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Kevin congratulations on a really nice job, your engine bay will be the envy of many me included... in the last picture there appears to be a pressure gauge, bracket mounted to the cylinder head, what is this for... If it is oil pressure where is it connected to...? I have been wanting to mount a mechanical oil pressure gauge underhood on my 55 400 but the only place I could think to take a line from was to make some sort of adapter to fit below the oil sender unit.

Regards,

Dave.

Guys,

Many thanks for the encouragement. I'm also very glad my experience has also helped a couple of others along their Packard journey.

Randy......I think you are right. I seem to remember those j-styled pieces. Now the task is to locate them.

kg

Kevin,

Not sure if it matters to you or not, but I noticed something which is overlooked on many cars I have seen is the Hood Hinge Spring. They were actually black from the factory. The hinge itself is plated, but the spring is painted black. I found traces on black paint on mine, and matches the PI Engine Judging Guide and some of the photos they use for reference.

Here is a picture off of my '54.

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Kenin. In post #3 above is pic of the battery tray and the front left most corner of the engine.

Why is there a bolt screwed into the BACK SIDE of the water pump manifold????

I think you're seeing things Keith, there is no bolt on the back side of the water pump. Just the opening between the top arm of the water pump and the lower.

Keith, no bolt, just an optical illusion as Eric makes mention. You had me going for a minute however!

Big Kev

Who did your springs? Frankly also, if there was a way to do the 5588 hood support option, I'd do that thing too. Maybe I could start a new thread and have Caribbean owners post pictures of their hood supports for us 5582 & 5587 owners. (I'm green with envy!)

I did the springs myself. I removed the entire hinge from the car and sandblasted them, moving the hinge into different open/closed position to get every angle and get the springs in the "expanded" state to get in between the coils.

Then I used a large screwdriver to remove the spring from the hinge. The hinge itself was sprayed in Cadmium paint from Eastwood. The springs were re-sandblasted to get down inside them, and then painted with Eastwood Chassis Black. I painted the hinges first, and once everything was dry and cured, I then bolted the hinges back on car to hold them in place, and carefully put the springs back in place while the springs were still a bit tacky. That way I could leave them in the expanded state while they finished drying. Then I touched up the paint where needed with a small brush.

Hey Kevin, just checking in on the wiring harness you went with. How’s it holding up? Do you wish you’d have used the 28 circuit over the 21 circuit? My son and I are getting ready to do the same electrical overhaul and wondered your thoughts after all is done.

400

Kevin sold his Packard.

Not sure if he still pops in to the site.

Ask the webmaster. Kevin. He used the painless harness.