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Hello Ken,
Had the same problem and cured it by tightening the manifold in the correct sequence, loosen of the hot box nuts and the manifold to block nuts, then tighten the manifold to block nuts first from the centre out. Finally tighten the hot box nuts( inlet to exhaust manifolds )
The hot box nuts need to be fairly loose when you tighten the manifold to block.
Hope this also works for your engine.
Regards Pepe.

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Howard, it is definitely not a one piece system! There is an exhuast pipe to the first muffler, an intermediate exhaust pipe between the first and second muffler, and then a tail pipe. So lots of joints! Could explain the intermittent nature of it too. Thanks for the idea!

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Pepe, that is how I installed the manifold, but perhaps it would be worth it to try that sequence again, thanks!

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Howard is the winner, or at least partially. I did find that the hanger behind the muffler had come loose, which was allowing the rest of the exhaust to flex too much, which caused the joint between the exhaust pipe and front of the muffler to start leaking. I fixed all that. I still noticed a minor exhaust leak when I drove it today, but it was definitely quieter when I first started driving it, so overall an improvement.

I did notice some ticking today that seemed louder than usual when I had my head under the hood looking for exhaust leaks. I wonder if I should adjust the valves again. I have already put 2,500 miles on the engine since I did the in-frame overhaul in 2020, so it is probably time. I was also looking at my records, and it's about time for an oil change too, so maybe I'll do it all at once.

On the water pump: I have an oiler on the water pump for the bushing that sits behind the packing. Am I supposed to use grease of some nature there, instead of just motor oil? Or is there a special oiler with a check valve in it? [The parts book does call for an oiler, P/N 300072] The reasons I ask - my old water pump had a grease zerk jammed in where the oiler should go. When I replaced the water pump, I put a spring cap oiler in. Now, every time I put water in the radiator, it pushes whatever I add right back out of the oiler. I put just a little bit in the top of the radiator yesterday afternoon, maybe a pint, so that I could see anti-freeze in the top of the tank. This morning, all of that coolant leaked out of the oiler and all over the floor. It seems to find an equilibrium when the static height of water is just below the upper hose connection in the radiator. The upper hose is still full (I have a gano filter installed so I can see it). Any thoughts?

Last, I finally installed the USB charger that BigKev is producing. 5 stars review. I used one of his provided terminals, for the ground wire, and one with a smaller ring for attached to the keyed terminal on my ignition switch. I wanted a low profile installation, so I used the provided 3M strip on put it on the steering column just behind the clamp, so it's nearly invisible. Works great, and charged my iPhone perfectly! Again, 5 stars!

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The lubrication instructions just says to use 20 or 30 wt motor oil for the water pump oilers. If water is leaking out an oiler and it is a stock type pump then from what I can see in the water pump detail from the owners manual, the oilers should have bushing material on either side of the oiler to prevent water from ever reaching it. If water is coming out I would wonder if the shaft or a bushing at the leaking oiler is badly worn or if something is installed incorrectly.

Presume it is the rear oiler that is leaking and if so, I can't tell from the illustration if the bushing is just the narrow sort of shaded area directly under the oiler or if it is the entire wide item between the packing and impeller hub and the shaded area is just for oil distribution. If it is just the narrow item, I wonder if it was pressed in the correct distance or if maybe part of the oiler was left exposed to water. While a grease fitting might prevent water loss, it still would not be right and I would wonder how effective greasing would be if a good portion escaped to water rather than being forced to where it should be going.

If it is a repro pump then maybe it is different from the original in the illustration but water still should not be able to leak out

Howard, thanks again! I always forget about the owners manual even though I keep it in my glove box. Between the owners manual, shop manual, and parts book, I can usually get the answer, if I remember to look at all three!

The pump is a Packard part. It is the rear oiler that is leaking. I'll call the rebuilder, and see what they say. Thanks!

I just noticed the photo bomb in you picture of the charger! HA!

I talked to the rebuilder (Arthur Gould) and the leakage I'm experiencing is fairly common. I'll send it back to them. Not sure if they are going to replace the bushing, or if it just needs to be shifted.

I pulled the water pump off yesterday. That task does not get any easier, even though I've done it several times!




To remove the water pump, you must:

1. Remove fan blade and fan belt
2. Drain coolant via radiator petcock.
3. Disconnect lower radiator hose.
4. Unbolt water pump - the bottom passenger side bolt is hard to get to. I have to loosen the two bolts for the front motor mount, jack up the engine slightly, and then wiggle the engine with a prybar until I can get a socket on the bolt. Total pain by myself, would be much easier with two people! The picture below is the bolt in question, before I made it accessible.




Lots of damage from the leakage, that will be this weekend's project to correct.




I'm still running a Gano filter, and it's still earning its keep! All of this was in the filter since I last cleaned it, probably 1,500 miles and two years ago?

I was able to remove and install the fan, pulley, and water pump as a unit on my '37 120. It's a tight fit, but do-able. Place the belt over the pulley before re- installing the assembly. Use a piece of cardboard to protect the radiator. I believe that at least one of the bolts has to be inserted in the pump before the pulley is put on. I was able to remove and install the water inlet pipe and hoses without removing the right inner fender panel, but I won't be doing that again. Very difficult. Make a note of the pump to block bolt lengths and put each one back in its proper location, and use copper washers under the bolt heads. I'd put sealer on the threads, too. While the water pump is off, it might be a good idea to use a nozzle to rinse out the water distribution tube. One of the 1/8" "sweeper" nozzles would work well.

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I may not have made this clear in my post, but I just removed the fan and left the pulley on the hub. Because the pulley interferes with the waterpump bolts, I preferred having it loose so I could shift it side to side and pull out each bolt individually.

The block was flushed significantly, and repeatedly, from the fall of 2020 until the spring of 2022 when I finally solved my overheating issue with the correct radiator core. Everything in the water distribution tube that I could see still looked great.

Made it back out to the garage last night and got all of the rust cleaned off the block. I cannot believe how effectively antifreeze strips the Bill Hirsch engine paint off the block. Has anyone had similar problems with other engine paints, or the Bill Hirsch paint in particular? That's what I'm going to repaint it with, because that's what I have, just curious.

While I had some time in the garage, I also resumed a project I had started a few months ago. There was evidence on the bottom of heater body that I was getting a little bit of core leakage, so I wanted to remedy that in the summer time when a heater wasn't necessary. I started trying to disassemble the heater a few months ago, and there was enough rust that I couldn't initially get the heater body apart. Since my car is so original, I don't want to fully restore the heater. It looks fantastic on 95% of the body. I periodically soaked the offending joint with penetrating oil. The body is two pieces of stamped steel that sandwich the core, which also has a band of stamped steel. A lot of surface area, so it doesn't take too much rush to hold it all together. Pleased to report that it slid apart last night, and yes, there is evidence of core leakage. It looks small, so I'm cautiously optimistic that I can get the core repaired. If I cannot, I am not optimistic about the cost of recoring it. There is a good radiator shop in town, and they did a great job on my radiator a few years ago, so I trust them.

While it is apart, I will also replace the wire for the motor, as the insulation is brittle and turning to dust. Not the safest under dash situation.

Heater disassembled:




Core leak: