Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Hello everybody,
I'm getting ready to pull the engine on my '55 400 for some maintenance. While it's out I want to detail the engine bay (clean and paint). A previous owner painted the engine blue, I know that's wrong. Is there a reference with modern paint numbers for under the hood? I've looked at the paint cross reference on this websight but it doesn't have any info for engine block and the black parts like the generator, etc. I'm going to use the picture of the engine from the sales brochure as a reference for what is black and what is ivory. Should any part that isn't ivory be gloss black, flat black, or somewhere in the middle? Should the fender walls, fresh air ducting, radiator top be gloss black? They say a picture is worth a thousand words so if someone has a picture of their engine bay that has been redone that would be a lot of help. Thanks in advance for any input. Brian

Kevin from AZ will be along shortly and point you at the restoration of his 55 400. It is gorgeous and a model of what should be done.

I remember seeing pictures of Kevin's project when he was painting the headlight buckets. I have looked everywhere but can't seem to find them or any others. I'm looking forward to him giving me some advice.
Another quick question, is it that much more difficult to pull the engine and transmission while they are bolted together than just pulling the engine? The tranny works fine but I thought as long as I've got some paint why not paint it also. Dropping the tranny is not an option because I'm working on my back on a creeper. If the tranny can be pulled at the same time as the engine while they are bolted together then great, I'll paint the tranny, if not, then it stays put in the car.

It is very little trouble to pull the tranny with the engine and gives you a great opportunity to replace the shifter and throttle shaft seals, also the O-rings on the band adjusters. Plus all the painting and detailing goes much easier.

Great! That's what I'll do then. Pull them both as an assembly. Thanks

I've decided to leave the transmission in the car and only pull the engine. The repair manual says the grill and fenders have to be removed to pull the engine and transmission simultaneously and I'm not ready to do that much tearing down at this time.
Where can I find Kevin from AZ's project blog for his restoration of his '55 400? That blog should have all the information I'm seeking. All I can locate is the blog about restoring his steering wheel.
Thanks in advance for your help. Brian

I have never done it, but I was always told that you can remove the front clip with 6 to 8 bolts. That would make it easier to pull the engine and transmission.

Whoops! Sorry Brian. I don't have per se a project blog like so many others here. I did it piece meal so to speak. Send me a PM and I forward pictures to help. I have hundreds of my journey.

PM on the way.

It's been a couple weeks, the engine is out, freeze plugs replaced, (forum info, thanks) head gaskets replaced (another forum), everything has been stripped and prepared for painting. I'm trying to find out what colors are correct for certain areas in the engine bay. When I was cleaning (degreasing) the engine bay I noticed something peculiar about the paint colors. Right now the top areas of the fenderwalls are gloss black while the areas under the fresh air vent ducts are flat black. When I removed some of the wire harness brackets on the upper fender walls there was the main body color under them, not black. Also, in the pockets where the vaccuum canister and radio antenna are, it was also the main body color. This only adds to my confusion about the correct paint scheme under the hood. Is it possible Packard painted the entire body (including firewalls) the main color then repainted the secondary colors on the body and painted the engine bay flat and gloss black? Here are some pictures of my engine bay and of the paint colors. I need to decide what I'm going to do as far as painting. I want to do it right but I haven't been able to find any guidance on the various Packard websights. It is supposed to dry out this weekend (not rain) and get a little warm (upper 60's)( Hey, it's the Pacific northwest). I'm ready to paint, just don't know what colors to load into the gun.

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