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Tomorrow I'll be working on things again, and am going to pull the clutch inspection cover....I fear I will be then pulling my oil pan and rear main cap
A while back when I had trouble with the trans, I pulled the clutch cover and found some graphite shavings and was not concerned, but now I think that was the rope seal on it's way out.
I found this thread, and fear I will be doing the same thing.
rear seal

I had set a goal to get the car running/driving for my 40th birthday which was yesterday. I guess I reached that goal with the drive around the block....Now for some more work....

Pulled the clutch cover and found these shavings. Engine side of flywheel is oily, and when I depress the clutch, I think I loose a little oil out The rear Main seal, but that might be my imagination. You guys think I should drop The oil Pan next and rear Main cap?

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OOg. That does not look like anything off of the clutch disk, so it almost has to be the rear seal. Time to pull the pan and the cap. Sorry.

Thanks for the confirmation Ross. At least I have some sort of plan now, and am not just guessing. Oh well, these things take time. That stuff is not from the clutch, so I'll pull the oil pan one of these days and take a look when I pull the rear main cap.
Yesterday I did get my wipers installed and working. - the rebuilt motor from ficken wiper looks and works well. I also cut some rubber strip and installed them between the fender skirts and body, and tightened up a gas leak at the gas filter (Kanter repro) and at the master cyl....step by step...

Been a long time. I have 2 rear main seals from kanter, but am still waiting for a "sneaky pete" that a friend is bringing from the US. I did manage to get this part for the grill powder coated. Bolted that on this morning, but am traveling a lot so hardly any garage time.
When I removed this part, it had some small plastic plugs in the small holes. I had some rubber plugs handy, so I installed them to isolate any Vibration. Guess that won't hurt.

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I guess this a good part of why I'm into packards. Grampap Michael with the pipe, uncle Tommy and a friend Michael giving a shine to a Packard at the homestead in Fairbank PA. In the US for the next month, and will visit friends and family, and pick up a few small Packard parts while I am here. Also got a sneaky pete and a GearWrench rope seal puller kit to use in October when I'm back in Germany.

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I finally got a sneaky pete and another similar tool set for doing the rear main seal. I have NOS rear main seal, and plan on dropping the pan and starting the job of replacing the rear rope seal on the weekend. I found this thread with some good suggestions.
Rear Main Seal Thread
Looking at the shop manual, the top rope is cut flush with the block, and the bottom rope should be cut 1/16" inch above the rear main cap.
I have a spare crankshaft, so I can use that to form the seal in the rear main cap while on the work bench.
Any other hints for doing a good job? I understand I should rotate the crank while sneaking out/in the upper rope seal.

Should I use some permatex on the mating surfaces of the two halves of the rope seal? Should I lube the seal to bearing surface with motor oil while assembling?

On page 11 of the engine section of the shop manual it mentions wood side seals that need to be installed in the rear main bearing cap and then trimmed flush. What are those?
Thanks!

.. the shop manual.... mentions wood side seals that need to be installed in the rear main bearing cap and then trimmed flush. What are those?

It's been a long time, hopefully someone with more recent experience will come along but my recollection is that the real main seal kit contained two wooden sticks, trapezoid-shaped in cross section, that were tapped into place into grooves between the sides of the main bearing block and the web of the crankcase.

As O_D mentioned, the original seals were wood and were tapped into the vertical grooves on either side of the end cap. Their purpose is to seal the machined sides of the cap to the block and prevent oil weeping thru on either side of the end cap.

IIRC, they could be a pain to install and would break if hit with a glancing blow or split if hit too hard while being driven. Maybe that is the reason I have 3 open gasket sets and not a wood piece in any of them to photograph.

Packard changed to a cork material in 54 for a better seal (and maybe less frustration) so if you don't have the wood pieces perhaps you could source some cork strips of the appropriate size and make something that would work. With cork it wouldn't have to fit as precisely because you could use a thin layer of silicone sealant on the edges for a good seal to the block and grooves.

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Thanks Dave and Howard.
I pulled the oil pan after work this evening and made it to the rear main cap. This is what it looks like from underneath. You can see the wood thingys between The block and the sides of the Main cap. I can see shards of The rope seal in The oil slinger drain hole. I plan on removing The Main cap tomorrow.

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