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Friday 14th October 2011

Arriving at the workshop I was put to work cleaning the diff housing of the dirt, oil, grime and grease adorning it. But just prior to that the diff housing "on the shelf" was inspected in case it fitted. It didn't! While I was doing that Wade did some housekeeping, including refilling the grease gun, then started on the mounting pads preparing them for re-attachment to the diff housing. I joined Wade at the point where brute strength was no longer making an impression. Instead Wade turned to the hot spanner, mounting the right side pad in the vice and using the oxy torch to heat it then re-shaping it, taking a couple of attempts before it attained the required shape. Part of this process were a number of trial fits on the cleaned up diff housing on the bench. Finally the mounting pads were placed on the rear springs, still in the car, and the diff housing slid back into place. Result? Looks pretty good! Then while Wade ground the stumps of the welds off the insides of the mounting pads I cleaned up the gasket face for the pumpkin as well as the oil slick it had deposited on the bench top since sitting there from yesterday. Wade then ground off the weld stumps on the diff housing using an angle grinder. Mounting pads back onto the springs and diff housing onto the pads and it felt as well as looked good. While Wade was busy organising the arc welder, for John to tack weld the pads to the housing, I was doing more cleaning, this time the U bolts, nuts and washers. Wade and Graham then departed, to walk round the corner, to have the mounts securely welded to the housing. Only trouble was the guy wasn't there. While they were away I took the opportunity to clean still more parts in readiness for re-assembly.

And just prior to leaving for Friday lunch, Wade picked up Noel from the railway station.. Back at the workshop Noel took the opportunity to see John and Annet's '40 110 and hear of it's tale of woe. Noel was then able to depart in Fleurette. I trust he had an uneventful trip home, he deserves it.

Quote:Matt,

Fortunately this era Packard has a X member which surrounds the front of the tailshaft and the front uni. Would make a hell of a noise if the front uni broke but shouldn't pole vault. What appears to have happened in this instance is that the diff housing U bolts weren't tight. Seems John had been hearing a "clunk" for a while, thought it could be the uni joints and checked those and found them to be OK. Because of the loose fasteners it looks like the movement of the diff housing trying to rotate finally reached a point where, when the car was put out of OD coming off the motorway, it finally snapped the welds, snapped or pulled out the hand brake cables, bent the pinion flange and broke the rear uni joint. Luckily the rear flexible brake line between chassis and diff housing remained intact so Annet, who was driving at the time, could bring the car to a stop. All that was accompanied by a lot of noise and because the front universal joint mounts to a splined "slip" joint which permits fore-and-aft movement of the tailshaft it only has one way to go, backwards, and it slid out on the road without any complications.

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Yes There WAS a loud noise.

When I was interested in the car and Annet asked how big it was (and we all know how big these things are comparitively), I told her it was a Junior model. Of course, eventually she saw it, but it has been called "Junior" since then.

John, now that you mention it I have heard that story before. "Junior" it respectfully will be from here on in.

Mal, this is a spectacular failure. She is lucky the rear brakes continued to work to bring the Packard to a safe stop. Checking the rear spring u-bolts is now on my list of maintenance items. Remind Wade to replace the flexible rear brake line as it has most likely become compromised by absorbing the force of the rotating differential. Thanks.

(o[]o)

Quote:John,

We're on top of that as evidenced by the prior day's post Quote:

Regarding your other comment of:

Quote:
Actually John, Annet probably pulled up on the front brakes only because the flexible hose was kinked to such an extent that brake fluid couldn't get to the rear cylinders. Lucky the line held otherwise, being single system hydraulics, there would have been nothing!

Also received an email from Noel, wherein he said ".....I had a good trip home yesterday. All went well but there seems to be a bit of a squeak under the bonnet which I'll investigate further next week....." Wonder if it's because Wade fixed the horn button and horn ring rattles that Noel can now hear the squeak?

Monday 17th October 2011

Not a great deal of progress on Junior today, in fact in some ways it went backwards. First thing was getting the diff housing around the corner so the mounting pads can be re-welded. Because the diff housing will be POR-15'd after it returns it was decided that many of the other loose parts would be similarly treated if required. So, I spent a fair amount of time cleaning parts. While doing that Juniors Dad, John, arrived, hadn't expected to see him so soon. It was good that he came though as Wade was able to discuss a number of things concerning what had been done as well as what was going to be done. And why did things go backwards? Number of factors, one being the discussions between Wade and John. Walking around under Junior the speedo cable and the rear shocks were mentioned as matters that needed checking. Better to do those now while things are readily accessible. Another reason was working in proximity to various components that demand inspection because of their nature, like brakes. Because the hand brake cables had been torn asunder the rear brake shoes had to be released from the backing plates in order to remove the broken/mangled "spigots" that the cables pass through on the backing plates. Doing that was also to facilitate cleaning of components but it also meant close attention being paid to all the brake componentry. Took the wheel cylinders off and apart and gave the cylinders a very light hone, will replace the rubbers too. Found the brake shoe springs, at least on one side are definitely NOT Packard! And three out of four of the brake shoe locating pins were bent and one was shorter than the other three! Regarding the broken/mangled "spigots" I did suggest that those on spare backing plates from a post-war Packard may fit, saving repair work on the old ones, and they did! I also thought I might be able to "do a Wade" and produce a part off my Packard shelf to fit Junior, to wit, an inner speedo cable. However when I returned with the inner cable found it only had one square end so that put paid to that. However in the time that I'd taken to go home and pick up the cable Wade had a closer look at Junior's cable and feels a new cable may not be necessary. Wade found the present cable was routed incorrectly and re-routed it to straighten it's path to the speedo drive. Once the diff housing mounting pads are re-welded to the housing all components requiring painting including the pumpkin will be painted then once the replacement parts arrive will be assembled. Only parts that may take a little longer to arrive are the new hand brake cables but at least Junior can be made mobile without those at a pinch.

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I would NOT be jealous of that snubber. Mine new snubbers are way more heavy duty than that original, which I would lay a bet needs replacement. And the stake? One 354820 switch - I think I've got one here somewhere - and for the record, as I suspect you are learning, they do wear out. Check that old snubber - I will stand by Wades evaluation. DAF

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Tuesday 19th October 2011

Slow progress today with a late morning start and after picking up the welded up diff housing and it, the pumpkin, shock/spring hanger brackets, "spigots", other fittings and hardware were final cleaned and setup in readiness for painting.

Then lunch intervened, the weekly workshop lunch that's been re-scheduled from Thursdays to Tuesdays that is. Besides being the first workshop lunch on a Tuesday it was also Wade's turn to provide the meal. To this end the menu had been settled as gourmet steak sandwiches and all the ingredients had been purchased yesterday in readiness. I'm not much of a cook but today I was pressed into service by Wade to assist. Cut up some capsicums to serve as both egg rings on the BBQ and to be cooked on the plate along with onions, tomatoes, lamb & mint sausages and the steaks. Whole grain thick sliced bread provided the platform on which your choice from the fillings provided together with your choices of sauces and condiments could be made. Must have had luck on my side, didn't burn anything to a crisp and, everyone seemed to enjoy their sandwiches, some even going back for seconds!

After lunch it was then into the serious stuff, painting with POR-15! And this time I can say, and I think it's a first, that I didn't get any of the paint on me! Wade tells me that he's ordered all the parts required but by a strange quirk and contrary to my statement the other day of
Quote:it looks like the hand brake cables may be the first parts to arrive having already been shipped!

Quote:David,

When it comes to Packard parts, I will not be laying any bets against you!

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Friday 21st October 2011

Dropped into the workshop this morning to discover that Wade has refitted the diff housing to Junior. He's also refitted the wheel cylinders to the backing plates. Once the ordered parts arrive, maybe next week, final assembly can be undertaken. With Junior up in the air, Wade took the opportunity to give Junior a lube job and to drain and replace the engine oil and in doing so fitted a new copper washer to the sump plug, no more leaks from there now. John had also been over yesterday and I understand he's pleased with the progress so far. Until the parts arrive Wade's also been tinkering with some things on and for The Fossil, just what I didn't find out, maybe next week?

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Monday 24th October 2011

A fleeting appearance at the workshop this morning to find 1) Another Packard there, Michael's '54 Convertible, and 2) No parts yet from the US, so no work for Mal. Michael was there to talk to Wade about rebuilding the front end of the Convertible. Wade will do that once Michael buys a complete front end kit and it arrives from the US. Sitting on the bench was a radio Wade had fixed for Harvey's '40 Willys. It's of more recent vintage than the Willy's being an AWA Cruiser Transistor and Harvey wondered, because it was "full" of transistors, whether Wade could fix. Well, Wade could and did fix it, finding lots of valves and one, count 'em, one transistor only! All the valves AND the transistor were replaced as well as capacitors but it still wasn't working right until Wade found it was fitted with a 4 Ohm speaker instead of the 15 Ohm it needed. Wade also tells me he's keen to get The Fossil up on the hoist once Junior is out of the way.

Over the weekend, I also had a call from JohnM about taking him and his TJ Richards bodied '39 Six Sedan to see the guy who repaired the bumps and bruises on my '38 Eight before I sold it. John has some nicks and scratches on his '39 which he wants fixed. Have arranged to go to John's house tomorrow afternoon and from there I'll drive the '39 Six because John is 83 and has an injured shoulder at the moment which prevents him from driving it.

So without gainful employment at the workshop I headed home. About halfway between the workshop and home, I pass by the house of RichardW. Richard has a 30/98 Vauxhall Tourer, builds roadster/convertible wooden top bows from scratch and supplies rivets of all shapes, sizes and configurations. Today parked outside Richard's house, on a car trailer, was a highly polished aluminium(aluminum) bodied '21 E-type Vauxhall! Only had a chance to take a few pic's before the cars owner drove off. Afterwards spoke to Richard who advised the guy had driven down from Queensland, 500 miles north, with another Vauxhall which he'd put on a ship to the UK. And was now returning to Queensland with the Vauxhall on the trailer, which is his "run-about" and had been used on a recent Vauxhall club rally on the south coast of New South Wales. And the Vauxhall he'd put on a ship? It's going to be a participant in the London to Capetown Rally next year! Apparently the guy has participated in a couple of recent Peking to Paris Rallys so knows what he's up against.

EDIT - Almost forgot. Richard told me he's found a pair of Rudge Whitworth wire wheels from which a mate of his is only going to use the 24" rims. This means the hubs, one of which has a Packard hub cap, are available as well as spokes and possibly other bits. DavidM - You come to mind as someone who would know whether there are any Aussie Packard owners who might be interested in the hubs? If you do, let me know and I'll pass on Richards contact details.

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