Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

not much to checking if the dizzy is loose. just see if it turns by hand. it should be rock solid and not able to turn by hand.

if it is loose...just slowly turn it by hand one way and then the other while someone cranks the motor over. eventually you will find that sweet spot where the motor will run. then you can set it with a timing light.

there is a chance it was not tightened down well enough and has slowly moved out of wack and moved the timing out of spec. could be why you are getting back firing as well.

i have done this myself....i set the timing and forgot to bolt down the locking clamp on the dizzy and few engine starts later and it vibrates out of timing.

I played your you tube video several times and it sounds more like a fuel issue than ignition. Since no black smoke was coming out the tail pipes it didn't flood like when floats sink and flood the engine, stalling it. It's possible your needle and seat on the primary float are stuck in the closed position, not allowing fuel to enter the float chamber. Once the engine burned the fuel in the float bowls it stumbled and stalled. Look down the carb and pump the linkage a couple times. Is gas squirting into the carb? If not, first try tapping the top of the carb where the fuel line connects to it. This will usually unstick the needle and seat valve and allow fuel to enter the float bowl chamber. Crank the engine a few times and if it starts, great. If not, recheck to see if gas is squirting into the carb. If not squirting, disconnect the fuel line at the fuel filter and have someone crank the engine while you hold a soda can to capture the fuel coming out the line. If fuel comes out the fuel line but isn't squirting in the carb then you need to do more than tap the carb. NO, don't tap harder, take the car to the mechanics as suggested earlier. Beautiful car by the way.

Thanks for the tips!

With this garbage weather, though (2 feet of snow coming) and my garage being tiny and unheated I'm gonna let this sleeping dog lie. I've got the battery tender hooked up and I'm just waiting to hear from the mechanic when he's ready.

What I'm most looking forward to is some decent weather and getting the car all polished up and shining - gonna be a stunner.

It's been easy to forget I own a Packard with it being locked up for almost a month now lol

Well if it's not one thing it is another, the mechanic I was waiting on got injured so he won't be able to help. Too bad, too, because he was close by. He doesn't have anyone to recommend to me.

Anybody have a recommendation in the Central NJ/Bucks County PA area for a mechanic? I'd like to get this running by May. I known it's probably something simple, but it is something beyond my (very limited) knowledge base so I want to trust this to a professional rather than tinker with it and make it worse.

I had an issue with the ceramic fuel filter near the carb when I first got my 55 Clipper. It needed a good soak in carb cleaner to clean it out. Not sure if you cleaned or replaced that but another thing to check. Good luck.

Found another one! Actually found a few, so now I have backups in case someone else gets injured!

I'm so overprotective of this car, I think I need to unclench a bit about it lol

Worn distributor bushings. Always overlooked but easy the check.

This is a very low mileage car, impossible that the dist bushings are worn out

improbable, not impossible.

When I speak, I speak from knowledge. We owned this car from about 1970 to the time this winter when we sold it to Trevor and knew the car from end to end. When we readied it for sale to Trevor we went over the car very thoroughly to assure it was road ready and reliable including checking the ignition on a dwell meter and adjusting the points.

When it left our shop it was running well and it was flatbedded the 60 miles to his home. I will again say it is impossible that the distributor bushings wore out on his few around town drives in Trenton, perhaps 5 to 10 miles.