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Jeff, the seal problem occurs when you install the damper. If the ID of the seal is a bit too tight, the damper will just push it back away from the cover instead of the seal riding up on the nose of the damper AND rubbing against the front cover. It of course has to do both things as it is a face seal.

When you pull the damper back off to look the seal springs back forward and there it is looking as if there is nothing wrong.

As a test of your new seal, you have to be able to slide it up on the nose of the damper by pushing it by the housing without the spring compressing.

You will want plenty of lube on the damper's nose and on the face of the seal at assembly. It's not a bad idea to let the assembled seal soak in oil overnight to thoroughly wet the cork.

hi jeff; the seal sure looks good' is the cove bent? u should be able to see the seal or check with a right angle fine wire to see if u have contact before u put on the balancer. dell

The cover appears to be fine, and before I took the engine apart, there weren't signs of the front cover leaking oil badly. When I cleaned and blasted the cover, I was real careful not to disturb the area where the seal rides. I'm hoping that Ross is correct and the seal was hung up on the hub of the balancer. I'm going to put it back together tonight, so it won't be long before I find out.

Jeff

Jeff, per advice from Ross, don't forget to soak the cork seal in oil for a few hours.

(o{}o)

Unfortunately, my tight schedule didn't allow time for soaking the seal for any decent length of time, but what I did was, right after gluing the new cork to the seal retainer, I installed it on the hub of the balancer to stretch it out a bit. I left it on there as long as I could while I worked on the new timing cover gaskets. Right before I put the seal on the crank I tested how it went onto the balancer, and the cork would slide all the way on by it's own, so hopefully it did the same when I installed it for real. I just put the radiator back in a couple hours ago, so I haven't run the engine yet to see what happens.

Today is my last day to work on the Packard. Pretty much whatever is finished by 8pm tonight is how the car will be when it goes to Sweden. I know that there will be a few things that I wanted to get done that I won't have time for. I'm hoping to take the car for a quick (and cold) spin tomorrow afternoon, so I need to get the tail lights installed and the lights working.

I do have a couple more questions for the experts.

My books say oil capacity on the 356 is 7 quarts, but it appears that my engine wants 8. Is that because they aren't factoring in the oil filter, or is my stick wrong?

It seems to me that there should be something else on the horn contact to keep it held down firm against the steering wheel nut. It looks like it could pop up and contact the horn ring on it's own without something there to keep it in place. Maybe something rubber, shaped similar to a vacuum cap, to go between the contact and the horn ring?

Thanks, Jeff

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Your horn wire is correct as is. It is supposed to be in continuous contact with the plate on the back of the horn ring. When you push the ring, it makes contact with that shallow cup that surround the steering wheel nut to complete the ground circuit.

I keep claiming that the Packard is on it's way to the docks in Jersey, but it doesn't seem to want to leave. My job orientation continues to be pushed back each week, which frees up more time to finish up some of the nagging little details on the car. My next post should be the final one for work that I have done on the car. I may add two more posts after that: The trip to the docks and a before & after picture segment.

I got a chance on Wednesday to take the car for a quick spin up the road. I have to say that the car drives like a dream. The only improvement I could see would be a new set of radial tires. The engine is running great, the transmission shifts nice, overdrive comes in just as it should, and as far as I can tell in the bright light, it even looks like the little green overdrive light is working too. Of course, I had to take the camera along for the ride again. You'll need to turn the sound down once I get rolling, as all you can hear is wind noise rushing past the camera microphone.


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Thanks for the ride. You have done a fantastic job on the car. I have driven many miles in the past 30+ years in our 48-50 Packards and I must say that the hood sure looked bare without a mascot. I am sure the owner will take care of that. Congratulations on a job well done.

Thanks Roger. The parts you supplied were a big help in completing it. The car came with a real nice hood mascot, so one of these days, maybe fairly soon, it'll be back on the car. I'm not sure what the owner's exact plans are to tackle the rest of the work. I do know that he would like to drive it a bit before it's time to get involved with the body work. The car will shine up nice with a quick color sand and polish. It's currently covered with paint overspray from some other paint work that must have been done where the car was stored, and that makes the car look real dull.

Jeff

Thank you for the ride. Would "The Egyptian" be a proper emblem on a 48? Somehow it just seems proper.