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OD and HPH, thank you both. We've had some great colors around here the past week or so. I just snapped a few quick shots with my cell phone, and they turned out better than I expected. I'd like to do a more proper photo shoot before we lose all the leaves here.

HPH, that scenery is beautiful. You guys on the East Coast have incredible colors during fall. We are mostly conifers around here except for in the towns.

-Kevin

Kevin,
I have to say your car is looking great. A journey well worth the effort. Don't be afraid to drive long distances. That's how you find out what needs fixing. Just be prepared with AAA Premier and sources for overnight parts. My first 1,000 mile trip to Pebble Beach (with side trips) was tense since I had done so much of the work myself. I figured a wheel would come off. And all the parts I took with me from fuel pump to starter were not needed. Only a voltage reg which I didn't have. Now I drive anywhere.

Today I took advantage of mild weather (40 degrees) to top off the Panama with fresh ethanol-free gas, then put in some stabilizer for the winter. Took it for a leisurely drive to cycle the stabilizer.

Couple notes. Car was somewhat rough when I started it. I hadn't had the chance to run it for at least a few weeks. After it warmed up it smoothed out nicely and drove fine. Definitely needs a tune-up.

Secondly, the heater is not working. The flaps are correct, the cables are mostly adjusted, the heater valve should be working, the heater core is cleaned, and heater hoses are all new. When I check the hoses they are cold, including the hose from the top of the block. Does that indicate some sort of a blockage?

-Kevin

Maybe the heater valve isn't opening for some reason?? Doesn't sound like the water is circulating.....

That is an indication of some kind of blockage. If the hoses are new and core was cleaned and checked that leaves the valve as the most likely culprit and it is probably not opening.

If the heater or valve leaked and had been bypassed at some point with a hose directly connecting the nipple on the head and the return on the water pump there is a slim chance there could be some kind of plug in one of the nipples. If the water continually short circuits thru the bypass hose, it will never see the radiator and overheating can be an issue. In most instances something is inserted in that hose to restrict or stop any flow. That something could have migrated and got stuck or maybe was even purposely inserted in a nipple.

Also, once you get the water flow part solved, I never found the heat on my 54 to be as generous as my daily driver since there is no air recirculation happening. The heater core is trying to warm up cold air coming in. And that is only when the car is moving, unless you have the blower on. Also, the defroster is even less effective.

Kev what's your daily driver? I don't remember ever seeing a car that recirculates heat by default, though in most recent cars it's an option. As I recall, most owners manuals say to use recirculation for A/C, but not heat.

I don't know how similar the 54 and 55 heater cores are but my 55 400 gets plenty hot. The main difference being less airflow than a newer car, at least when not moving.

Those heater valves are just not my favorite thing at all. The cables don't actually open the valve, there is a diaphragm that actually opens the valve.

You can clean them, there are kits to rebuild them, but if the diaphragm is no good then there is not much choice except to find a NOS valve. The people who rebuild them won't do anything with the copper diaphragm, last I checked. I took mine apart and thought, well, maybe if I was good at tig welding or braising very thin copper I could fix it, but I didn't know what or how to fill it. Seattle Packard Co. sold me a new one.

More about these valves here, how to test the diaphragm, etc.

Rebuilding a RANCO heater control valve

Quote:
The core sizes and overall layout of the heaters are about the same. The main difference between the 51-4 and 55-6 heaters is how air flows in the box and thru the core.

51-4 air flow only utilizes half of the core at a time which to my mind kind of restricts the amount of air that can flow thru. The core rests at a fairly shallow -- almost flat -- angle up toward the top of the box. It rests on some sheet metal which forms a section of the outlet path in a kind of a plenum that covers the bottom center of the core. Air enters from the bottom of the box and because of the sheet metal covering the core center it is forced to go thru at the outer sides of the core -- roughly a quarter of the total core is available on each side. Air goes thru the core into the upper half of the box where it turns around and exits into the car thru the center of the core which is resting on the sheet metal plenum.

For 55 they redesigned the core placement so air goes thru the entire core at one pass. Because the 55-6 core is almost vertical, the bottom of the core rests on the bottom of the box just behind the air tube. Air still enters the bottom of the box but is in front of the almost vertical core. It passes thru the core and exits the back side of the box straight into the car.

Logically the amount of air flow doubles for 55-6 but whether the temperature changes significantly is unknown. In theory slower flow and two passes would produce hotter air but whether the higher temp is enough to beat what might be a slightly lower exit temp and more supply into the car is a question.

There is also a how to article in the literature section that Kev wrote when repairing his Packard version Ranco valve.

I believe the 51 and later Packard version Ranco valves have a different more compact actuating mechanism to that shown in the HAMB repair version and their writeup may be closer to the valves used in the later 48-50 models. Believe the early 48s used a different brand valve.