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Hey all - going to be installing valve guides in my '50 327 block, curious about the appropriate reamer for this. The manual calls for a 11/32" reamer. From Goodson tools, would I want to go with a .343" or .3435", but they don't have something that specifically says 11/32, which is really .34375". Sorry to be a pedant again. They suggested the .343, but I just wanted to confirm this is what other folks would do.

Also, is this the type of reamer I would be looking for:goodson.com/products/1-4-drive-high-speed-steel-reamers?variant=33471808582

Thanks, all!

I'm not saying this is acceptable, but when I replaced the valve guides I found they were so close that I didn't ream them. That was a couple of thousand miles ago. 327 in my '53 Cavalier.

I don't know the exact spec for your engine, but usually something like 3 thou intake and 5 thou exhaust play is preferred. Between 0.3435 and 0.34375 is only 0.25 thou. So it won't matter, and you will actually be taking up 0.25 thou diametral wear on the valve stem.

Quote:

.002" and .004" clearance for my 327.

I think I've got this figured out. The specs on the stems on a new set of valves from Egge are:

Intake: .3425
Exhaust: .3400

So to achieve the .002 (intake) and .004 (exhaust), I would actually want a .344" reamer. Am I thinking about that correctly?

Joe, the above gents giving you precise advice, but wanted to add that a veteran mechanist here in the CA Bay Area who's rebuilt many such Packard engines as your 327, my earlier 356, and those of the '30s has satisfactorily gotten various tools and supplies from Goodsons, per above. I defer to the previous posters, but on a 356, you want the valve guides looser than would be acceptable on a modern V-8, noting the poster above who didn't even have to ream his. Perhaps this is the case in all Packard L-head engines from the 120/110 of the '30s and everything else through 1954. (A 356 is just a glorified 120 with four more main bearings for marketing's sake, as are its hydraulic valve lifters, and shared some of the tooling with the same bore 110 six.)

Make sure to smear plenty of cam lube on everything metal to metal. Though most of us use any major brand full synthetic 10W/30 as the best viscosity and protection, some feel more comfortable using a higher zinc content motor oil like PennGrade 1 "The Original Green Oil" semi-synthetic 10W/30 after and only after a polished cam, freshened/polished lifters, as does the machinist cited above. However, Packard savant Ross Miller, Speedwell Garage, MD, who knows more than any of us here gathered, says he uses any name brand 10W/30 from the outset, and has done so for decades in cars that are driven.

So using a higher zinc content oil only after such engine work might be beneficial, but more likely dated juju. I'd like not hearsay, but an SAE-worthy study on vintage side-valve engines like ours in o n l y this situation, because full-synthetic 10W/30 is otherwise all you need, and do n o t use Diesel oil as some do, because it is formulated to deal with the much higher ash content of such engines, not gasoline engines. Follow the Packard shop manual and do not reinvent the wheel.

Here is the oil that Ross recommended me:rotella.shell.com/en_us/products/triple- ... 3JvdGVsbGEvbmV3c2xldHRlci9lbl91cw==

Joe, you may note that "high zinc" oils simply did not exist when your engine was engineered and manufactured, hence they are unnecessary.

Before hunting for a reamer, maybe replace your guides and check to see if your clearances are within spec?

Of all of the projects that I've done on my car, replacing valve guides was the one where I found myself over my head. Truth be told I'm in over my head on most of my Packard projects, but with the valve guides I was having visions of hauling my car to someone that could bail me out, but all's well that ends well. It was a happy day when I finally got my old guides out and the new ones installed. (My engine work was all done in-car.)

To be clear, I am not a mechanic, only mechanically inclined. Thankfully my car is very patient and responds well to my persistent need to repair and rebuild it.

Here are a few pictures. I started pulling my engine apart to find the source of a tapping sound on the May long weekend 2023. I didn't get it put back together and running until August, just in time for the Packard/Studebaker annual picnic.