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I remember those days. In 50s-60s New Mexico there was a cheap off brand oil sold by some of the way less than name brand gas stations that were a moneyless teenagers best friends. At 5 or 10 cents a quart it was probably used oil that maybe saw a strainer before it went into a can. Even so, it is amazing how well the Packard would tolerate it. I don't think the 51 model I drove thru high school ever saw any good stuff & don't recall ever putting anything in the Ultra. If I did am sure it would have been a low cost version there too. Still marvel at how I mistreated that car yet I can't recall it ever complaining or made me walk.

I recall using 2-gallons of "reclaimed" oil in a trip from Connecticut to New Mexico in a very nice, but oil burning, 40 Ford Coupe. We were on a budget. Heading home to answer a Selective Service request to report for a pre-draft physical.

(o[]o)

Friday 30th December, 2016

Oh woe is me! Sorry, it should be woe is my Packard

On Wednesday drove the Coupe to Sydney, about 65 miles, to leave it with John at the workshop for it's annual mechanical/safety check for registration purposes while I carried on into the city to donate Plasma. All fine but on the return trip a little stutter about 3/4 of the way home which "cleared" by backing of the throttle for a second or two and then it was good to go. Note, similar episodes last time I returned from Sydney on about 4 or 5 occasions on that trip home. Both trips were on hot days and I put it down to the dreaded vapour(vapor) lock! However, before reaching home pulled into Bunnings, the local big box hardware store and just after leaving there the Coupe died before I could pull onto the Old Hume Highway. Still thinking it was vapour(vapor) lock tried restarting after a dose of "Start Ya Bastard" down the throat of the carburettor(carburetor). Coupe started but only ran for a second or so before dying again. Repeated this a number of times then noticed there was NO fuel in the inline fuel filter just before the carburettor(carburetor). Now thinking that, in addition to vapour(vapor) lock, there was a fuel delivery/supply problem. Had plenty of fuel having refilled with 60 litres of 91 Unleaded(ethanol free) before leaving Sydney for the trip home. Maybe the fuel pump diaphragm had split? But there didn't appear to be any fuel in the oil according to the dipstick. So using a 5 litre fuel tank spout and part of an old t-shirt to form a reasonably air tight seal for the fuel filler tube blew some fuel through to the filter. But.......the fuel that came through looked like the kind of liquid in a mud puddle. So pulled the fuel filter, the throw away type of course, so couldn't clean it as such and drained the muddy concoction. Repeated this a number of times and eventually the fuel that came through looked fairly clear. Still no start though after again priming with Start Ya Bastard. All that exhausted my limited diagnostic and repair skills so turned to the NRMA, our local road service organisation who sent a tilt tray tow truck for an inglorious 10km trip home. Should have had some pic's of the Coupe broken down and on the back of the tilt tray tow truck but I lost the camera I used. Think it might have slipped down behind the seat of the tow truck but I couldn't see it there.

Arriving home the tow truck driver couldn't reverse to deposit the Coupe in the carport because it's a sharp turn to do so and the length of the truck mitigated against being able to do that. Instead the Coupe is now in residence on the loose pebbled driveway facing the street. It does have a cover over it but that's more against wandering eyes than for weather events. After all, while on the National Rally it survived the worst storm in 50 years which blacked out the entire state of South Australia, a little rain shouldn't bother it too much. However that doesn't make for a great working environment coupled with a 70 year old body which is growing stiffer by the day. However that being the hand I was dealt it meant it was the hand I had to play with.

First thing was to jack up the rear, jack stands under, and drain the tank of fuel. Of course the fuel tank drain plug wouldn't turn and, not wanting to risk a disaster, decided to siphon the contents. Didn't have a long enough piece of plastic tubing so off to the local hardware store for a 2m length. Plenty of length but it wouldn't go into the tank, it was too pliable, stopping and catching when it met the filler tube where it joins the tank body. Should have thought of this sooner, would have saved me a pointless trip, and shortened the garden hose to provide a length for the procedure. Worked well except for lungfuls of richly gasolined air on a number of occasions when the tank end of the hose wasn't immersed below the surface. I've found a glass of milk is a great remedy for this, or for a mouthful of fuel if you aren't quite quick enough between sucking the hose and dumping the resultant torrent(it's always a torrent, never a dribble) into the container you're collecting the fuel in. Took three siphonings, because I only had a number of small containers to collect the fuel in. And what to do with what was probably contaminated fuel? Why give that part of the garden, overrun by aggressive ground cover that I been meaning to pull out, a drink. Tank virtually empty so undid tank straps and disconnected the fuel line, the fuel gauge wire and the extra ground wire Wade had installed to the frame. That was the easy part, now to get the tank out. I know it should come out, it did before back in 2008, but will it in 2016? At the moment it's resisting valiantly, maybe if I loosen the exhaust and tail pipes and muffler there might be a little more room to work with. Anyone done this recently on a '41 and if you did was it successful and are there any tricks/tips you could pass on?

That was yesterday, today went to the other end of the fuel delivery system, the fuel pump. I haven't forgotten the carburettor(carburetor), it will be sent to Carburettor Service Company at Burwood. CSC rebuilt the carb back in 2008 and with the possibility of it now being contaminanted a good going over under their expert hands is in order. But, back to the fuel pump. Jacked the front of the Coupe up, installed jack stands, and removed the right front wheel/tyre(tire). Then removed the front right inner fender panel and the fuel pump heat shield to gain direct access to the fuel pump. After removing the fuel pump took the bell chamber off the bottom of it and found foreign particles in there. The particles are brown in colour(color), but are not rust. Also removed the brass "shield", with its underside approximating the muddy water colour(color) of the fuel in the fuel filter.

Will be seeing Wade next week with fuel pump so he look, disassemble, clean and if need be rebuild it. Also have some feelers out for a rebuilt '41 120 fuel pump which I've seen around the traps. While the Coupe is immobilised I'll also take the opportunity to remove the intake/exhaust manifolds to fix a blown gasket. This time I won't use any sealer as the stuff applied previously lasted less than 4,000 miles.

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Mal, I hear you on making our more ancient bodies bend and get into positions they would rather not. Mine plain refuses or revolts when I force it and particularly when getting under a car. I've been told my performance of crawling across the floor trying to find something to grab onto so I can hoist myself back up is worthy of an admission charge.. At least you have some nice dry gravel to work in. My pickup is parked near where you saw the 47 and sitting in the only low spot in the concrete. It has rained just enough that the spot fills with water and doesn't dry out before the next storm hits. My tank removal for a fuel pump replacement is going on its second month now.

That coffee ground like stuff crops up over here too and no idea what it is. It completely filled the bowl and screen in a fuel pump I had taken off a long sitting car. The pump still had some fuel in the bowl so the stuff was soft -- more like tea leaves -- and didn't appear to be rust but could have been. Had thought it might have been some tank slosh compound that was incompatible or had deteriorated but looking inside the tank that didn't seem to be the case. Could not see the top of tank so perhaps condensation had covered the top metal and allowed the surface to rust until flakes were falling down. IIRC, Big Kev had something like that happen on his fuel tank.

To rule out the possibility of it happening again I would add a fairly large yet easy to reach filter just before the pump or somewhere in the line near the tank. Use one of the transparent body inline types where the mesh element is visible and separately cleanable and serviced. If it were placed in an accessible part of the line where you could avoid crawling under or standing on your head for too long you could look and tell in an instant if something was coming thru from the tank and then clean that instead of needing to take the pump apart.

Mal, a bit of bad luck, but you and the Packard got home without any harm to either. All my Packards came home on a tilt bed transporter. Is it possible you got some bad fuel? The photos show some interesting shapes, not the usual fine grained rust. Interested in what you find the problem to be.

(o[]o)

"Also have some feelers out for a rebuilt '41 120 fuel pump which I've seen around the traps"

The rebuilt fuel pump has been located, thanks to NS and PT, and will be the backup plan in case of problems with the one currently off the Coupe.

Good Day Mal...In looking at the bits that you show, if rusty, then a magnet should tell us. Part of me thinks that the fuel hose at the filling stations is coming apart on the inside and it blew that stuff into your tank. Perhaps you should phone them up and let them know of your experience? I will keep good thoughts for you and your Packard. Thank you for all the work you do on the Owners Registry...Ernie

There is no screen on the pickup in the tanks on these cars??
John

No. AFAIK, Packard never had a screen in the tank. The outlet tube is just an open ended piece of tubing pointed downward with the opening in a triangular depression in the bottom of tank. The open end is approx 3/16" or so above the bottom of tank.

There was either a mesh screen or a series of stacked plates with openings that lined up and acted like a screen located in the bottom bowl of the fuel pump. If the customer wanted the option, a ceramic filter could be added after the pump. Most of the carbs also had a fine mesh screen at their inlet.

Here is part of a photo Ross posted showing the end of the fill pipe and the outlet tube location in a 51-56 tank. Earlier tanks were similar with just different locations depending on the shape of the tank.

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Forget any theories about bad gas or deteriorating gas station delivery hose, this is crud from your car. The reason I say crud instead of rust is it could be old tank sealer dissolved by the new ethanol/gas.

Screens on tank pickups are a rather new development, in the 60's I think