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Opened the link to the Packards of Oregon website to be greeted by, PackardInfo member, tbirdman's '32 903 Coupe Roadster, a great looking Packard.

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Christmas day sums it up very well indeed! Add to that the items I've been finding/winning on e-bay, it's more like the 12 days of Christmas. Going to have to cut back on the e-bay action, though. With gas prices, I'm going to have to save the $$$ to fill my new gas tank!

The Weather Channel tonight said that Friday and Monday and Tuesday will be clear. One of those will be taken with bringing the '51 home but one of the others will be dedicated to (hopefully) fully awakening the Patrician.

As far as excited goes, I'm practically beside myself!

Thanks again to Portlandon and everyone else whose encouragement and advice as gotten me this far. The DAY will belong to all of you as much as to me.

Also, thank you for the link to the local club. I'll have to look into that! That '32 is gorgeous!

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Yes. Ken's '32 is a beauty. Ken and I used to talk Packards well before he ever owned one. He is a good guy.

Although I planned on waiting until tomorrow to start and test run the '55, I found that I had more time than I thought I would this afternoon so I gave into temptation.
Even though I haven't replaced the water pump, I figured I could run the engine for a few minutes - if it would indeed run.
I checked all the fuel connections (the glass fuel filter bowl had leaked before) then poured some gas down the carb and fired her up. Without too much dithering, start and run she did! I let her run at fast idle for a bit then goosed it and hit normal idle. At this point, I thought I'd check on that fuel leak and got out to check. To my horror, the entire top of the engine was WET! I quickly shut her off (I did have a fire extinguisher handy) and investigated.
The good news is that it wasn't gas. The fuel system was tight. The bad news is that it was ENGINE OIL. I grabbed some paper towels and cleaned up the mess but couldn't see anything obvious. The only thing to do was try and restart and jump out for a look. The engine started immediately which was gratifying. Also the engine was ticking over about 500 RPM so the oil volume wasn't as much. It looks like one of the fittings under the oil filter cannister is leaking and spraying oil - helped along by the fan. I then turned her off.
REVIEW TIME: The oil pressure gage showed good pressure while the engine was running. The gas gauge functioned though I didn't think about providing a ground for the coated tank until after I installed it. The engine toward the end of the test started running a little rough. On a hunch, I checked behind the car and saw that the right side exhaust port had ejected another bunch of seed husks. The drivers side threw out its own bunch of crud - including the mummified remains of at least one mouse.
Conclusions: I need to take the oil filter cannister off and apart and see where the leak is. The gas gauge can wait for a while. The roughness of the engine idle MAY be caused by back pressure in a clogged up exhaust system. I may stick the shop-vac hose up each tail pipe and see if I get anything but if the engine can't force it clean, I'm not too hopeful about the shop-vac. I never did a compression test but that couldn't hurt. I can't get over the idea that once the engine catches, she runs really well and then slowly starts running rough. Hence the back pressure idea. Could also be not all lifters are filling due to the oil leak (the engine did clatter a bit at the beginning).
Please - Anybody chip in with advice and experience here!
Packard engines and their foibles are new to me so EVERYBODY knows more than I do.
I'm devoting tomorrow to the Packard if the promised break in the weather happens - probably even if it doesn't and can use all the help I can get!

Another milestone.

You should not need a separate ground to tank as it normally gets grounded by pressing against the trunk bottom and via the support strap underneath. As you said the gauge is working, that would seem to indicate ground is fine.

The oil fitting may be cracked or it could be the steel tube has damaged it from too much tightening. The lid gasket has also been known to be a problem. Some filters fit just fine but the included gasket is wrong and just a shade too small. Have seen that as well as cracked gaskets.

I wouldn't hold much hope for the vacuum either. Those blasted meeces can get in the most unbelievable places and may have turned the muffler into condominiums that you will never reach.

Running may help the roughness and maybe once the exhaust is cleaned out, even some snake oil would be beneficial. I wouldn't be at all surprised with a few sticking valves which may or may not free totally. One car I tried to start after long sitting had some rusted in place valves to the point the pushrods bent. At least you didn't have that misfortune.

NEWS FLASH!!!!
STUPIDITY STRIKES AGAIN!!!!

This evening I was sitting down to dinner and reviewing the "running of the Packard" this afternoon. As thoughts drifted through my mind like Autumn leaves to the forest floor, I remembered that when I tried the brake pedal with the engine idling, I had no power assist. I'll have to look into that, I thought.

Then, just as I was starting to shove a slice of Pizza into my mouth it hit me.

That big multi-port vacuum fitting that screws into the back of the carb; I never hooked anything (like the power brake vacuum line) back up to it!

Ladies and Gentlemen - I raise my glass in a toast: To Col Jesse Vincent - and his Master Motor Builders! Fifty six years later and the Packard V8 is still MORON PROOF!

I've worked on a bunch of V8's in my time but I've never seen an engine that will work as well as mine did - let alone RUN - with that big of a VACUUM LEAK!

I can't wait until tomorrow.

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Going in reverse order - I've bent a couple of pushrods on an Imperial 413 after it had been sitting due to sticking valves. I'm grateful that hasn't been the case here - at least so far.

The exhaust system sounds so nice and quiet (maybe due to rodent corpses) that I was pleased I wouldn't have to buy a new system. I should have knocked on wood, I guess. I know that the left side is shooting out rusty muffler chunks along with mouse mummies so I'm probably not too far away from replacement anyway.

Thanks Howard for the thoughts on the oil leaks. The cold light of morning showed just how much oil escaped. A lot made it to the ground and the cannister looks to be leaking in just about every place you named - including out the top. I put in a new filter that came with the car when I changed the oil and used the gasket that came with it. I had assumed it was the correct filter. This morning I'm going to check and make sure. Anyway, today will be "Fix the Leak Day" around here.

I'm pretty sure the rough idle is due to the vacuum leak the size of the Grand Canyon. I can't believe I didn't hook those lines back up. Nothing like a little humility lesson! The engine sounded sounded so good and smooth when I was running it on gas poured down the carb (the lines were still hooked up then). The carb was just in need of a rebuild - not to mention missing a few parts. I'm really hoping it will run that way now after I've hooked up those vacuum lines. If it doesn't, I'll follow your suggestions.
Well, out to the car!
More later -

As important as they are, I'm kinda tireda looking at gas tanks... when will we get to see a pic of "Sleeping Beauty" (From the Blog! not the Book!) Jim, I am aware of the source of the title of your blog, I think.

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How about tomorrow? It's real tough to take any kind of meaningful picture in the carport where it's been sitting.

The reason why tomorrow will be different is that today "Sleeping Beauty" woke up - ALL the way up! So tomorrow I can park her where pictures won't be a problem - under her own power.

Needless to say, it's been an interesting day! Knowing that this was it, I went through everything. A few drops of oil in the oil cups of the generator and distributor. R&R'd the water pump. Went through the oil filter cannister, topped off the brakes and turned the key.
She fired right up. A quick check of the dash gauges showed good Oil Pressure; a happy Generator and having put exactly 11 gallons of gas in an bone dry tank the gas gauge showed a little over a half a tank.

I had put white paper towels under and around the Oil Filter Cannister but they were unnecessary. I think what the problem was that when I pulled the old Oil Filter I forgot where the spring was supposed to go. I put it in the bottom on the pipe and put the oil filter on top of that. The car didn't like it. Today, the filter went in FIRST with the spring on top and the oil stayed inside.

Without a vacuum leak the size of the Holland Tunnel, the engine idled very smoothly. No black or blue smoke out the exhaust once the last of the mouse mummies got blown clear - the white smoke disappeared once the engine warmed up.
I wound up putting 5 quarts of transmission fluid in before the level reached the correct mark on the dipstick.

The brakes were really strange. At first while the engine was running; I tried the brakes - very hard pedal. I tried it again, still hard. I then looked down and I swear the pedal looked like it was doing pushups! The pedal went down - back up - down again and then stopped at the correct position all this action without my foot touching the pedal. I put my foot on the pedal again and it acted just like it should. I then put the car in drive - and it immediately wanted to go forward but the brakes stopped it. Same for reverse

Next was the power steering which was missing the pump pulley. I had attached that last night. Today after topping it off several times after turning the wheel from lock to lock, I have power steering - but with more like 50% of the effort removed. Probably still air trapped in the system.

There was some intermittent valve tapping but that is slowly happening less and less. However I think I'll drain the oil this week after the engine is warmed up as the fresh oil I put in turned pitch black after literally "Minutes" of use. Considering that taffy like crap that was at the bottom of the Oil Filter Cannister, dropping the oil pan and cleaning that out probably couldn't hurt.

I do plan to go for a short early morning drive tomorrow. Pictures and more news tomorrow!

Please keep the ideas and suggestions coming!

Jim, Great progress. Nothing like hearing an engine come to life after years of silence. In regards to your oil getting dirty so soon: You may want to drop the oil pan and clean it and the oil pump float screen. Keep us informed on you project.

(o{I}o)