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Re: Tim's '55 Patrician
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Home away from home
 
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Quote:
You're not alone.....
Posted on: 2011/12/6 17:25
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1951 200 Deluxe Touring Sedan
1951 200 Deluxe Touring Sedan (parts ?) 1951 Patrician Touring Sedan 1955 Patrician Touring Sedan |
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Re: Tim's '55 Patrician
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Home away from home
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Quote:
"I am still envious of those of you who have no problems ripping apart an entire front end, pulling the engine and trans, rebuilding and painting ...." Don;t be envious at all. After u've done it and u've got any car finished u'll wish u didn't know then what u don;t know now. It's not something any us of learned to do just for fun any more than anyone ever learned just for fun to live with an M16 for a few years.
Posted on: 2011/12/6 17:37
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VAPOR LOCK demystified: See paragraph SEVEN of PMCC documentaion as listed in post #11 of the following thread:f
packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=7245 |
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Re: Tim's '55 Patrician
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Home away from home
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Quote:
"Am I the only one, or have some of you felt that the more tools you accumulate, the more capable you become and you find that you are willing to take on projects that you would have paid others to do months earlier??" THe harsh reality is that there is not enuf money in the world to pay anyone to do the job as well as u will do it yourself unless u're standing right over the shoulder of the hired help and watching and directing them every minute of the day. DIY is often just alot slower tho. It's not rocket science. Or to put it another way: U can do the job yourself and make alot of mistakes and still come out with results as good as or maybe even better than the so-called pros. It just takes a longer that's all.
Posted on: 2011/12/6 17:49
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VAPOR LOCK demystified: See paragraph SEVEN of PMCC documentaion as listed in post #11 of the following thread:f
packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=7245 |
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Re: Tim's '55 Patrician
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Home away from home
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Despite the cold weather, I managed to work on the Patrician's brake system a little last evening and made some progress with the passenger's side mechanical brake. I pulled the brake drum -- which turned out to be a much easier task than pulling the hub that came with the vehicle. I then hit the mechanical brake cable with some PB Blaster and let it soak in for a few minutes while I attended to other chores. After a few minutes, I was able to move the cable in and out a little easier and the mechanical brake lever on the rear brake shoe appeared to rest in a more relaxed position. It is still not fully relaxed and I fear that I might have adjusted the brake cable a bit too tight so I'll be loosening that up the next time I get the courage to work on the brake system in 20 or 30 degree weather or when I get a new supply of kerosene for my garage heater.
In the meantime, I started disassembling my spare tail light assemblies in preparation for having them re-chromed. I've been thinking of having the various parts that need re-chroming or replating done over a period of time so that the cost isn't that prohibitive all at once. Since I'm not planning on turning the Patrician into a show car, but a driver, there are some pieces that look pretty decent even after 55 years on the car. Tonight, I'm working on disassembling the other spare tail light assembly that I'm planning on having re-chromed. Neither assembly is too pitted and has no broken or chipped edges so I hope that they are good candidates for re-chroming. Sorry about the quality of the photos. I had to use my cellular telephone since the batteries on my digital camera died and my wife hid the pack of spare batteries. Attach file:  (268.78 KB) (99.51 KB) (68.39 KB) (10.52 KB) (80.95 KB) (8.63 KB)
Posted on: 2011/12/12 21:35
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PA Patrician (Tim Wile)
[size=x-small][color=000099][font=Georgia][url=https://packardinfo.c |
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Re: Tim's '55 Patrician
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Home away from home
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The temperature reached the 50s today and I took advantage of the mild weather to do some more work on the Patrician. I think I got the mechanical brake problem solved in that the rear brake drum now fits on by hand and moves, so that it progress. Now, just to finish adjusting the other three wheels, replace one more brake line, and then add the brake fluid, bleed and test the brakes. I love when a plan comes together!
I also managed to get some work done on the fuel system. I had dropped the fuel tank to check out its condition several months ago and was pleased to see that the tank was in fine condition. The tank was re-installed this afternoon and the fuel line re-connected to the tank. I also put in a new fuel filter in the line going from the tank to the electric supplemental fuel pump and re-connected the mechanical fuel pump to the electrical one. Cool, I thought. I would get the engine running initially with starter fluid and wait until it ran enough to pull fuel from the tank and run from the tank. Well, after a number of starts and a half a can of starter fluid, I still could not see any fuel in the filter coming from the fuel line to the electric fuel pump. I know that the problem is not the mechanical fuel pump since it ran from a plastic bottle when it was disconnected from the fuel tank. I suspect that the electric fuel pump isn't doing its job and blocking the other pump from drawing fuel from the tank. Yes, before anyone asks, there is fuel in the tank. I also checked the wiring on the electric fuel pump and it appears properly connected and there are no blown fuses in the fuse block. Considering that I know that the mechanical fuel pump works, I was thinking of simply by-passing the electrical one and running solely off of the mechanical fuel pump. The other explanation is that I haven't tried the engine enough times to draw fuel from the tank up to the the fuel pumps . . . that thought has crossed my mind. I'll probably give it another half-dozen attempts over the weekend before I reconfigure the system to by-pass the electric fuel pump. Anyone have any suggestions on how to test the electric fuel pump?? I'm assuming that a previous owner installed it for a reason . . . giving that prior owner the benefit of the doubt.
Posted on: 2012/1/6 18:33
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PA Patrician (Tim Wile)
[size=x-small][color=000099][font=Georgia][url=https://packardinfo.c |
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Re: Tim's '55 Patrician
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Forum Ambassador
 
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You should be able to power the pump and it will push fuel thru the mechanical pump without even turning the engine over. You can stop the electric pump when the filter bowl is full and then crank the engine and mechanical will take over pulling fuel thru the electric. That is how many use their pumps so as not to have excess cranking.
When you had the tank off did you verify that the pickup line is open or not rusted thru. The opening points downward into a shallow cavity. Sometimes if fuel was allowed to sit in the tank it evaporates and turns that cavity into a solid block of varnish. Other tanks have had rusted lines right at the bend where it exits and if fuel is lower than that point the pump pulls air instead. Addendum: I just remembered an electric pump on one of my cars that sounded good, pulsed it's little heart out and nary a drop of fuel because it had failed or clogged. That's always a possibility.
Posted on: 2012/1/6 18:44
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Howard
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Re: Tim's '55 Patrician
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I have never heard my electric fuel pump work, so it might be a power problem? What would be an easy/safe way to check if the electric pump even works?
I know that this sounds like a fairly basic and simple question, but electrics has never been my strong suit.
Posted on: 2012/1/6 19:25
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PA Patrician (Tim Wile)
[size=x-small][color=000099][font=Georgia][url=https://packardinfo.c |
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Re: Tim's '55 Patrician
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Forum Ambassador
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Kind of depends on the type pump but most are pulser type and many are polarity sensitive. If yours is one, that could be an issue if your car battery had been reversed at some time. The pump may have been damaged.
Other pumps are rotary and very quiet. Usually that type will not allow fuel to pass unless running so needs to have extra plumbing when used in conjunction with the mechanical. To run the pump, just need a good ground on the proper ground wire and the other wire to a 12v power source. Most take a lead off ign switch IGN terminal or a tie point which only gets power when ign switch is on in the engine run position. Fuse it, run it thru an on/off toggle switch located under dash edge and then to pump. (You wouldn't happen to have an extra switch under the dash that you can't figure out what it does do you?) If wired with a switch you can turn ign key on, turn pump on for a few seconds to prime things and start the engine. Once engine is running turn the pump off and let the mechanical do the work. To test it all you need is the ground connected and run a long piece of wire from the other pump lead either to battery or some other point to get power from. Once connection is made you should hear the pump. If it makes noise you can see if it fills the glass bowl. If not, disconnect the output side and connect it to a tube to see if it pumps gas into a container.
Posted on: 2012/1/6 19:34
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Howard
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Re: Tim's '55 Patrician
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Home away from home
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Fuel problems continue with the Patrician. As suggested, I ran a hot 12 volt wire directly to the electric fuel pump to see if it was operational -- it wasn't. I made several attempts to put juice to the pump but nothing. Apparently, at some point in its life, it was either fried or the polarity reversed from positive to negative ground and back again. (The current battery configuration is positive ground).
So, armed with that information, I disconnected the electric fuel pump from the fuel line and hooked the mechanical fuel pump directly to the fuel line coming from the fuel tank. After trying to get fuel into the mechanical pump directly from the fuel tank, nothing again. Now I know that mechanical pump works since I had the engine running from a small bottle of gasoline connected to a hose that ran directly to the mechanical fuel pump. So, I'm figuring that there has to be some sort of blockage in either the fuel line going from the fuel pump to the tank or in the pick-up unit in the tank itself. So, my current plan the next time the weather is warm enough to work in the garage is to disconnect the fuel pump from the line going back to the tank and hitting the line with a few shots of compressed air to see if I can dislodge whatever might be blocking the fuel flow. My thought is that if I can avoid dropping the tank for a second time, that would be simply great. If the compressed air thing doesn't work, then I will have no choice but to drain and drop the fuel tank a second time and give some serious attention to the fuel pick-up system. As some contributors have mentioned already, the problem then could be a hole in the fuel pick-up line inside of the tank that is higher than the fuel level or some old fuel that had been left sitting that turned into varnish at the bottom of the tank and is clogging the fuel line. Neither explanation is particularly attractive to me but I suppose that there are worse things to have happen. By some stroke of luck, I did manage to pick up a decent spare fuel tank that I could install if the original one is bunged up on the inside. I suppose the varnish problem would be more easily remedied than the corroded fuel pick-up line that has a hole in it. I'm still hoping that the shots of compressed air will get things moving. Keep your fingers crossed for me! 
Posted on: 2012/1/11 22:54
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PA Patrician (Tim Wile)
[size=x-small][color=000099][font=Georgia][url=https://packardinfo.c |
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