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found a shop only about 2 blocks from the one my parts are at. 175 to bore and he has a peening machine big enough he says to fit my block. save me time in wire brushing and it will be way cleaner.

its an older man, more like a mom and pop place. does alot of older domestic stuff. Plus....he didn't ask me what Packard was ;0) LMAO!

i'll update more soon.

Hank

gasket set, cam bearings, fuel pump rebuild kit, water pump rebuild kit, anc carburetor rebuild kit all ordered now.

waiting a bit to order the mains/connecting bearings and freeze plugs, engine decal set, and front engine mounts. gotta save some more.

also need to pay my good friend Mike for the block and the trans cooler.

until then

Hank

got some garage time in last weekend and last night

the stove is a very old unit that came from my wife's grandmother's when she pasted away recently. i restored it for her and put it in a place she could enjoy it. i used semi-gloss 2000 degree engine rattle can paint. i got the stack from Lowes and capped it off so birds and such wont get in it. yes i have used it before i painted it and it gets quit warm ;0)

i also started cleaning up accessory engine parts as you can see with the oil pan. i took out some dents in it and just started cleaning away.

i bought this water connection from Mike Dotson..ebay auction says PACKARD HEATER HOSE FITTING 55 56 NOS (#360290931193)...seems as though it is not correct for my water pump housing. it is supposed to go into that threaded part marked by the arrow right??? or does it go into the heater core side???....but as you can tell the threads are too large. is there a difference in the senior to junior part? i seriously doubt it, but thought i would ask.

i can't reuse the old one...it is rotted beyond reuse on the side the hose connects to.

does anyone have one of these in good shape? also could use a oil dipstick....the little cap that is on mine goes past the top stop and allows the dipstick to go to far in. i'm sure i could fix it, but i thought maybe someone on here just had these parts laying around taking up space.

also forgot to ask...has anyone already replaced that freeze plug in the picture? and if so....help. ;0)

Hank

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The stove looks nice. I remember something similar in an old miners cabin my dad had.

On the water connection, I can't remember if it is 1/4", 3/8", or 1/2" pipe thread--I think 1/2 and believe the hose is 5/8 ID but won't swear to either. If so, Napa has some universal connectors that are all but identical to the original. Do a search for universal hose connector and 120 items comes up. Of those listed, a dozen or so are the straight thread to hose connectors in various sizes. If I am right on the sizes, this one is a good possibility, otherwise there are others. If enough of your old is left, a visit to the store for a match might find something.

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Henry,

The size of heater hose nipple is 3/8" NPT. Like Howard says, they are available and NAPA and any respectable auto parts store. You can get longer ones, straight ones, and angled ones. The stock nipple is a short straight one.

Nice to see some progress on the Fifty-five. I too spent a hot Austin weekend working on mine and will post that garage session for all to enjoy.

Nice job on the stove too. An attractive piece of outdoor yard art.

(o{I}o)

HH...what of the freeze plug, i'm guessing just measure and find something similar....my only fear of leaving it in there is that it is so rusty that it wont pop out when needed, if needed.

i seriously doubt i will ever need it to pop out considering what this cars function will be, but i might as well replace it while its off the car.

also thanks to HH and JW for the suggestions on the heater connector.

Hank

It's a good thing you are choosing to change those freeze plugs. The ones in my 352 looked fine, but were actually paper thin and corroded from the back side. I barely taped it with a screw driver and it poked through.

I need to find some as well, as I am almost to the point of painting the engine.

Kanter has a set for 19 bucks. cheap enough for me.

Max is 5 a piece= 30 bucks

i'm sure there is a SBC equivelant at the autozone that would work, but i don't know the size as all mine were either tossed at the machine shop or disentigrated like yours.

i'm looking for the one in the water pump housing also, will probably have to call a vendor to see and if not will take this one to size up to an equivelant.

Hank

Changing wouldn't be a bad idea on the manifold with it out. I can't speak to the size for sure as I have never measured it. Maybe one of the engine guys has a definitive answer but the parts manual says 1 3/8. What I don't know is if that is actual size or one of Packards examples of "we'll call it something for convenience but really it is +/- a 32nd" examples.

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i gotta quit forgeting about that parts manual! dang!

thanks again HH!

also look above...there is the size of that heater hose connector! sweet! ;0)

i'm betting to that the size of the freeze plugs for the block on in there too. ;0) but looking over the prices of just normal freeze plugs on autozone....Kanter's price isn't that bad either and i gotta order my mains and rod bearings from them soon....they were cheaper there then Max.

found this in 1 3/8.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Dorman-Freeze-Plug/_/N-8znl4?counter=20&filterByKeyWord=1.375+freeze+plug&fromString=search&itemIdentifier=218173_0_0_&newYmme=true

Hank