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Rich,

I am not sure if this is the situation with yours, but many data plates were not stamped with dealer info and date. If they were, it is usually with a stamp set and very obvious, like the model/serial number put on at the factory.

Jim

are you richard67 from the PAC boards? did you PM me by mistake thinking i owned this car? cause if you bought that barn find 37 coupe off that guy and then you go jack it all up with crap that doesn't belong in or on it.......OMG!!!

that car is freaking awesome! i would have given my left nut to find that car in the barn and then just restore the hell outa it. don't put an 8 in it, just leave it as it is. a surviver like that deserves to be restored right.

p.s. i am alittle jealous, cause if you did buy it off that guy.....i really wanted it, but my hint to him didn't get me far. but it doesn't matter he would have wanted more than i could have afforded anyways. just one of those times in my life where i wish i could own a 37....maybe one day (i only think about it constantly.)

p.s. you're in my little black book, cause you have something i wanted.

Thank, you for the tip, I am on it, my previous 37 bus coupe had the data quite clear, I suspect there may be no data here, I will let you know. Richard

Hello, just an update, engine oil was drained and looked surprisingly good for sitting for fifty yesrs, new oil put in. The trans is different story, the shifter is stuck in second or reverse, and when I removed tran oil drain, it is all tar. My question is how do I handle this? Can I heat the trans with infrared bulb and see if I can liquify this tar? What type of fluid can I safely put in fill port to "cut" this tar so I can drain it? I really appreciate all info. Thanks, Richard

Richard, if the transmission gear oil has really thickened to the point where it won't flow, just adding something like kerosene (which is compatible diluent) thru the filler port without the ability to stir it around will not thin it and help it drain. My best suggestion would be to remove the transmission from the car for a thorough cleaning; second best, pull the floor boards and the transmission cover, scoop out as much as you can and then go with kerosene and a stiff parts-cleaning brush and try to work all the way around and as best you can towards the bottom, inspection at that point should show you why the shifter is stuck. Drain and repeat several times. I'm not familiar with the internals of the junior transmission but the seniors have troughs cast into the sides which collect gear oil spray and direct it by gravity to the front and rear bearings - these troughs and drip points MUST be cleared.

If the transmission is that bad, I can only guess what the differential and steering gear box must be like. If that's the case, best bet is to remove the differential to clean and inspect the bearings and ring/pinion gear. The steering gear box will be more difficult as it has no drain.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Thanks, I freed' it up , it was only a 'plug' of tar in the drain area, after clearing that it flowed out nice. Is there a shop manual available that is much more extensive then the very abreviated one that is readily available as a reprint? I want the one the mechanics used to tell them exactly how to do something, for example , if I want to remove the radiator , is there a manual that tells me to first remove frame bolts from cowl, then the water pump and loosen the generator etc etc??? Where can I find this book. I am dentist not a mechanic and I need this detailed book that I have seen for other cars. Thanks Richard

Don't think you will find much info of type you are looking for in prewar Packard manuals. Postwar, they did a much better job with the step by step.

Might consider looking around used bookstores, swap meets, and ebay type formats for older Motor's Auto Repair Manuals or Chilton AutoMobile Repair Manuals. These were updated with a new edition very frequently--maybe even yearly. They do cover all makes, but as they were written and marketed more toward the corner garages, some of the step by step things are included. I have been very surprised by the amount of detail these offer on various items vs the Packard literature. A lot of the common mechanical items were used by more than one mfg so the general detail sections are actually quite good.

Here is an example.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb ... ic.php?post_id=48321#forumpost48321 Packard, at their postwar very best, rarely went into this much detail.

The Glenn's Repair Manuals are also pretty good. I agree that Packard's manuals are pretty sparse on the step by step. But they assumed that the person reading them already had factory training and the manuals were just there for reference. I have often found the Packard training booklets to provide far greater detail.

I have both a Gleen's Repair Manual and a Motors Repair manual to help compliment the factory information that is available.

Plus, the Motors and Chilton manuals have detail sections on generators, starters, carburetors, fuel pumps, etc. Their flat rate labor and parts manuals are good to have too, particularly for part information. The pre-war Packard shop manuals often instructed mechanics to see their supervisor for detailed information on a repair or operation.

(o{I}o)