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Quote:

Thanks, Ernie.

I forgot to mention that when I pull the leaf springs to send off, I’ll also be sending the rear shocks to Apple Hydraulic to be rebuilt. Currently, both leak.

Good Morning...Perfect time to do the shocks...Ernie in Arizona

Spent the day on Packard things…mostly doing some planning for my winter projects. If I can get this list done, I’ll believe I’ll be ready to get it in for body work. But, I won’t do that until about this time next year as I want to keep the car in service until after the national Packard meet in KC next year.

Here is the winter list:
1) right side king pin
2) remove rear leaf springs and send off to have new springs made. Install new springs
3) remove front and rear shocks and send to be re-built. Re-install

Once those three are done, the steering system and suspension system will be complete.

4) replace head gasket - I already have the gasket since I bought a full kit due to the kit being much less expensive than buying everything separately. Many of the gaskets/seals in the set have already been installed.

After this….back to driving the car and having fun for a while until it’s time for body work. In the meantime, I’ll be making a lot of calls to see if I can get on the schedule now for body work. It seems almost every shop is loaded up with work.

As for real work, I did give the old girl a 750 mile oil change. It may not have needed it, but it’s quick and easy to do and 750 miles this year is about 730 miles more than the car saw in the previous 60 years combined.

After that, I drained about 3/4 gallon of coolant so that I could clean out the gano filter I installed earlier this year. The filter was clearly worth it and prevented a bit of crud from getting to the radiator.




Next up on the Packard agenda….Hershey…hope to see you there!

Oh, almost forgot…one more item for the list…

Swap carburetors…I currently have the Stromberg EE14 carb, but Henry Greene provided me with a very good condition Carter carb. Everything I’ve heard is that the Carter is superior and would let me get rid of the manual choke I currently have.

I think the Carter is a more sophisticated carburetor and they work very well when in good order and adjustment.They have some features the Strombergs do not have that contribute to driveability and good fuel economy.

Time for my next question…

Since we had the front suspension out to replace the springs, I decide do re-lube everything…tie rod ends, etc..

Now, at the bottom of the wheels support, the passenger side has grease zeros on both ends. The driver side only had one on one end. The other end had a cover that appears to be epoxied on. When I added grease, this cover fell off.

So, am I right to assume that I should have had a great zero on both ends as on the passenger side? If so, what is the fix for this? What parts are needed and how is it installed?

This is what I have on both sides on the passenger side, but only one side on the driver side.




This is the “cover” that came off on the driver side.

My 110 was similar; the caps that are pressed in are a dome shape and press-fit into the assembly with a whack of a ball peen hammer. My originals on the 115c had a zerk fitting on one end and solid cap on the other; grease was fed through grooves in the bushings to flow through the assembly. The replacements had zerk fittings on both ends. For assembly, I installed the zerk fitting in the cap, fit the cap into the wheel support, and used a deep-well socket over the zerk fitting (larger than the zerk) as a punch. That pressed the domed shape of the cap 'flat' and press-fit the replacement in place.

My '40 had a similar setup but was much more beat-up than the '37:

On one side I blew that out by greasing it. I ended up putting a couple of tack welds on it to hold it in placed and then sealed it up with JB weld.

(People will cringe at that. I don't mind).

Thanks.

I talked to my neighbor as well and he mentioned that it was likely a cap that went in like a freeze plug. Seems to be a minor issue, but one more part I need!

My '37 120 has one grease fitting per sid on thje lower outer pivot, and each faces the rear of the car. On the front, it looks like a freeze plug type disc. Replacements should be available in a wide variety of sizes. Either one or 2 grease fittings should work, assuming the joint isn't gummed up with dirt and old grease.
On my car, the lower king pin bushes have no grease fittings. I believe the king pin is drilled to allow grease to reach the lower bushing and ball thrust bearing. Apparently that worked well on low mileage cars, but a little wear on the thrust bearing and washers would allow pressure gun grease to escape at the upper bushing and not be forced down into the lower bushing and thrust bearing, which then got dirt and water in them and wore rapidly. Jacking the car up to take all weight off the front wheels might help get grease down to the lower bushing and ball thrust by closing the gap under the upper bushing housing.

Question….Can anyone confirm if the dimensions (not ratings) of the leaf springs for a 138CD are the same as a 120CD? I believe they are, but would like to confirm as it would likely save me some shipping cost to send my old springs in as a pattern for new springs.

Per the parts list, my springs should be 1300# and 140 rate.

Eaton Detroit and A1 both have prints for the 120, but not the 138. I think that if they have the ratings along with knowing the dimensions are the same as a 120, that would be enough for them to build what I need.

Mr. Greene let me know that he is running 1936 120 leaf springs on his 1937 138CD, so that would indicate that the dimensions are the same. I’m just wondering if anyone knows for sure.