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One time I was going up the road in California while driving my 1941 Henney-Packard hearse when a 1948 Henney-Packard hearse came along in the opposite direction. To the other driver, it must have been an everyday occurrence to see another Packard hearse as there was not so much as a glance my way. How rude!

I was driving my Ram tow vehicle and dragging the trailer, which I'm using for work this week. The truck is used to seeing Packards following it up the road. Tailgating bigtime.


I guess that we owe each other a wave or some other sort of acknowledgement.

I wish I was doing something car related this weekend. I'm doing house related stuff.


Was circling a Clipper for sale. Couldn't make it happen quickly. The plight of the working person, busy weekdays and such.


Perhaps there is a better idea up the road a bit . . . .

Looked in on the 2125 last afternoon before sunset. There was buzzing, quite faint. coming from the oil fill tube. I looked on the work bench and there was a full can of Hot Shot Flying Insect, so I did something I have never done before. I shot some of that crap down the filler pipe. I also shot a bit into the distributor hole.


The buzzing ceased.


That car is going to be a bit more involved than I remembered. The inside sucks. I may need to drag it to town to see the Old Upholstery Guys. If so, then I need to find a source for original-looking fabric.

Fred knows Packards (Clippers, at least) and Fred knows horsepower.

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So here at Fred's Farm, we have four Clipper coupes. There is a '42 six-banger in pretty foul shape. Lots of body rust and dented sheet metal. It would be a really tough restoration and would more likely make a cool and different lead-sled/gasser build. No hurry here.


Then there are the 1947s. A six, a Deluxe, and a super custom. All projects, but mostly decent bodies and very salvageable. We knew the 2125 had the wrong engine in it when it arrived. I was kinda hoping that it would be a 9 main 327. At least a 5 main.


Well, after poking about a bit recently, I saw that there was no reason not to pull the head since it wasn't bolted on. It's a 356 head. And reading John's Clipper thread, I wanted to do something Packard. So we pulled the hood, convinced the head to come off without hurting ourselves or breaking anything, and noticed that nothing was at TDC. Put a wrench on the balancer bolt and gave it a turn until something came to the top. Got the tape and measured the down piston. Three and three quarters inch(es). A 288. I'll bet that car was anemic AF with that compared to the original.


So Wat has a 288 short block he doesn't want and doesn't need. Once I pull it, it'll be free to a good home.


Makes me wonder if it has a junior trans or a senior one.

Packard Parts Road Trip tomorrow. Transmission. 1949. O/D. R11. Don't have one of those . . . yet.

Wandered back east for the weekend. Got to take the Deluxe for a stroll, of sorts.


It's still running about 230*. Doesn't seem to boil, but. Made sure the coolant was topped up. Didn't matter.


So I guess that I'll have this to dip into when I drag it out west for the winter and spring.

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Have you verified the temp gauge is correct? Sometimes they are a bit off and if it is not boiling perhaps it is not as hot as you think. It is not easy to add a second thermometer to get an identical reference but I wouldn't trust an infrared type for measuring actual water temp in this situation either.

Better I think would be to stick some kind of probe type thermometer in the upper tank as close as possible to the hose opening to measure water returning directly from the engine flowing out of the upper hose. At that location I would think you could get a fairly decent reading. Amazon has several inexpensive type thermometers with the folding probes and a few other oven types with probes on flexible wires.

If it turns out the gauge is correct then maybe check timing and for vacuum leaks along with a good flush and even checking the water distribution tube would be in order.

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No, and quite frankly, I have done nothing but identify the issue and top off the coolant. I have yet to take an infrared to it to see what that reads - because it's easy. I wonder if the gauge has pooped out. Maybe.


I do know that the previous owner, the one who rebuilt the engine, installed a 195* t-stat into it and a new aftermarket temp gauge. The stat does need to go since that engine was designed and tuned to run right below the boiling point of ethanol. It's quite possible that changing the t-stat will solve its tiny ailments.


No matter, it can sit until Thanksgiving and I'll haul it back to the Land of Fred and spend some time this winter sorting it out. I think that it may have a coolant leak somewhere, too. And a new (better) gauge may be in the works.


Thanks, as always, for the tips and directions. At the end of the day, this is truly a First World Problem.