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The 1951-54 parts list shows spring #405373 under Group 30.335 for the front door lock on your 1954 Panama.

The window regulators also use spring #405373 under Group numbers 30.391 for the front door and 31.298 for the rear quarter.

This is the shorter spring. The longer one that is used for many other applications is #133264

All my Packards from 1939 and up to 1954 had them! I thought my 1956 did too but maybe mistaken.

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Thanks! That's the information I was looking for. I keep forgetting about the parts list. I really ought to dig into it more.

-Kevin

Gerry from Packards Southwest was able to find the rest of the trim pieces I needed to complete the doors.

Before I put everything together though, I wanted to do something to keep water off the insides of the door panels. For the front doors I used some butyl tape for a seal and stretched plastic over it. The driver's door was version 1, and I realized that the thickness of the butyl tape was causing the door panel to not sit flush with the door. So I had to change it some. The passenger door was version 2. I just blocked off the areas were water was likely to intrude from washing the car....water drips down past the window felt, and drips into the window regulator and door mechanism. The area below the vent window should be sealed enough.

The rear panels I did differently....just cut a piece of plastic to size, then used contact cement to put it over the entire rear of the panel. There is not room back there for any other option. The original door panel was just flexible cardboard because of the tight space.

I have a few more parts to clean up and put on the doors, but I'm essentially done with my door panel project. Now I need to find some windlace. The completed door panels really highlight the absence of it.

-Kevin

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  Moisture barrier V2.jpg (107.76 KB)


  Rear panel moisture barrier.jpg (79.49 KB)


  Completed door.jpg (83.32 KB)

Magnificent job, Kevin. Long lasting, too.

Thanks Joe!

I haven't done much work to the Panama, but I have been driving it a lot. Our weather is up in the 80's right now. Perfect for cruising with the windows down.

I'm chasing a rich condition currently. Plugs and tailpipe are sooty. Timing should be correct (I tuned it a couple months ago). Choke is operating correctly and is wide open when the car is warm. Carb settings were as correct as I could make them when I rebuilt the carb.

Connected to manifold vacuum today and set the idle mixture screws using vacuum. Got a steady 19 inHg with very minor fluctuation.

I'm now having troubles with the fuel pump again. Fuel bowl is mostly empty all the time, though the car never seems starved for fuel. I tightened all the connections on the suction side with no difference.

-Kevin

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Gasoline can "boil" at fairly low temperatures when it is subjected to vacuum. That can cause bubbles in fuel lines and half-full filter bowls. It looks like an air leak situation but it is more like what happens if you try to drink warm beer through a straw. Warm to hot weather usually aggravates the situation. Gasoline sold today is designed to be held under low pressure in the gas tank, and forced up to the engine under higher pressure. The positive pressure prevents bubbles from forming, and the higher pressure in the underhood fuel plumbing keeps the gasoline from boiling. Any restriction on the suction side of a conventional fuel system can cause bubbles, especially in warmer weather or where excess heat from any source is present.

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I do seem to remember the fuel bowl being full in colder weather. Maybe the warm weather is having an effect after all.

I have the correct heat shield in place for the fuel pump. The pressurized fuel line to the carb is uncovered, and I think they were like that from the factory. I wonder if the fuel pump itself is having problems. It's a rebuilt unit from Kanter. Both fuel and vacuum pump work, but the whole unit has been noisy ever since I installed it....like a hollow pumping sound that is very annoying. Not sure if it's coming from vacuum or fuel pump side. I may need to pull it and investigate further.

-Kevin

If the vacuum side is not being used, try connecting the inlet and outlet with a short length of rubber hose. That may quiet it down.

It may not be possible to get rid of the bubbles in the filter bowl. If all your connections are air tight and there are no pinholes in the gas line, it's probably bubbles forming in the gasoline. My car has a Carter glass filter bowl right at the carburetor. It is full of liquid sometimes, but after driving around, it usually isn't. It's often half full or so, and gas seems to dribble in erratically. The car runs down the road OK. Be sure your gas cap vent or any other fuel system vent is totally clear. Anything that causes lower pressure in the fuel line will aggravate the bubble condition. Hot weather and high altitude will make it worse. "Winter Blend" gasoline will make it worse. Some localities are required to sell "special blends" of gasoline, and some of these may be more troublesome in older systems than others.

I see quite a few posts about the filter fuel bowl being full but I’ve never seen it that way on any of my Packards in over 55 years of owning them! Makes me wonder if they’ve always had borderline fuel pump problems that I never noticed.