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Tuesday 12th June 2012

Quick stop at the workshop this morning regarding this thread looking for a '39 taillight. Was going to separate the licence plate holder from the taillight housing but the nuts are very well rusted onto the screws. Rather than risk damaging anything left it as is and packaged the light up. Was able to slip the top retaining clamp on the licence plate bracket down the bracket, just as well, because it then fitted the box I'd brought from home to ship it in! Then it was off to the Post Office to check the charges I'd quoted earlier. Turned out to be a little less because it weighs in at 1.6kg whereas I'd allowed 2kg on the Post Office on-line calculator. So the taillight should soon be winging it's way to South Africa.

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Friday 15th June 2012

Dropped into the workshop this morning, gave Misty her weekly bone, and noticed there's a box from Max on Wade's desk. Looks like the 356 will progress when Wade returns next week. Also had cause to ring JP yesterday, he was on the Border Run, about another matter. JP advised that, although Wade made it in his Holden Ute, Barry Smith's Twelve didn't get that far. Apparently starter motor and other problems cut the Twelve's trip short.

Monday 18th June 2012

Arrived at the workshop this morning expecting Wade to be there, but no, not back yet. A phone call later found Wade at Holbrook, about 500kms south of Sydney, and not back at the workshop till Wednesday. One thing I did notice while at the workshop was something on the engine bench with a sheet over it, wonder what it can be?

And a Packard snippet. - Went for a Sunday morning run yesterday in the Coupe. Stopping to buy some fresh bread rolls, I was approached by a lady who wanted to determine that it indeed was a Packard because her husband would be interested. Got to talking and she told me they have a '38 Buick Century which has been off the road since their son was born 47 years ago! She also advised that back then they used to go on picnic's with a friend who had a '38 Packard. Even then, early/mid 60's, that wouldn't have been a common sight.

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Wednesday 20th June 2012

Back to the workshop today but not for long. First gave Misty a bone and this time managed to get a picture of her with it. Then welcomed Wade back and helped him finish unloading the Ute. Amongst other things he'd returned with were a pulley for Junior's generator and a pair of side grill's also for Junior, all courtesy of Fred, pepepackard. Biggest thing was another block, for Big Red, courtesy of a PACA member from South Australia who had it sitting as a spare under his bench for the last 10 years. And I received a big surprise when Wade showed me a series of 5 pictures of a '39 horn contact setup together with a spring and some tape, all from RobT, another South Australian PACA member.
Rob!

After unloading that block the next task was putting the block from Harvey into the pasts washer. Darren, Barry's engine builder, has found Big Red's re-sleeved block to be cactus so both blocks now on hand are heading to Tamworth next week for inspection and assessment as to their suitability for Big Red's engine rebuild. Barry will be down next week and will take both blocks back with him when he returns to Tamworth. Speaking of Barry, also learned why he didn't get to the Border Run in the Twelve. Apparently there were a couple of problems on the way, the first being fixed at Dubbo, about 330 kms into the trip. Barry had been having trouble with the battery not charging and at Dubbo found an old time, old style Auto Electrical shop where the son now ran the business. But when the Twelve came in Dad came down to the shop 1) to see the car, and 2) found the source of the trouble, a loose connection on a wire from the regulator grounding it to the frame/body. However there were also problems starting the Twelve which came to a head at Wyalong another 250 kms into the trip. Wade and Barry stayed there overnight but in the morning Barry decided it was best he returned home to sort out the problem. In one way Wade was glad Barry returned home as he tells me that pushing a Twelve to start it is no easy matter because they are bl**dy heavy! As it was Barry took the Twelve to the Auto Electrical shop at Dubbo who were able to effect the repair in a day but by that time it was too late for the 970 km trip to join the Border Run. What the problem was that although the starter motor had been rebuilt, when it had been done it was done with ordinary brass bushings which had collapsed.

With Harvey's block in the parts washer then turned to the box of parts from Max which was sitting on Wade's desk. And this box has a story itself. For a start Australian Customs determined that import duty of $4,000 needed to be paid before it could be released to Wade. $4000 duty for box containing head studs and some bushings for Big Red and a thermostat retainer, thermostat kit, throw out bearing, fuel pump kit and some "bling" in the form of chromed/domed acorn nuts and washers for the 356? Doesn't add up does it? Well it does if Australian Customs sees the declared value for the head nuts is $420. No not the set, but each! Obviously it has now been sorted out but it reminded me of the time I bought something from eBay in the US for $12.00 which on the declaration form was written as $1200 with the decimal point non existent. That too was sorted out but it doesn't help the blood pressure.

After Wade pressed the throw out bearing onto it's collar I turned to cleaning up Pepe's generator pulley. This I did on the wire wheel and in the blasting cabinet, now needs a coat of paint and it can then be pushed and bolted onto the generator. While I was doing that Wade had turned to installing the the new thermostat in the 356's thermostat housing. Only trouble was it didn't fit. Then he discovered someone(Mal?) had painted over the old thermostat retaining ring which was still in the housing! Wade destroyed the old retaining ring in removing it, it was rusted in place, but now there's a new thermostat and thermostat retainer in situ ready to be united with the head when the time comes. I'd also brought in an oil filter cartridge because before leaving on his trip Wade told me the cartridge Noel supplied didn't fit the canister properly. Fortunately mine does, and it's the same as the ones in use in my Coupe, Fleurette and Junior amongst others. Tomorrow I'll go over to Mr Filter at Girraween and get a couple more so they are 'on the shelf'.

Quote: What was this cryptic comment about? It was about panel beater Steve and Graeme polishing Big Red to within an inch of it's life. Apparently they had some free time on Sunday so put it to good use by giving Big Red a beauty treatment. When I came in on Monday, besides the covered up front bumper on the bench Big Red had sheets draped all over her and a sheet draped over the bonnet(hood) which was on a trestle. They'd decided Wade was having so much bad luck with Big Red they'd do something positive to cheer him up. The result, Big Red is positively sparkling! Steve buffed up all the paintwork while Graeme had given all the brightwork a terrific cleaning. But.....because the grill and radiator unit was hidden away behind a welding screen the grill had missed getting it's facial. Not to worry though, Steve says he'll do that too!

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Quote:
Done!

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Monday 25th June 2012

Arrived at the workshop to find Barry Smith's SUV loaded up with 2 blocks and a crankshaft for Darren, Barry's engine builder, to inspect as to suitability for Big Red's engine rebuild. Also mentioned was that there are another 2 blocks lurking in the background in case neither of these measure up.

Following Barry's departure turned to the 356. First though moved Big Red's front bumper off the engine bench. Then hooked up the engine crane to the 356 and lifted it and deposited on the engine bench. There the 356 was supported on wooden blocks so the bellhousing, flywheel and clutch hung over the edge of the bench. And then it was onto implementing the advice contained in Brian's post of a month ago - Quote: Found three nuts to do the job then needed to make a "fulcrum" on which to pivot the long bar used to open the release levers. The fulcrum was a long bodied socket together with a socket adapter to gain the length required. All three levers blocked then unbolted the pressure plate and slipped it, together with the clutch plate, out of the bellhousing. Out with the 120 clutch lever and in with the 356 clutch lever. With the correct clutch fork now in place the next step was
reinstalling the clutch and blocked open pressure plate. But before doing that a dummy spigot shaft was required to centre the clutch plate. Didn't need to revisit the MBM one from last month because Wade found a socket type stud remover which was almost perfect. One end fitted the pilot bearing almost exactly while the body only required 2 turns of electrical tape for an almost perfect fit inside the clutch plate. It was topped off with a bolt held by the stud removers jaws to give a handle for use, so simple! Then the pressure plate was bolted back onto the flywheel. The technique works, but I wouldn't want to try doing it like Dave, Clipper47, did! It's awkward enough with the engine on the bench let alone in a cramped, ill lit under car environment!

Then onto mating the trans with the bellhousing. But before inserting the trans into the bellhousing the throwout bearing and collar were inserted into the clutch fork and the return spring attached from the collar to the post on the inside of the bellhousing. With everything now aligned it Should have been easy, but that enemy of easy assembly reared it's ugly head. Paint buildup! And this time Noel it wasn't all my fault! Someone, don't know who but maybe you do, had liberally applied Hirsch Packard green paint. So much so the trans snout wouldn't fit in the bellhousing hole designed for a crisp clean fit. But not to worry Noel a session scraping all round removed the excess paint and the trans was united with the engine. Speaking of excess paint, the same someone had also painted the speedo drive connection and that too has been rectified. The bottom of the bellhousing and the lower bellhousing front cover were then installed.

While Wade went onto taking apart the 356's fuel pump for it's rebuild I trimmed the excess sump(pan) gasket and gasket sealant from around the 356's lower extremities. Looks a lot cleaner now, no snot hanging off. Wade also received a call from Noel and was able to tell him that he was ready for the rolling chassis so the 356 can be installed, with Noel trying to tee things up with Les to trailer it over either on Wednesday or Friday. Wade then passed the phone to me and I received an invite from Noel to accompany him to Valley Heights, mid way up the blue mountains to the west of Sydney, to visit Mat and his '55 Caribbean. Now I know the combination of Valley and Heights doesn't make sense, but I warn you, at one stage in life's journey I lived there myself! Didn't need to be asked twice and, as things are relatively slow in the shop, didn't even ask the bosses permission if I could have the day off! Sorry Wade.

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Tuesday 26th June 2012

No workshop today instead met Noel at the southside Macca's on the M4 and from there headed west to visit Mat and his '55 Caribbean which is presently undergoing repairs to the power steering pump at GeoffW's workshop. There it was surrounded by two Ferrari's, a Lotus Super 7?, Datsun 1600, Lancia Stratos, Lotus Europa, two scaled Jaguar body bucks as well as a couple of Lamborghini V12 engines with 6 dual throat Weber carbs. But all those were by-the-by as Noel's reason for the visit was to give Mat's Caribbean the once, twice even three times over because Mat wants to enter the Caribbean in the Concours at Shannons Eastern Creek Classic in August. But why the once, twice even three times over? Because Noel and don't hold this against him, he is a good bloke in all other respects, is also a Concours judge! There I've said it, and this time Noel it really is all my fault!The Caribbean had been off the road for almost two and a half years following a BTV failure and subsequent crash. As can happen, bringing it back to full health resulted in a lot more work being done than was initially planned or even thought needed. So now the car is very presentable but Noel was going to give it a thorough going over for any little items to be attended to prior to the Concours. I was conscripted as scribe noting down items as Noel inspected the car all the while explaining to Mat how these could affect the judging. Mat was left with a list, about half of which were must do's with the remainder as should do's. After about an hour and a half of walking around, inspecting, explaining, peering, poking, comparing and talking, Noel was finished and Mat has plenty of work to look forward to. Then phoned Russell, Russpackaus, Russell lives close by, works from home and was able to join us for lunch.

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Wednesday 27th June 2012

Found Wade with Big Red's disassembled starter motor on the bench. This came about because, while away on the Border Run a couple of weeks back, GraemeM's '53 Convertible suffered from a bendix spring failure. So Wade, seeing that the starter was out, took the opportunity to take it apart and check and inspect it. Checked out OK after a light skim and went back together. Hardest part of that was trying to draw back the 4 brushes at once to slip them over the commutator, managed to do that by using 2 pairs of hands and 4 pieces of wire!

But back to the Border Run and the convertible. When the spring failed the Convertible was started by towing it, it's an Ultramatic! Not a recommended procedure but Wade tells the process was quite exciting with Pepe doing the towing and Wade as a passenger in the Convertible. No one on the run had a correct spare spring and being a weekend there didn't look to be any hope of finding one locally. But...asking around Wade and Pepe were told there was an old auto electrical shop "just down the road". "Just down the road" turned into a mile walk, country peoples concept of distance is different, and there was the shop but closed up. However discovered some activity in a shed out the back and there was informed the owners father, who was the former owner, would be in later that morning. Back later, sure enough the father is there, but couln't find that particular Bendix spring. Tried one of the old sheds down the back, found a box full of springs but not the right one. Then pay dirt, found a disassembled starter together with two springs one of which was the right one! And the price, free! Don't have use for them anymore! With the requisite part now to hand Wade "rebuilt" the starter and Graeme was able to enjoy the remainder of the Border Run without having to worry about white-knuckle tow starts!.

Now back to the workshop. Yesterday while I had been on a 'Caribbean cruise' Wade had finished the fuel pump rebuild and installed it on the block. Had also dug out nuts, bolts and washers for the front engine mounts but these needed cleaning and painting. So that was my task, cleaned the fasteners then cleaned the "pot" from Noel's air cleaner that contains the copper wire filter medium. The air cleaner body and mount were already painted but not this piece. It too requires some painting around the outside of the "pot", part of it being visible when installed. So cleaned up the "pot" then POR15'd the lot.

And yesterday Noel had given me the rebuilt carburettor for the 356. Must say it looks lovely. Also yesterday the plan had been that the chassis would come over today but it didn't. With the possibility of rain Les, naturally, was reluctant to move the 3 or 4 Packards out into the open so it could be put on the trailer. But Friday's forecast looks promising so it should arrive then. Then before I took an early mark today Wade had a call from Junior's Dad that he would be dropping in later. Sorry I missed you John, but it's just as well that yesterday Wade painted Pepe's generator pulley and mounted it for you, otherwise your trip could have been in vain. Although picking up your two distributors and the side grills from Pepe would have made it worthwhile anyway.

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Friday 29th June 2012

Wednesday, after I left, Wade had pressed the pulley and hub off the 356's waterpump. So with it apart my job was to paint it with Noel's Bill Hirsch Packard engine green. Before that though I went over to Lee Bros and picked up some fresh bolts to mount the waterpump to the block, the old ones being very rust scarred. On the return run from Lee Bros also picked up some narrow, 9mm, adhesive backed sponge rubber strip to mount in the 356's air filter lip to provide a good seal. So on return mounted the tape and the air filter was assembled and put away for fitment once the engine is in the chassis. Then turned to the painting, first cleaning the parts and fasteners, then assembled a new set of wind chimes and painted.

Then the wait. It was a fine day and a phone call by Wade to Noel ascertained the chassis was coming over but it was taking time. Required three Packards at LesF's to be moved out of the way, chassis loaded on the trailer and the Packards moved back under cover. The time factor was exacerbated by one of the Packards being reluctant to start, but it finally did. With lunch time approaching I departed on an errand then returned to the workshop from where most of the guys, except Graham, had departed to the Pub for lunch. Then, there it was, the '41 160 Coupe chassis backing down the driveway on Les's trailer. Called Wade who hot footed it back to the workshop because he wanted to view the chassis out in light before it went inside. While waiting for Wade, rolled the chassis off the trailer, the hardest part of that being co-ordinating the direction of the front wheels because none of the steering was connected! Noel had the tie rods with him in the cabin of Les's Ute but that didn't help. When Wade arrived, and after the sunshine inspection, the chassis was wheeled rear end first into the workshop. For the final part of the manoeuvering, a floor jack was centered under the diff housing allowing the rear end to be steered as well as the front. Now the chassis sits between the shrouded shapes of The Fossil and Big Red and, come Monday and all going well, the 356 will go into the chassis. Speaking of shrouds, it was obvious the chassis hadn't been covered while at Les's. Reason I mention this is, because when I started to take pic's of the chassis, Noel requested only 10' shots because of the dust on it. And that Noel, I can assure you, is not all my fault!
You will notice, horror of horror's, there are no pic's! Reason being something has happened to my Picasa setup and I can't find, let alone open, the album with today's pic's! Tech support, aka #1 son, will be called upon this weekend to help this technological Luddite unravel this mystery!

EDIT - All is now well in the world, see pic's added below!

Pic's added for above post. Didn't need "Tech Support", Picasa came good on it's own accord.

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