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SCREWUP: I needed to highlight this request:
REQUEST: If your dash has a similar set-up, I could sure use a picture of the hole with the ash tray removed. Maybe the piece is easy to make.
A photo like the middle picture above.
Thanks

BATTERY INSTALLATION
Both of my "Optima"batteries quit 16 months short of their guarantee.The 6v RedTop is tough to get. Optima says"Coming Soon."
Because. I just got in fromthe Calif last night at 2 am and have to leave tomorrow morning on a 3 hour drive to NJ,
I bought the highly recommended 7212 NAPA Commercial 6v battery recommended here for under the seat 1940 battery boxes.

Only problem is, I can't get it to fit. The frame cuts across the right forward corner.

Shall I cut a triangle out of the frame?

I would especially like to hear from someone who actually has a 7212 Commercial in a 1940 Super 8.

REAR WINDOW REGULATOR
While. I wait for a response, Ross Miller replaced the gear in my rear window regulator, so I'll try to install that. I had more replacement gears made.

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Window is in.

BATTERY INSTALL
I tried tipping toward the driver's side because there's more room there. I succeeded in popping off a cell cover and splashing a few drops of H2SO4. It's frustrating because it's so close.

No one with a NAPA Commercial 7212 6 volt?

Is it possible that your car has the battery Optima tray? I’ve never seen one but know that they are quite different than the stock one.

Yes, I use the NAPA 7212 battery. It's a Group 4 battery; I've not checked the specifications for your car but I was reasonably sure it called for a Group 2 battery which is a bit smaller.

Thanks, Dave. We’re going to Tractor Supply Co for one that fits. I’ll return the 7212. Maybe the optima replacement will get sorted out while I’m gone.

ELECTRICAL ISSUE UPDATE: As posted under the "Need Generator" thread, I made it, barely, to Stone Harbor and back. My generator does not generate.

Once again Moose Motors saved my bacon and came up with a rebuilt GEA-4802-A generator for my '40 Super 8.

I still think I have a short somewhere, so I am tracing continuity of relevant electrical component wiring using the installation guide from my harness prepared by Harnesses Unlimited. It really takes the guesswork out of which wire ends up where in order to test it. Trying to use the manual wiring diagram, even with a magnifying glass can be challenging.

Customer Service at Optima reported to the flackmaster that 6v Red Top batteries will probably be available again within a month, so I'll reinstall new ones when that happens.

In the meantime I have 3 6v acid batteries, two NAPA 7204 Group 2 and a DieHard to keep the car running if necessary before the generator arrives.

ELECTRICAL: Generator installed and charging old Optimas thru the voltage regulator , but ammeter and and gas gauge still not working. I’ll attend to this myself when I have the car home later this week.

In the meantime I contacted NAPA corporate to resolve the months long optima battery issue, replace or refund due to no response from local NAPA dealer other than promises. My 6v big pulley alternator arrived, so once the gauges are sorted out, I’ll have it installed with the new optimas. I’ve yet to find someone who thoroughly understands the electrical problem causing the generator to charge until it burns its armature and the VR. And how it caused the ammeter to quit. I will dig into the dash next week.

DASH PLASTIC Several pieces of dash plastic are warped from sun mostly, and the centerpiece has a crack. LaVine reproductions has made a new set of plastic parts. I have to sent my old parts so the chrome strips can be removed and put on the new pieces. So this is an incentive to get inside the dash, tidy up the wiring, and see how the gauges could be repaired or replaced, after finding out why they aren’t working.

OVERDRIVE Ross Miller, Speedwell Garage determined that my overdrive was toast and the tranny is sloppy. Fortunately he had a senior R9 core, but no time left to rebuild it. Bill Aske, who lives nearby and is President of Mid-Atlantic Packards, agreed to rebuild it for me, if I cleaned the parts after disassembly. Car buddy Chuck McDonald drove me to Parkton and helped me clean the parts, a miserable job in the cold. Hands want to freeze as gasoline evaporates off dishwashing gloves. It took us most of daylight to get it done. Bill showed us his Packard collections and hundreds of Packard parts.
Bill then reassembled the trans/OD. Then he removed my tranny and trashed OD.
Turns out my unit is a Junior not a Senior. I had no idea, but I’m sure it happened like this. In 1965, I bought my car back after selling it and getting a Mustang. The previous owner gave me a 120 he bought for parts. It was a running car and few parts are used on a 160. However, my car had little antifreeze from being in SFO, but in the long, very cold winter of Alturas CA at 4000 ft froze and cracked. A local shop is this farming community removed the engine and tranny, and installed the 120’s. Then in 1975, my friend Vaughn Hickman pointed me to a 356 ‘47 Custom automatic. I had the engine installed. They modified the 120 tranny to work with the 356 clutch/ flywheel. We had a spacer machined to make the crank work, too. So now I’m really excited that this rebuilt senior R9 is back in the car.

Pix

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Dash pix

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