubber rubber and bailey channel for the front runner of the main window. It's a matter of just putting all together and installing it in the car, right? In theory yes, but with a 75yo Packard which has suffered the ravages of time it's no! After numerous assemblies and dis-assemblies to get parts to fit properly, necessitating minor adjustments to the frame, bolts, the quarter window opening gearbox, you name it! And we adjusted it, again, and again, and again! Finally it's mounted in the '34! Halleluljah! Next it was the left front quarter window, and......same again! This time even more so, assembly, disassembly, adjustment, assembly, disassembly, adjustment, assembly, disassembly, adjustment, assembly, disassembly, adjustment, you get the picture? Just wouldn't work right. After all reasonable adjustments had been made a much more careful examination of the quarter window frame itself revealed it wasn't the right shape! The bottom edge, although appearing flat, is not flat! The right side has a very gentle rise from the pivot point to the front of the window while the left side didn't. It appears that it may have been straightened recently, possibly when the new glass was fitted. What to do? Why, remove the glass and put back the slightly curving rise as it should be! This necessitated unscrewing the rear u channel from the frame, separating it from the "gorilla snot" sealant, not an easy task in itself, then doing the same for the roughly D shaped remainder of the frame. Comparison with a spare quarter window frame confirmed that the re-chromed frame was out of whack. This necessitated some forceful treatment till it assumed the shape it is meant to be. Then some more assembly and fitment to the left front door. Finally, after some further minor adjustment this time to both quarter windows, mission accomplished. Doesn't sound like a great deal of work but, be assured, all this took the best part of the working day to achieve. Going through all this, it is now plain where all the time goes in a restoration to get things right.

But enough of that. Early this morning, 4:30am Sydney time, I phoned Willysreplacementparts to order Harvey's '40 Willys grill. And during the course of the day Noel had phoned from up north, where he was on his way to Newcastle, to pick up his re-chromed parts before he heads to the US to spend Christmas with the Flackmaster. And I also received some pic's from Santa of his visit yesterday of the guys at the workshop and their Christmas gift requests to the old bearded gent!

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Monday 14th December 2009

Arrived at the workshop to find PeterL there with Wade, they were tackling the steering shaft that Noel had found for Peter because the bearing surfaces on either end of the worm on Peter's '38 120 were badly worn. However it turns out the shaft that Noel found has been modified with what look to be transmission ball bearings used in lieu of the stock roller bearings! The upper bearing came off the replacement shaft easily but the lower bearing resisted all attempts to press the shaft off.

After Peter left we jumped into John's '39 110 and then off to pick up the paperwork needed to present to the Roads and Traffic Authority(RTA) to enable the car's registration details to be changed because of installing the re-built engine in place of the original. Should be easy, but it wasn't. Because Wade wasn't John the RTA wouldn't allow him to present the paperwork even though he had everything there including the current registration papers. But that's a bureaucracy for you, and the RTA is one of the best!

Back at the workshop turned again to the '34, first up measured, cut, bent and installed the new bailey channel for the left front window. What next, because there's still some necessary rubber coming from the US, expected to arrive next week, couldn't do more with the front windows. Same with the rears, although more bailey channel needs to be cut and fitted to the lower sections of both rear doors but these too are stymied waiting for other parts to enable installation in the right sequence.

So turned to the next job which was the window winding and interior door opening mechanisms. Like everything Wade had these in the shelving bays allocated to each door. So bay by bar, door by door each mechanism was unscrewed from it's wooden frame, cleaned, checked for operation, lubricated and re-installed in the woodwork. All of these are now located within the '34's body ready for installation after the channels, rubbers and glass are finally in place.

After that we just sat down for a good half hour or so and discussed various things including returning John's '39 to him tomorrow. However the highlight of the discussions, well for me at least, was bringing in my '41 Coupe to start working on it's engine re-build. What this also means, although it's hard to do it, is store Noel's award winning '39 120 Sedan in my garage so there's space in the workshop for the '41, but I'll have to keep a stiff upper lip and suffer it! Jokes aside, I'm only too happy to have Noel's '39 in residency. Although if the odometer shows a fair few more miles when you get back from the US Noel, it's only because I had to keep things like the bearings and brakes working rather than leave them to develop the kind of problems encountered and fixed recently.

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