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I have a brand new aluminum radiator…. And electric fan and my car will run cool at 185 when moving… even up to 70 mph. but if I slow down after that and sit still it goes well over 220… rev it up and it cools down. I just live with it. Head has not cracked yet with those numbers. Maybe it will… maybe it won’t. But I’ve thrown everything at it already… so I just drive. Idle is good… timing is good… vacuum is good. So idk. But I’m many wedding rentals in and no problems.

Now in the winter I’m good at any speed.

Turn the car off when done driving and boy watch that temp needle peg then.

My grandpa would complain about the same thing with this same car and the only problem he had was vapor lock… which I’ve mostly solved.

You might check the vacuum advance for the distributor. The advance suction may be leaking. The distributor bearings may be dry or full of junk. Ernie in Arizona

The Packard moves again!

So for those of you who don't know, I'm in the Navy, and get to experience the "joy" of moving every 2-3 years, each time hoping to land in a location where I can indulge in my old car hobby on the side.

Moved again, this time back to Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island, FL. We're renting a small duplex right now waiting for our house to be built, but the duplex has a garage big enough for the car.

Work is slow for a few weeks before it will pick up a ton at the end of April, so indulging in some Packard projects.

The big one first - I finally got the new radiator installed. I took the radiator that came in the car (modern core, original tanks), and had it recored with an original style cellular core. So far, it appears to work great! 70 degrees out today, driving the car around town, and some sustained driving between 45 and 60 on a scenic highway - about an hour of drive time and the car stayed between 160 and 180. And additionally - if it did get a little warm, such as heat soaking at idle after a sustained run - it quickly settled back into its operating band. Huge improvement.

I think it is running a little lean at the top end, so I may try to tune the carb slightly. It still starts instantly, even after sitting for a few weeks, so I'm generally happy with the fuel and ignition systems.

I also removed some aftermarket accessories. Next step will be sorting some of the wiring under the dash and preserving the trunk floor.

I'm also taking it in for an alignment today, just to make sure everything is correct, since I'm planning on driving it more.

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Glad it's running cooler now. That's a relief! I'm hoping my radiator refresh will do the same for me.

-Kevin

Todays projects.

I fixed the steering wheel. I had not put in back in the correct orientation when I cleaned it up a few years ago. Also discovered a washer in the wrong position, so I fixed that, and the little tab that holds the horn “collar”(?) in place.

The first picture is the order I put it in. The second is the order I found it in, with the washer between the steering wheel nut and the horn collar. The final order is spring - steering wheel - washer - nut - horn collar - nut.

Second project is starting to clean the trunk. There is some surface rust from water getting in over the years. I’m going to remove the rust, and then paint up those areas to prevent more deterioration. Then put the trunk back together, and install new trunk weatherstripping to prevent future leaks.

Feels good to be active with the car again. I’ve spent most of the past 9 months away from home, so to have spare time while being at home is great!

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Started ordering parts. Got the cowl vent gasket and the thick weather stripping that goes on the trunk lid.

Steele and Max Merritt don't carry the other part of the trunk weather stripping - part number 314660 that is cemented to the body. Anyone have a modern replacement?

Also, the sealant between the trunk floor and the sides of the car is turning to dust. I assume it was some sort of tar based sealer - again, any modern replacement?

Thanks!

For a sealant you might consider Dum-Dum, sold under that name at auto parts and paint supply stores. It was widely used as a joint sealant in cars of that and later eras. Generally sold in small rods or sticks which you can easily mold by hand to fit the circumstances.

Excellent, thanks Dave! Based on some remnants I’ve found in the car, I think that will be perfect!

Trunk is coming along. I have primer on most of the areas I’ve treated, and the worst of the rust treated. Once that’s all cleaned up, I’ll have to decide how far to take it. There are some areas that may be ok, or that I may want to clean up a little more. This could honestly turn into a full restoration, and I don’t want that!

Also - there was a thin rubber strip in the body gutter for the trunk. Max Merritt/ Steele rubber don’t sell it. I’m going to try and find it locally, but what purpose does it serve, and could I potentially just omit it once I have the new weatherstripping on the trunk side?

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It’s been a very busy several weeks from a life perspective, but I’ve been chipping away. Today was finally the culmination of my trunk preservation project.

Have new weatherstripping for the trunk, probably next weekend I’ll pull the trunk lid off to redo the weatherstripping and treat the rust around the trunk gutters.

I was going to get the cowl vent gasket cemented in today too, but the cement I had was no good. I do have all of the rust treated, so that is ready to go.

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