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Actually, I do google searches all the time. Outside this forum, most lead nowhere that seems knowledgeable. Isn't knowledge why you are here, not elsewhere on the web?

The reason I pester is simple: many useful participants here leave out what they see as fundamental skills or experience.

For example, my watts linkage necded to be rebushed. My hope was that the local garage could accomplish this at less than specialist cost.

I kept on this for some ti me and accumulated some 35 pages of text and pictures, which I brought with me.

After considerable study, the car was racked, but the job rejected because the lin kage seemed very stressed and the torsion bars scared the mechanics.

My hope in bringing this up is that those of you who see fit to to reply to what to you are simple bits will consider those of us who are not so fortunate as to be highly skilled here.

Be complete, be thorough, include the baby steps.

I assume at some point in your life you were similarly skilled....

PLEASE!

This forum has always been conducted with politeness and a deference to those who are new to Packards or old cars in general. Some questions may seem simple to those who have turned wrenches for years, but are almost always responded to with respect and detail that seems obvious to old hands. I am not that patient a person myself but admire and respect those who patiently detail the proper way to accomplish the required task.
If you can't offer some constructive response to a novice question, then keep your thoughts to yourself. That is the the spirit that has guided this forum since its inception. Let us not lose that. A car built by gentlemen for gentlemen.
Thanks for listening to the old guy.

For any service procedure start with the SIMPLE THINGS FIRST!! No, they don't always fix the problem. BUT OFTEN WILL FIX IT!!!! The problem with amatuer mechanic is a habit to start throwing new parts at the problem. In many cases tbere are shade tree procedures that work very well if not permanantly OR is a good temporary fix FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF DIAGNOSIS.
Any maintenance issue must be diagnosed and analayzed. Sometimes it is trial and error even for the best of professionals with the best of training and equipment and support.

Good advice from PackardV8 about not just "throwing parts" at problems, and to try the simple things first. But I think back to an expression from (I believe) Mr. Pushbutton, to use the "whole patient" approach to problem solving which is very sound advice indeed. If you think for example that fuel is the problem, start at the tank and end at the carburetor internals. If you think ignition is the problem, start at the battery and cables and go all the way thru to the plugs, paying attention in these examples and other cases to each and every sub-system in between.

But back to questions in general, I really don't think we have much of a problem with "stupid" questions though some I suspect are posted just to provoke comment. But what does wear my patience a bit is when we get the same questions over and over (and over) again; I wish more folks would make use of the search function. Frankly, I begin to run out of patience to answer them again and again, or at least in as much detail as I had the first several times they came up. And I really have to single out HH56 for his patience in responses - he doesn't tire of going over the same ground again and again, does it with great clarity and often takes time to find and amend photos, add relevant manual excerpts, etc. IMO he sets the standard to which we should all aspire.

Agreed, Hats off to HH56, very informative for me thus far. Not a novice mechanic in terms of ability but very new and extremely Green to the Packard Family. Have not even been to my first meet or show but I welcome the brother hood found here.

I couldn't agree more. Simply trying to provide feedback from someone who likes to drive his car, but has no interest in working on it.

THIS IS NOT MEANT AS CRITICISM!

My perspective may be different from yours but we actually have similar objectives.

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I want to add my voice in appreciation of Howard: He is a true Mentor - always willing to share his knowledge and in some cases his parts, in the most encouraging, non-judgmental and even tempered way imaginable. He is the standard to which I aspire. Not only here, but in all my dealings with others. I have already found out the other way doesn't work.

I have been a member of this forum since the very beginning and also visit several other forums on a daily basis. This undoubtedly has the most polite members of any forum that I am a member of. I am truly amazed at the patience displayed by HH56 in answering the same question multiple times when a simple search of the archives would reveal the answer. I am also amazed at the amount of time which many forum members must spend at the site answering questions or commenting on the various threads. It is all the members both veterans and newcomers who make this such a great place to spend some time each day. I only wish that I had a 10th of the breadth of knowledge that some of you have concerning our beloved Packards.

I would also like to thank the people who answer and explain the theory and the procedures. HH, Ross Miller, O_D, Jack Vines and many others. Has been a great refresher course and a lot of new insights to the practice of turning wrenches on our vehicles.

This website is a refuge of civility in what has rapidly become a very shitty world.

I had a chance to visit my first PI forum member last week (OD). What a great source of knowledge and fun to talk old cars (and their owners). Thanks Dave for the help and making time to meet with us. Makes me think what a blast it would be to have a PI forum get together sometime, but geographically that might be a challenge. The nice thing about PI forum is that a lot of knowledge gets written down so future Packard owners can use this knowledge as well.