Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Again, to the best of my knowledge the splash shields should be black and a somewhat glossy black at that. The starter and generator bodies were crinkle-black on all 1934 models though the forward scupper on the generator was plain black.

Why are the inside of some of the engine parts painted, or coated red?

Perhaps coated with "glyptal" during a prior engine rebuild. That's a common enough practice on high performance engines and some rebuilders of antique engines do it as a matter or course, others don't. Glyptal is a reddish-brown, or at least it was some years back and was originaly a GE development for insulating/sealing electrical components. Eastwood sells it.

Dear All,

Thanks tons for the info.

The red is epoxy (DP 72) to help seal the castings.

I will double check on splash shields.

Yes, gen, starter and distributor are to be wrinkle black.

It was also my understanding that later engines had nuts for the crankcase to block nuts.

David, yes, I meant my other right.

Dear All,

OK, another point needing clarification: fan blades, polished or painted black. The hub is definitely black.

Thanks,

Tom

Tom, I can tell you with certainty that the 1100-01-02 fan blades were painted black, as was the hub. I very much doubt the 1103-1105 was any different in finish though it was a different fan. In the back of my mind I think 8th or 9th series was the last for natural finish fan blades.

Dave,

Is there any chance you can run a magnet over your fan blades? We have some information that Packard painted steel blades, but not the aluminum blades.

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,

Tom

Steel. I always thought the aluminum blades were from a few years earlier but I am no where near familiar enough with that detail to be sure. I've seen quite a few 34 Super 9s and they all had black painted fan hub and blades but I can't attest to that being original.

Avoid that red lead Glyptol non-sense at all costs. Some car makers originally used that stuff to avoid debris falling out of porous castings.

It is of no value in Packards and will only make the motor run hotter.

Once I serviced a V-12 that had a history noisy valves. When I cut the filter apart it was full little Glyptol chips.

That stuff is crap.

Tim,

No glyptol was used. The red stuff is epoxy paint, applied to very clean surfaces. It should last many years. It will interfere with heat transfer a little bit.

All,

Thank you very much for helping out with these questions. Tom R. and I are trying to produce an engine that is as close as possible, given our distance in time, to what the factory would have delivered. We would like the engine to be a reference for Su. 8s going forward.

On the fan question, the parts book lists a fan for the St. 8 and one for the Su. 8. How did they differ?

Thanks again for all the help.

Cheers,

Tom