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James, thanks for keeping us in the loop.

Better than keeping us hanging around!

The engine has been completely stripped down to the bare block. Except for two stuck pistons. The block has been pressure wash to remove any of the major dirt and grease. It has since been sent off the machine shop to have the remaining 2 pistons removed and have the bores assessed. Surprisingly many of the internal parts such as the bearings, crank and valves show very little wear on this 60 year old engine. Then again the odometer read just a click over 41,000.

Here is a report from Fred himself:

Dateline Boonton,

The rod journals are immaculate and the bearing surfaces are perfect. All valves have been removed, just a few were difficult and one head was bent in the process. The valves are all Packard script and have never been cut, plenty of meat there. Many faces are slightly pitted from disuse, a light facing and lapping in and they're ready for reassembly. Best news is there's absolutely no play in the guides, perhaps they've been replaced along with the valves???

Cam came out with ease, perfect. Main caps are off, tomorrow lift out the crank along with the converter which could not be removed as the engine was frozen.

Then knock out the pistons from the top with our high tech laser cut high compression top secret partial 2"X4".

Scraper, solvent, wire brush next, the old fashioned way.

Fred Kanter

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Some good news and some bad news. The limousine has only 41,000 miles and the bores are worn only .006 so standard pistons and rings can be used. The two bores that took on rainwater are yet to be liberated of their pistons so we have to wait to see if honing or sleeveing will b needed. Not so bad news but we learned something. When removing the valves we noticed that they had virtuallly no side play in the guides, looking good. Sandblasted the valve heads and cleaned the valve shafts with thinner, tried them in the guides.....loose enough to need guides. When I clean the guides with thinner and a brush they will be very very loose to be sure.

All in all, a testament to Packard's engineering and quality.

Stay tuned

To bridge the gap between the two halves, we have removed the center section of roof from a parts car that we have. This should cut down a considerable amount of time when fabricating. We also ended up removing the tail pan on the back of the parts car as it was rust free and could be spliced in saving time. At this point we should have all the parts needed to make this one solid car.

Thanks
James From
Kanter Auto Products

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