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Dave, I'm sure, will know. Because what caught my attention was the Thief Proof Number on the '51 Touring Sedan in the carport, its A00050, and seems a very low number. The Briggs plate is 2462-14027, the Packard plate is 2462 I4027 and engine number J222379. Dave, I'd appreciate a comment on the A00050 number please, and it's relationship to the other numbers if possible. Going from that I also looked at the numbers on the '51 Deluxe Touring Sedan in the garage which has Thief Proof A32075, Briggs 2492-15839, Packard 2492 I5839 but the engine number is unreadable.

Yes indeed, body serial number A00050 is now the lowest numbered 1951 car thus far identified. Thanks for the data on both, I'll include them when I next publish an update to the study.

Dave,

I'll let Michael the owner of both '51's know. He now has a "claim to fame" in the world of Packards.

From the photo it appears that A32075 is RHD, is A00050 also RHD?

We know very little about the RHD manufacture in Detroit but from the little data we have, a separate (and very slow) production line seems to be suggested. The reason I say this is of the few Detroit-build postwar RHD cars we have data on, several have body serial numbers that date the body a year earlier than the year it was finally titled as.

Dave,

Yes, both are RHD. Interesting that RHD's may have created a Packard numbering anomaly.

Actually Mal, I was discussing the disparity between an early BSN (A00050) and a much later sequential production # with Robert Neal. We've both reached the same conclusion, that since the RHD cars had unique cowl stampings, some were perhaps done first (thus the low number) and set aside before changing the tooling for LHD cars, and then just set aside for later use. And the RHD cars were probably a lesser production priority and were so scheduled at convenient (later) times, thus the higher sequential VN.

Really, the RHD cars are just begging for some serious research; I tried once and won't try again but hopefully someone will pick up the challenge.

Another odd item: The size and font of the "A" in <A00050> does not agree with that seen on other cars all the way up thru the "D" series of 1955 and 1956. An early production hiccup? Something deliberately unique for RHD cars? Dunno.

Wednesday 12th January 2011

While waiting for the synchro kit to arrive and with the clutch not yet re-built other aspects requiring attention on Noel's '39 were addressed today.

The current radio in the '39 either doesn't work at all or doesn't work properly, can't remember which. To solve this dilemma Noel has bought another radio for Wade to fit to the car. The new radio needs to be rebuilt which Wade will undertake wearing his other hat, in his spare time. First thing was to see if the radio head would fit in the '39's dash. And it does, just. But it will need a new front cover strip because the radio coming out of the '39 has different knob spacings, different size dial as well as an additional button and another selector device. Wade will now need the rest of the radio because it's different from the one presently in the '39. And just as well Noel phoned me while we were doing this, I was able to pass the phone over to Wade, and Noel will bring the rest of the radio over tomorrow.

Not being able to continue with the radio at this time, what else needed attention on Noel's list? Why, installing the heater. Noel has provided, among other parts for this, a pair of duct ends which screw onto the the underside of the front windshield interior moulding. In fact, among the parts Noel brought over last week was another duct end but different from the pair previously supplied with the heater box and other parts. If I recall rightly Noel said he bought it at Hershey. Well I can tell you Noel it's not the right one, so next time you're at Hershey you can return it for a refund. That aside, the reason I mention the duct ends, is that the windshield moulding was removed to check that they'd fit. Which they didn't! Notice the pair supplied are marked '40 while the single is '38-'39-'40-'41. While the '40 is close the multi-year one is no chance. A little ingeneous re-fabrication of the attaching point on the windshield moulding and they now fit like gloves, even using the original mounting holes. While doing that was demanding in it's own way getting the windshield moulding back into the '39 had it's own set of problems. I remember when doing the '41 it was hard enough but Noel's '39 was something else altogether. There should be a law against it! But back in it went then the duct ends were screwed onto the underside of the moulding. To facilitate access for this the glove box liner was removed for the left side duct end but Wade wasn't taking out the steering column for the right side one(it's RHD). Just as well, because it slipped right into place and the screws went in without any drama. The glove box liner was also re-installed although it'll probably come out again for the actual heater installation, Wade also tightened up the screws which mount the ashtray and radio section of the dash face to the dashboard as well as the screws holding the glove box door to the dashboard. Should be a whole lot quieter in there now when driving the '39.

Then it was the electrics turn to be attended to. The clock was comparatively straightforward, swapping out the old one for the new one. There was however some wiring work to be attended to in the changeover and once done the battery was re-connected, and........it works! Well at least it ticks, didn't leave the battery connected long enough to see how accurate it was. Next the horn, works when you press the centre horn button but doesn't work when pressing on the horn ring. Taken apart, inspected, scratched heads over the operation of the ring, put back together, battery reconnected, and Noel, you're right, it does only work on the centre button and not the ring. But Wade wants to know, did the horn ring ever work? Turn signals were next, they work but light on stalk doesn't flash and there's no beep-beep-beep sound. Fault traced to the flasher can, and will probably source a VW one as a replacement.

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Monday 17th January 2011

Before I left for the workshop, had a call from Noel advising he, and his friend Tony, would both be there later in the morning. Then at the workshop found Wade giving Old Blue a wash, he'd picked up the old girl on Friday after Award Diffs had fixed the diff. Works well now, no whine or other noises. Turned to the OD Solenoid, plunger, pawl and baulk ring for Noel's R-6 and it's reassembly. After a number of trial fits, reference to the manual, finally figured out how it goes back together. And then Harvey arrived complete with a new 6V flasher can for Noel's '39. Harvey has recently serviced his bosses Packard's both '39's, a Six Business Coupe and a 120 Convertible Coupe. After Harvey's departure back to the OD and then Noel arrived followed shortly thereafter by Tony.

Tony had with him the dash out of Noel's '41 160 Club Coupe which he'd re-woodgrained for Noel to inspect. Noel had seen it before but wanted Tony to cut back the sheen on it which Tony had done. But......on seeing the dulled result Noel had second thoughts and now wants it returned to a shiny state, which Tony will do. And I agree, dull doesn't do it justice, a shinier finish would be better as evidenced by some areas behind the radio grill which hadn't been dulled down. And there's good news for those who want their dashes, mouldings, etc re-woodgrained. Tony would be prepared to take on such jobs in the future. The queue starts here! Another piece Tony brought along is the steering wheel he's refurbishing for RobT. Like the dash, it's still a work in progress and needs to be finished, but it looks terrific to me as is. Tony is also prepared to restore steering wheels, for those interested on this side of the Pacific. Tony is concerned though that the best results can only be achieved where the cracking is across the wheel rim and not radially around it. Tony also received instructions from Noel concerning the chrome spears on the heater doors for the '39 which have dings in them. Tony also removed the door lock from the '39 for some more work on it, and received instructions about the dash face plate required for the different radio going into the '39. Tony is a very good friend to Noel.

After Noel and Tony left finished off the work on the OD pawl setup, part of which required energising the solenoid to measure the gap between the pawl and the baulk ring which requires a minimum clearance of 0.015". To achieve this gap a second gasket was used between the Solenoid mounting plate and the body of the OD. Here's a short video of how the Solenoid and pawl actually work, required a number of takes before this videographer got it right! Wade also fitted the new 6V flasher can into the '39, so Noel, you now have audible and visible blinkers again. The list is slowly being whittled down.

But enough of that, a lot of the afternoon was then taken up with giving Old Blue a compression test. Out came John's compression tester, only used a few weeks ago on Richard's '39 Six CC. But that had turned out to be easy because Richard's Six has 14mm plugs and John's kit has a fitting for that. Old Blue with 10mm plugs was another matter entirely, even though Wade advised he'd tested Old Blue some years before. Wade does have an old gauge he made in New Zealand and brought with him when he came to Australia over 40 years ago. This gauge has a tapered rubber "bung" which is pushed and held into the plughole but it's a fight with 10mm plugholes. Results of testing with this gauge was 75 lbs/square inch on all cylinders. Wade had had an adapter made some years ago using an old 10mm sparkplug as the base with another fitting welded to it. After some scratching around it was adopted to one of John's fittings resulting in 75 lbs/square inch on all cylinders again, but not holding the pressure. Turned to Rick's tester which is the same as John's with the same results. Much collective head scratching until Wade discovered that both John's and Rick's fittings have a valve in the fitting which screws into the plughole and without that their gauges won't "pump up" and hold as designed too. Wade's hand held gauge on the other hand was just tooooo old. Temporary solution was to couple together a very short adapter between the plughole and the "right" fitting with a valve in it. This resulted in readings of 105 lbs/square inch across the board, much better. Then, while Wade hollowed out an old 10mm plug to fabricate another adapter which can be screwed directly into the test gauges 14mm adapter, I cleaned, checked, re-gapped and re-installed the 10mm plugs.

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Tuesday 18th January 2011

First up this morning we were off to Burt Bros to have the clutch and flywheel for Noel's '39 rebuilt. Over the weekend Wade had picked up another pressure plate from PeterL and that as well as the flywheel, pressure and clutch plates from the '39 were deposited with Burt Bros. They are going to examine and determine which pressure plate will best suit rebuilding. Expected to be done by weeks end.

Back at the workshop things are almost stymied. Waiting for the clutch, the synchro kit and the radio all for the '39. Parts from the US for The Fossil. As for Mat's '34, The Flackmaster asked me the other day in the Chatroom "What's happening about the alternator"? To which I replied "Not much". Well, with all else at a standstill, eyes turned to the '34 and the probable alternator mounting point. It's going to be mounted over the water jacket side plate on the left of the engine. In fact I volunteered to measure up, draw up and create a "template" for a mounting plate. Wade suggested I remove the side plate off the spare '34 engine and use it for this exercise. So while I did that, it was only held on by 4 bolts, Wade attended to some personal business. Side plate off, although only 4 bolts, it was awkward to do because of the cramped area it's in under the ramp to the roof top carpark with junk car parts surrounding it. Then I started measuring, and re-measuring trying not to bring myself undone by incorrect or imprecise readings. Used a small straight edged ruler and a steel tape and they proved adequate. Numerous trips to Mat's engine compartment to measure and re-measure, first for basic fitment then for alternator placement. And trips to the side plate for measurements of bolt hole spacings and placement. Sitting down at Wade's desk to draw up Mal's Mud Map showing sideplate, alternator and bracket dimensions and translating that to a template for a mounting plate. Originally I was going to use a piece of Aluminium as a template but didn't have a piece big enough so settled for cardboard.

During the time doing that Wayne, who has a '55 Four Hundred he's gathering parts for to restore, had arrived for a lunchbreak chat as he works close by. After Wayne left, the template was cut, bolt holes punched and it was time for closer attention as to where to site the alternator bracket on the mounting plate. Next the bracket for the alternator was straightened, it had a bit of a kink in it. A little ground off one of the bracket mounting fingers so it could rotate freely for belt adjustment purposes. A bolt found, retapped and a spacer found and ground down to size. Now we had an alternator swinging on the Holden(GM) alternator bracket and which could be used in conjunction with the template. Optimum siting for mounting the bracket on the plate appears to be near the lower edge. An "ear" will need to be included along the top front edge of the mounting plate(see pic) to anchor the alternator adjusting/tensioning arm. Now all we need is a piece of metal plate, looking at Aluminium for ease of working for us non metal fabricators, so the mounting plate can be made.

Oh, and Mat, Wade checked under the '34 because a pool of something had been slowly growing. Found that the diff appears to be leaking from the drain plug and ditto for the trans. These will be looked at more closely and action taken before the car is returned to you. And.......Wade pumped up the tyres, now 30psi all round!

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Wednesday, 19th January 2011

Drove the '41 down to the workshop today. Had been missing when accelerating but changing the plugs to new Autolite 3136's fixed things, see Noel, I did take notice! But, cleaned the old Champions up and re-gapped them to carry as on-board spares.

Last night I'd been on the Internet looking for aluminium plate for the alternator mounting plate for Mat's '34. Found 2 pieces, but one was smaller than required, while the other would have provided about 6 plates. Wade consulted John in case there was something in the workshop which could be utilised. Not to be, but John did suggest we try Jacobson's, a steel merchant, at Silverwater. Off to Silverwater where Wade picked up some bearings for Rick from ABC Bearings. And following from an email last night from Terry, Traumjaegercat, ".....Just to let you know that the bearings arrived today. Everything's perfect....... Please give my thanks to Dennis at the bearing shop.....", I was able to thank Dennis as requested. Bearing business done, off to Jacobson's, only it's not now Jacobson's but Metaland sort of a boutique steel business. Well it seemed boutique to me, because I remember Jacobson's from 40 years ago as a typical "dirty" workplace. Metaland by contrast, you could almost eat off the floor. Sorry for the lapse into nostalgia but when you see that big a change it hits home. Anyway, procured a piece of plate 250mm x 250mm x 12mm with 25mm holes near each corner, it's actually a column base plate. Could have bought a strip of 10mm, 250mm wide but the minimum length was 3M. about 10', much too much for our purposes.

Back at the workshop Wade did some tidying up of Old Blue while I contemplated the new paperweight and it's planned application. Also cleaned up and re-gapped a set of plugs for Old Blue to be carried as spares. In the last couple of weeks that's 4 sets of plugs so done. Wade also measured up the picnic table that folds into the back of the front seat of Old Blue. This involved removing the top from the cantilever arms on which it rests and by which it folds into the seat back. One of the cantilever arm setups was also removed for photographing and measuring. Once all photos and measurements were done, back in it went. It's quite an interesting piece of design and engineering and works well.

After that it was back to the paperweight and determining how best to cut it. I didn't like the thought of hacksawing all that metal and suggested oxy-acetylene cutting it. Wade wasn't comfortable with that idea but, then, a fortuitous event. Graham came round and suggested using a grinder, and even better he would do it for us! Problem solved. Turned then to measuring for the different hardware now required, such as longer, thicker bolts together with spacers to fill the gap between the mounting plate and the water jacket side plate.

A bit of a break from the workshop till Thursday of next week. Because 1) tomorrow Wade won't be there, he's collecting the last of the painted panels for The Fossil, 2) Friday I have family responsibilities, 3) Monday and Tuesday Wade won't be there, and 4) Wednesday next week is a Public Holiday, Australia Day.

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Well, hello gentlemen. The Wade mud map above looks like something you might like me to look at for you? If so that will give me a second reason to come and see you in the workshop soon as I now just about have enough space in the shed to at least move the 282 engine in and out of your way. Work is extremely busy at the moment but perhaps we could organise a time one weekend soon for me to turn up with a box trailer? Anyway Mal, have Wade give me a call or I will ring him in the next week or so as I have some other questions to ask him also.

Cheers

Matt (aka Snapey)