Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Some time back, I bought a pallet of Packard V8 parts from a shop known for rebuilding Packard V8 pumps.

There were three boxes of used pumps and several boxes of Melling oil pump rebuild kits. Since most these days choose the Oldsmobile pump conversion, I don't build many Packard pumps; thus I didn't really inventory the oil pump parts.

One of our members here wanted to keep his vacuum pump and asked me to build a Packard pump with my extended bearing.
Wanting to give him the best I could, I pulled out the rebuild kits.

The gears were externally identical to the Packard V8 gears, but the shaft was shorter, a forked end and slightly larger in diameter.

Since the P/N, K58, was on the Melling boxes, I pulled out an old catalog and found the kits were for a '56-58 Cadillac 365" engine.

In the boxes were four Packard V8 pump bodies which had a short bronze bushing and a new larger diameter Packard V8 shaft.

So what he was doing was buying the Cad rebuild kit, having a custom driveshaft made up, boring the driveshaft hole for a bronze bushing and reaming it for the Cad diameter, driving out the idler shaft, reaming the hole for the Cad shaft and pressing it in.

I can say is his method works, but it is really a lot of work. If he'd have made the bronze bushing extend to the top of the steel sleeve in the body, I'd have said he'd done it as well as it can be done.

I might consider springing for the three reamers required to use the Cad parts, but finding someone to make the custom driveshafts is the challenge. Maybe my CNC guy would do a few, but is there likely to be any demand? The Packard pump would have new gears, new shafts, new bearings and would keep the vacuum pump.

jack vines

Quote:
" he'd have
made the bronze bushing extend to the top of the steel sleeve in the
body, I'd have said he'd done it as well as it can be done."

Probably not a good idea. IIRC the od of the bronze would be smaller than id of the upper locator dowel ( what u call the steel sleeve?) And there for bronze not supported. Ie a space between the id of steel sleeve and od of bronze.

Furthermore and IIRC OF THE six pumps i have here the locator dowl is a long way from concentric with the shaft bore of the pump. That 'upper sleeve' or somepeople refer to.as a 'bushing' is specifically a locator dowl and perhaps a stay anchor to keep the pump from twisting under load. Otherwise only the bolts would be holding the pump under radial force of the driving shaft from the distributor.

Quote:

Why would it have to be? When I do mine, I use a cast iron bushing of the same OD as the ID of the upper locator dowel.

jack vines

Ok. I see your point. But that must be a rather thickwall CI bushing. Probably much thicker wall than the bronze bushing in the pumps from the pallet??

Were the bronze bushings in the pallet pumps oil grooved?????

No, not grooved.

jack vines

Your cast iron bushing is most likely the best idea then.

Not meaning to criticize, but why bother with this? It just seems like wasted effort.... As noted, the olds pump is the fix of choice.....

Some Packard V8 owners would rather fix whatever deficiency there may be with the factory design.

If higher volume were my solution of choice, I would rather try to find a set of gears of proper diameter and root and have them modified, as needed, to work in the Packard pump body.

Meanwhile, how long has it been since any production vehicles were built with an Olds engine fitted with that style of pump? How many of those cars are still on the road? How long before that high-volume, aftermarket, pump becomes unobtainable?