Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

When I peer inside, the cooler is shiny, so I assume stainless steel.

Ross,

Thanks for this information.

How or where did the cooler breach? Some sort of pin hole inside the cooler? I'm not sure I've seen the inside of one of these.

Sorry, don't know that part of the story. Just be on the lookout for red fluid in your radiator!

Here is how we arc shoes at Speedwell garage. A press, a block of softwood and two dowel pins so the ends of the shoe can scootch outward. A rather gentle pressure expands the arc, most of which springs back. Sneak up on it a little at a time till the shoe lays nicely in the drum. Takes a couple of minutes. If you go too far, stand the shoe up in a vise and smack the end with a hammer. Goes right back.

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Pure.Genious Ross intelligence at work

Two small things that help:

If you look at my "Fun with used cars" entries you will see that the '53 taillights are glowing quite brightly. This is with the standard 1154 6v bulbs and the engine not even running to boost the voltage. I took the taillights apart and cleaned the lenses carefully on the inside of course, but the big difference came by painting all of the area of the housings covered by the lens with bright white paint from a Rustoleum rattle can. Why the big dif? Touch the paint on a white car on a hot day. Now touch the chrome. The paint will be cooler as it is reflecting more.

For years I have installed 180 degree thermostats on most of the cars that come through if the cooling systems were decent. Better thermal efficiency right? Well, that is right, but I wasn't thinking about something else. All other things being equal, if I run a 160 stat on an engine, the underhood temperature should be about 20 degrees lower most of the time, even after a heat soak cycle like when you stop for doughnuts and coffee. Much less likely to boil the fuel out of the carb and down into the manifold making for a horrendous and embarrassingly laborious start. Clippy is running a 160 and starts gloriously hot or cold, even after I did stop for coffee and a doughnut the other day. Am going to change my beloved 51 200 over tomorrow and will report back. That car is not a happy hot starter.

The only thing wrong with the six volt system is rotten repair methods.

Conversion to 12 volts only serves to advertise that reality.

I used to hand fit off the shelf 160 thermostats to those Packards. I always added a bleed hole to unify warm up and eliminate air pockets as well.

Hi Tim,

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Does that mean you drilled a hole in the T-stat itself?? I thought the way those went into the neck of the hose spout, that there was enough 'blow-by' that any air could find it's way past? Chris.