Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

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I replaced my NAPA oil filled coil on my '53 after it leaked out it's oil and made the ignition do all kinds of crazy things. I've had an epoxy filled one on now for most of this driving season and it's good so far, as it should be, it's still new.

Most all coils for older applications have the primary terminals marked + and -. Be sure to determine the ground polarity of your car, and connect the coil primary as appropriate. The wire from the coil to the distributor should connect to the primary terminal on the coil that corresponds to the car's ground polarity. The coil will work either way, but it will work better if the polarity is correct.

While screwing around with the coils, I found the armored cable from the ignition is pretty degraded. So I took a piece of plastic tubing and shoved it as far in as it would go, put a new ring connector on and she seems to be wanting to fire up better.
So we went for a drive, about 2 hours in, she started over heating and pushing coolant out of the radiator cap. The overflow tube is open and clear. So, we limped it home. While the RPMs are up, she cooled down a smidge, at stops the temp shot back up and overflowed. Back at the shop we opened the radiator cap (knowing it's not a pressurized system), and it shot out like a geyser. So, it now looks like I have much larger fish to fry. I will be draining and flushing the system, checking the water pump, and the dist. tube. It was a huge surprise to open the radiator and have a geyser. Temps ran about 190 (on the gauge) then shot to 215-220 when she was boiled over. Oh, I also have to check and see if the previous owner put a thermostat in it and remove it.

I want to say thank you to the members here, you have all been very helpful to guy who is still learning about these fantastic vehicles.

No thermostat, so that's good. How are you guys removing the lower radiator hose. It's not even 6 inches long and crammed down in there between the oil cooler and the radiator. Would it be easier to unbolt the water inlet and flush through that?

no thermostat that's bad. the job of the thermostat is to keep coolant in the radiator long enough to cool off and then open at the precies temperature to keep the engine cool.too many times people remove the thermostat thinking a car will run cooler but it only masks another problem such as a plugged up radiator or other issue.

The late 30's Super 8's did not have thermostats originally. That's how they were designed. Adding a thermostat can lead to unintended consequences in these cars. That was one (of several) issue that led to my dad's '38 Super having a cracked block. Thus began our 7 yr adventure of trying to source a good block for rebuilding.

-Kevin

But they did have thermostatic shutters!

I am hoping that it's not the block, considering it's a '37. I saw other posts about the '38 having issues with the castings. Also the shutters work perfectly, with the proper 175 degree thermostat. We do have a bad feeling about the water pump though.

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'38 had the bad blocks. '37 and '39 were fine. I'd be surprised if the block itself cracked. When that happened on our '38 it was instant loss of power, sputtering, and blowing water out the exhaust. Of course it matters where the crack takes place, but I'd think it would be different symptoms than what you had.

It could be a blown head gasket forcing exhaust gas into the cooling system.

Just so you know, the exact same thing happened to me with my 1953 327ci that is in my 1937 120. It was on a trip home that she started to boil, I did the same thing and took off the rad cap as it was 'unpressurized' and experienced 'old faithful', so much so it was hard to find the rad cap!
What I have found since is it acted like a wonderful cleansing sneeze. You see mine had sat for decades and the water jacket had become a mouse condo. Extensive cleaning was done but there was still rust and some residue after she actually was breaking in. That explosive session has had no repeat. The new coolant has shown to be clear and the operating temperature fluctuates within a range of 185-195 degrees F, warming up in traffic and dropping once under way so it may not be as dire as you think. The 'flush' may have already taken place with your geyser and the use of straight water and some more running will let you know next steps before you perform any drastic surgery.
Just my 2 cents
Bob J.