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Ken, I think the manifolds have thick flat washers and brass nuts, no lock washers. I think.

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JW - that’s correct where the manifold bolts to the block. I’m talking about where the exhaust pipe bolts to the manifold. I replaced split lock washers with the internal tooth style.

Big day in my Packard world - just ordered new tires!

I ended up going with 7.00-16 Firestone wide whites from Universal Tire. They had them in stock, with a late 2020 date code! I typically prefer blackwall tires, but in this case, with a black car, and lots of oxidation on the original paint below the beltline, the whitewalls make the car look more elegant and draw your eyes away from the flaws in the paint!

Quite the price once I got tubes and freight tacked on. I'll have to order tube flaps from somewhere else; Universal didn't have them in stock.

I'll post pictures once they get here and I have them installed. My old tires are date code 98 (as in 1998!), so I decided to replace the tires before they're AACA eligible, now that I'm finally starting to put some miles on the old girl. They look fine, and hold air fine, but I'm nervous running around on 23 year old tires, especially here in Norfolk where I often have to get on the freeway just to get away from the city. Plus, I like having my kids in the car with me - not worth the risk of a blowout.

In other news, I've been prepping for a final flush of the cooling system with evaporust. It's starting to warm up here, and I want to get everything squared away before it gets too hot!

Took my gano out... was a pita. No problems without it. Market hype if you ask me. Glad the bearing cap is working.

Hank, so glad to see you posting again. Welcome back!

Hank - the gano is a temporary band-aid. Once I’m satisfied that the cooling circuit is clean and free of debris, it will be removed. The theory makes sense to me, and it keeps stuff out of my radiator.

Well, it's been an eventful few days.

1. I started an evaporust flush of the cooling system, using a bucket heater, a cheap (and LOUD) HF pump, a few fittings from Home Depot, and about six gallons of the liquid gold known as Evaporust. I got the idea from the AACA forum, and embarked on this path because after my in-frame overhaul, and radiator shop flush and inspection of the radiator, I still wasn't quite satisfied on the cooling system performance. I had previously flushed the block with oxalic acid, and done a LOT of pressure washing, etc, but pulling the distribution tube (which looked GREAT), showed a lot of rust in the block. Since I didn't want to assemble the bottom end and hot tank the block, I'm giving this a shot. I'll post updates with results once I get done.

2. Finally pulled out the spare, which I believe may have dated from the Eisenhower administration! (The car appears to have been taken out of regular service in 1953, based on a service sticker and a registration sticker on the windshield) No date code on the heavily cracked U.S. Royal tire. Tube still looked great though! :) I'm putting new tires on, and plan on putting my best old tire on the spare wheel - it's not perfect, but it might get me out of a bind some day. I'm also planning on painting the backside and inside of the wheel after wire wheeling/using Ospho on any corrosion. I may spray some clear on the face of each wheel, after a gentle cleaning, to preserve the paint, or I may just apply a good coat of wax.

- Any thoughts about either course of action?
- Any source for new beauty rings? I'll polish what I have, but at least two are cracked.

3. A picture of my kids eating ice cream last weekend, because isn't that what this is all about? It's certainly why I bought the darn car! On that trip, sitting at a stoplight, a car pulled up next to me after several lights and said - "Wow, I can't believe that car is SO quiet." Felt good, and validated some of last summer's work for sure!

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  Evaporust flush begins.jpeg (103.74 KB)


  Ancient spare.jpeg (81.42 KB)


  Wheel with tire removed.jpeg (110.83 KB)


  Kids eating ice cream on the running board.jpeg (79.16 KB)

Ken - love the picture with your kids. That's exactly why I bought my car as well. I can't wait to take the kids out to ice cream and my wife on a date in the Panama.

I'm curious to see how your wheels clean up. Originally I was going to sandblast them, but I'm limited by time and the nearest sandblaster is a good drive and will take too long. I'm considering wire wheeling and cleaning mine up as good as I can and just painting them.

What tires are you going with? I just bought a set of Diamondback Auburns....should hopefully work out okay. If they come on time...

-Kevin

Kevin, I would sandblast and paint mine too, but I'm trying to preserve the original finish on the outside of the wheels. I'll post some pictures when I'm done.

As far as tires, I'm a bit of a purist, so I went with Firestone bias plys. I did do the wide whites again - I actually prefer the blackwall tires, but the car is black, and the whitewalls dress it up and draw your eyes away from the heavy oxidation of the paint below the belt line! I got my tires from Universal - I was torn between the Firestones and the Lesters. I ultimately went with the Firestones because they had a newer date code of late 2020.

Tires are mounted and re-installed. I've got some cleaning to do, then I'll take pictures. I cleaned all the rust off the backside and inside of the wheel, and painted, before I mounted the new tubes and tires.

I did find beauty rings from Bill Hirsch, so those are on the way too.