Packard Forum Index » Project Blogs

Thanks Guy - yes very happy so far. The engine was dropped into place previously with my Dads help, but now it will likely move again, so I am glad I didn't go to the effort of fabricating proper mounts for it just yet.

The engine will be solid mounted to the chassis as was common practice with specials of this type in the day (and still). This makes lining everything up a bit easier and the whole thing simpler and lighter. It also has the affect of the engine essentially becoming part of the chassis and increasing the cars ridgity - something that it seems Packard was keen to avoid in their passenger cars for obvious reasons.

I went out to the shed last night to assemble a new piece of furniture for the BW (Beautiful Wife). Two hours later she appears in the doorway as I am lining up a freshly cut template on the front of the Packard chassis - "You just can't help yourself, can you?" she says.

"No." I replied.

Quote:
Snapey,

What you got there then is, essentially, a tractor!

My father would agree with you on the most basic of terms! I would prefer to compare it, however, with modern motorcycles & race cars, if that's OK with everyone?... Please?...

Hey, don't knock tractors!

I once drove a 1940's International H4 with a badly bent front axle (read extreme negative castor on the left wheel and sever bump steer) on a 45km road rally run with my father in-laws vintage machinery club. It was difficult, tiring and painful - as well as a great deal of fun! I am hoping the biposto will handle somewhat better!

Nothing to report from the shed this weekend with household maintenance, some odd jobs to be done at the mother-in-laws place and today we took 'Echo - the workshop forman' to a sheep herding workshop, where he got to chase sheep around a paddock in the wrong direction so as to make me look like a proper dill!

I did, however have one good idea this week while standing and looking at the car. The sections of chassis that were cut from the front will be reused to box, strengthen and give shape to the newly formed front of the chassis.

Also during the week my brother and our young cousin, who has recently arrived in Australia from his home in England (our Uncle and his family have been living in England for quite some years now) dropped in for a visit. Cousin Cameron is here to do a few weeks 'work experience' in my brothers workshop.

When my brother asked Cameron if he thought the biposto might be quicker than an ERA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Racing_Automobiles ), he hesitated before responding - "Maybe in a straight line..."

Given that the 1.5 litre ERAs of the mid thirties were good for 130mph, that is actually a pretty big wrap!

Quote:Ahhhhhh......the Eureka moment!

never underestimate what a tractor can do...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7kJF-LjosU

As this is my 100th post on PackardInfo, I thought it appropriate that it should be made here, in the Project Blog.

Only a little work has been done on the biposto project over the last couple of weeks, as life and other varied pursuits keep getting in the way. the BW is currently in training for the 'City to Surf' fun run here in Sydney in a few weeks and I have been accompanying her on her longer, early morning runs to supply moral support and carry the water bottle.

Meanwhile, I have managed some time in the shed. Recent progress has included much head scratching and looking closely at moving the brake cross shaft as previously described. It won't be quite as easy as I had originally hoped as in it's new location it sits very close to the drive shaft. To combat this it will be installed as low in the chassis rail as possible and only just behind the centre section of the crucifix. The original mounts will have to be replaced with something that allows this. There are other options, of course, but I will have to make a visit to the bearing supplier I use before I will be able to come up with the best answer.

Meanwhile removing the cross shaft has meant I have been able to relocate to engine further back in the chassis, which helped a little with the clearance issue already mentioned, but not enough.

I have also continued work on the front of the chassis and separated the original chassis sections that were cut off from the spring hangers etc (no easy job). These have been trimmed up a little and will be incorporated back into the front of the chassis where they will serve to give a surface to mount the old rear hangers to and also 'box' in the chassis for added strength. Some excess steel that used to connect to the front cross member was also removed from the inside, lower edges of the chassis rails.

So, the pile of discarded metal continues to grow, as does the bucket full of 70 odd year old dirt, grease, stones, rivets and rust that is slowly falling onto the floor beneath the chassis.

And Echo, the workshop foreman, still spends much of this time sitting on the dog bed in the corner, with a kind of sad look on his face, wondering how I could possibly think that what I am doing can be more entertaining than throwing a tennis ball for him to chase.

PS - No photos this time, but we will catch up soon enough.

Attach file:

---

  (11.13 KB)

It has been a few weeks and still not much more done to the biposto. I must stop letting other things, like earning a living, get in the way of my hobbies! Seems to me that you either have the time to do something OR the money to do it - never both!

Anyway, I did get to spend a few hours in the shed this afternoon thanks to some unexpected rain which meant I couldn't wash the other car like I was meant to.

Spent most of the time today playing around with the spring hanger point set up on the front and have revised the original plan as the geometry just didn't want to play ball. Still reusing the old forged rear hangers, but have had to modify them further and use them in a different orientation to the original intention. There is still much to do to get this right including working the original cross tube back into the mix, but I am happy with the way I have been able to use the chassis off cuts to box the fronts in.

Also used the BBH (bloody big hammer) to separate the spring shackles and old front points from the front springs. Now I can take the springs to the local spring bloke as soon as I get a chance during the week to pick up the old 'spares' off the other Mats 34 which are sitting at Wades Workshop. Oh, and by the way, thanks for allowing the old springs to be donated to the cause Mat.

Worst part of today was that due to the amount of cutting and grinding today my workshop buddy Echo did not want to curl up and sleep under a shower of hot gringing sparks, so no photo of him this time. Although he was keeping a close eye on proceedings most of the afternoon.

Attach file:

---

  (83.28 KB)


  (81.46 KB)


  (58.92 KB)


  (76.36 KB)


  (65.40 KB)