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5-24-14

Well bad news. I discovered a spiderweb crack in the windshield! Totally sucks. It is under the sunvisor so that is why I did not notice it. I was all set to sell the windshield out of the '51 too! Looks like I need to keep it. I'm not swapping it out until it gets worse though.

On a more positive note, I took the front seat out and replaced it with the one from the '51. Doesn't look the best, but sure feels better than coils on my back! I put the vinyl seat bottom in for comfort and because I had started removing the material from the old seat. I don't want to deal with hog ringing it back together right now. Not sure what I will do with the interior anyway.

I removed the two front windows from the '51 and used them to replace the cracked ones in the '52. Not a difficult job, but the circular clip holding the bottom of the window to the regulator was a little challenging. I had no idea how it came off until I kept spinning it around and tugging in different directions. Once it was off, it was pretty obvious how it worked.

I also put the door panels from the '51 in. They need repair, but it gets them out of the garage and is better than looking at bare metal.

5-25-14

Today was the maiden voyage! I can't say I enjoyed it though! I am very out of practice with a manual transmission. Stalled it at my first 4-way stop sign! There as a little too much traffic out too so it made me nervous, plus the fact I was driving a car I was not familiar with. I kept thinking the brakes were going to go out because that is what happened on my first drive in the '51. I think I made a lot of people mad with my driving and slow (according to them) speeds.

It was a bit chaotic with me trying to not stall at stop signs, remembering the gear order on the column & cancelling the turn signal (forgot which direction won't cancel). Made about a 7 mile round trip. I will admit I was getting better toward the end.

The car was very loud, but not like the sound of a hole in the exhaust. The speedometer kind of waved +-3 miles per hour while I thought I was being steady on the accelerator. Fastest I went was 40mph and it sounded like I was going 80. The car rattled a lot because the doors do not have weather stripping. Temp never went higher than 1/4 from cold. I should check and make sure I have a thermostat in it. While cruising at one point while cruising at 40mph the car started to shake and sputter. I put the clutch in and gave the car gas and released the clutch slowly. It stopped sputtering. Not sure what that was.

The highlight was the thumbs up I got from an older gentleman on his riding lawnmower!

At least you made it home without the help of tow truck so that is a major accomplishment. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the noise and rattle is due to square tires. The speedo and cable undoubtedly could use some lube and will probably reduce if not eliminate the waver. If you see the speedo starting to jerk wildly and try to peg the needle then disconnect the cable until you can get to it so no damage occurs.

I'd also expect the carb could use some work so no surprises there. All in all, I'd say you had a good day.

All good points! I am glad I didn't need a tow truck or something catastrophic happened. I didn't think of square tires. Not sure how long the car has been sitting around. Carb has been behaving better, but I should rebuild it. I am really surprised how much engine noise there is at speed. Packards are supposed to be known for quiet motoring. Maybe I need to take the manifolds off and change the gaskets. Don't know. I had oiled the speedo when I had it out and was making the wire harness like 2-3 years ago? Don't remember. I should take the speedo cable out and lube it. Good idea!

I know you did some work on the pump but If the car sat for a long time and you haven't gone thru the gas tank and line including the short hose to fuel pump, that might be worthwhile. Could be the sputtering was caused by some crud or a bad hose reducing the flow.

Could be. The tank in there is some kind of modern one with pressurized plastic cap. The original fuel line was bypassed in favor of a new one probably because it attaches on the opposite side of the tank. The rubber line that went to the electric fuel pump was pretty old. There may be another under the car. I plan on eventually putting the '51 tank in so I can have a fuel gauge again.

6-5-14

Started rebuilding the carb today with a kit from Daytona. WTF I am missing a metering rod!

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Sho nuff! Must run like crap.

Give me the number off your existing rod, there's a good chance I have one for you.

Thanks Dave! I hope so! Funny thing is that the car runs really well! It hesitates at first but gets going pretty good. I can't wait to feel the power with a properly working carb! The metering rod I have is 75-767.

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All I could lay my hands on was a 75-754. You're welcome to it to use in the interim while you look for the right one - no doubt it's better than just having the gas pour thru the unmetered jet but it certainly isn't what you want in the longer run. PM me with mailing address if you want it.

UPDATE: Mailed to you today. Consider it a gift from the Packard fraternity.