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GearRat52 Quote:

You probably cannot just "switch cover plates" because of wear and out-of-tolerance situations. Well, I wouldn't. If you do, you'll probably be swapping in a new one PDQ.

However, you could take both the old and new pressure plate assemblies to a competent machine shop and tell them to make the new bolt pattern like the old one.

On edit: better yet, take off the flywheel and take all 3 to the machine shop. I know you didn't want to hear this. LOL

Craig

call me stupid and don't take this advise if you don't want to, but in my younger days...i woulda just drilled the damn hole out a bit so i could fit the bolt. lol.

that approach has worked for me and has burned me. cant tell you number vs. number ratio though.

looks to me it was just manufactured a bit wonky, or that tab is bent a bit and so therefore the hole is off.

if it was made for the car and you got 5 out of 6 holes lined up...drill the damn thing and put the bolt in.

again...my off the wall bonkers idiotic advice.

edit: again this is idiotic....if you have 5 of the 6 and its only off by that much...i say it was just bent a bit or the hole was drilled wrong to begin with. 5 out of 6...i wouldn't worry about it not being center. again that just me.

course if you drill it out and you then want to return it....you wont beable to i bet.

hmmm lots to think about. don't you just love it.

cli55er Quote:

Given that the S8 is a low rpm engine, there is some merit to this suggestion. I wouldn't do it on a HiPo Pontiac V-8 or even a V-8 Packard, but, practically speaking, you will probably never notice any out of balance, especially compared to everything else that is probably slightly out of balance in the engine & driveline. Plus, there's rubber in the motor and tranny mounts to absorb some vibration.

Craig

True, true...

I may just open each hole the tiniest bit to compensate; using the old cover plate as a template. I'll use my circular file, or a drill bit. I just don't want the holes to be too big. The fastest I will be going in this car is 55mph, unless I need to pass someone, which I doubt will happen with me going 55mph.LOL

Heck with it, I'll open the holes up myself. A little bit from each hole should center that one up, it's not that far off to begin with. Shoot, the clutch will be coming out again soon due to me learning standard. Well... Learning how to drive period.LOL

The burdens of having a 60 year old car from a company that died when my Mom was born, gotta love it!


thanks guys,

-Garrett

Garrett, opening each hole a 32nd should not be a problem. Seems the new pressure plate is not made to exacting standards. You should be fine with this approach. Get ready for some cooler weather this weekend. I am looking forward to it.

(o[]o)

Thanks JW!

Oh man am I lookin' forward to that cool front! I've gotten tired of swatting at mosquitoes when workin' on the car. I had never had more fun than I had last year at this time, doing my wiring in the cool weather and listening to the radio. Heavenly. Hope you get to go out and enjoy this weekend, should be a good one.

-Garrett

Hi GearRat,

From your pictures your bolt hole doesn't look far off. An old trick we used to use is:- Get a taper tap (first) of the size of thread that is on the bolt and gentle get it started. Once the tap has started run it in a few threads, remove it and go through the sequence again with the plug tap (Finisher tap) This trick normally works if there is jus a little mis-alignment and saves all machine shop work
Hope this works for you.
Terry

GearRat52 Quote:

Sounds like a plan, man!

What's the worst that could happen on your 52 Packard? ...so long as that clutch pressure plate is firmly bolted down, I can't think of anything significant. Go for it!

Craig

On edit: P.S. It took me a while to come to the realization that this is a young guy with an old car and perfection is not on his "to do" list. My apologies. In his case, "good enough" is his "modus operandi". I concur. Get that thing on the road! Figure out the details later.

If you have that thing back out of the car, bolt it face to face with your old pressure plate. That will help you find if there is one errant hole and you can drill just that one using the old cover as a guide.

Hey Guys!

Thanks for the advice! On further examination, I found that the plate was a little bent where the holes were. I was able to bend the plate close to where it needed to be, than I filed out the holes a tad. Now the clutch and pressure plate are on and centered up.

Tomorrow I will slide the transmission back into place, connect the linkage, and possibly get the drive shaft & speedo cable back in. I'll need to get an early start to have everything installed before Tuesday "the test drive". Oh yeah, and I need to have her registered. It will be tough to get her out on the road "legally" by Halloween, but I will be extremely happy just to have her moving!

-Garrett