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Decided to grease the frontend of my 36 120 today, and I discovered that the grease zirks from 77 yrs ago don't fit the greaseguns from the 21st century. Are there adapters available?

That seems strange, almost impossible that the fittings and gun would be incompatible. Zerks (not zirks) fittings came on the scene about 1929 and pretty much unchanged since. Those on my 34 work fine with today's grease guns.

How about a picture of one of the grease fittings in question. Perhaps your car was changed to the old cross-pin type Alemite fittings? If so an adapter is available from MSC.

If the grease just squirts out around the fitting, perhaps the ball-check valve in the zerk is frozen shut - just replace the fitting with a new one and see if that works. Old clogged fittings are not the least bit uncommon.

Held the camera upsidedown apparently

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I wonder if yours is one of the grease gun fittings which are metric based & maybe cheaply made. Even though they are supposed to be "universal" I found some are a bit too tight.

I have a small cheapo import cartridge type gun where the fitting went on but on first use was very reluctant to release. On one of the 56 zerks that look exactly like yours, I managed to pull the press in zerk right out of the forging. Had to do some serious twisting and prying to finally release it from the gun.

Bought another end (also import) of the same type but looked to be better finished. It does not have the problem. I chalked the first one up to just poor mass production quality.

Dear BDC:

I haven't seen anything in tool catalogues about non-American zerk fitting couplers. Snap-On says universal.

The fittings themselves may be clogged or (If you are using a hand grease gun) the grease may not have sufficient pumpability for the gun. You can buy new fittings at the auto store or from McMaster-Carr. Also, those couplers can wear out and cause problems. Make sure you wipe/brush off the fittings because trying to grease a dirty fitting will cause a dirt clog.

If you are using a hand gun then a good grease to use on the Packard (and other non-ball joint applications) is Pennzoil 707. The suspension should be unloaded (wheels off the ground and jacked under the frame) otherwise you can blow the caps off the lower control arms and king pins. Pennzoil 707 is not an extended service interval grease so will need to be greased once a year or 2000 miles. But it is a dream to use in hand grease guns.

Another choice is Chevron Delo Chassis grease #1, but you may not be able to find it.

I used to get bitched at for how long I spent on some grease jobs, but if the fittings don't take grease they have to be repaired. On the Caddy 8/12/16 there are upwards of 60 fittings. I guess they are happier now with worn out suspensions.

Don't forget too that if the center link fitting isn't visible the wheels need to cranked over to gain access to the fitting.

The fittings on my clipper were stuck with petrified grease.

I bought a large box of assorted Zerk fittings at HF for < $10 and changed all of them on my clipper. My Craftsmen grease gun worked on all of them. My grease gun tightens down over the end of the Zerk fitting with an adjustable collet tip.

Well I was going to grease some of my equipment yesterday and low &behold the same problem occurred! So it must be the grease gun fitting that's messed up! Better get a new end for that tomorrow.