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So all literary gymnastics aside, albeit an enlightening read...

Fact or fiction, or somewhere in between the two, the end result is a Packard in a field with a pretty cool story to tell.

It appeared that said Packard was on its way to being saved, in part or whole, from otherwise-imminent decomposition. I'd love to see what has become of it some year-and-a-half later.

EDIT:

Earlier today I wrote a response to what I believed was an inappropriate post aimed at me. It now seems that the original post has been removed. Therefore, there is no need for the response and I am deleting my comments.

Sorry for the confusion.

--Roger--

[quote]
RogerDetroit wrote:
SaddleRider Wrote: Relax - just a bunch of guys having a little fun making up stories.


screen problem ? I don't see any Saddledriver post so what's the deal? why are door handles important?

Quote:


Hmmmmmm, maybe here we have the real Pete, in lieu of Saddlerider?

Maybe I'll have to use the quote feature in future so deleted posts are not completely lost?

Thanks Roger for recapping what we learned about this car. I brought this story to the attention of the forum to increase the facts, definitely not to confound them. No bridge selling here. Who has to buy anything?

I will type up a quick update on the car/engine this weekend for those who are interested. Thanks!

And now for that update on the car:

After I got the engine extracted and transported home a couple months later, I was able to break it down into its individual parts. Things like the head studs and the inside of the head itself were a little worse for wear after 60 years of exposure. But overall this was easier than I thought; particularly after some fun eBay hunts for old tools based on advice from this Forum. The pistons were frozen solid, and had to be beat out with a piece of wood and 4-pound hammer. The lower engine was a pleasant surprise. There was still oil in the crankcase after all those years, and virtually no rust in there. All the connectors came off with conventional means and no extraneous effort. This was pretty amazing considering that the oil fill tube had been exposed for years, and also because of the mystery I found inside.

The connecting rod to the #4 cylinder was bent--a perfect bulge out and back in. All I can think of is that something (stump or rock) struck the oil pan and interfered with the crank while that cylinder was on its power stroke. It is unclear whether this was during the service life of the car, or if it stopped the engine dead on that final day when it was put out to pasture. According to accepted family history, the car was driven into the woods and they simply shut it off. Since everyone involved with the car has now passed on, it is impossible to say for sure. Yes, the oil pan looked pretty banged up when we extracted the engine. But we really didn't notice, since the car had been sitting in the dirt for six decades. And--just maybe--the engine might have slipped its chains and fell into the mud like a big pancake one time (smile). At any rate, the oil pan was dented and may even have been pierced when it was struck. But it was not so bad that it lost all its oil or filled with dirt over the years. It is interesting to note that the thermostat was missing too. Perhaps it failed and my great-grandfather didn't want to bother replacing it. There was also an amazing amount of gunk in the upper engine (around the valve train) that I would liken to black toothpaste. The first theory was that water had infiltrated the crank, displaced the oil, and it congealed in the upper block. But given the lack of rust on the entombed crank, my brother-in-law has theorized that this was "normal" deposits of old SAE 30 oil prior to detergents...particularly in the absence of a thermostat, which may mean the engine had a hard time getting up to operating temperature.

As for the car itself, there is very little left. We knew going in that we were going to break some eggs to make this particular omelette. The front clips had to be torched, cut, or otherwise wrenched loose from the coach body, frame, inner fender walls, and the running boards (or what was left of them). The frame itself, at least the front end buried in sand for 60 years, was amazingly strong. The entire car had to be lifted out of the soil so we could work. As for the rest of the coach work, there was so little integrity left that crumpling was inevitable. Remember that this car still had wooden struts between the doors, which were practically dust. All in all, the body did not survive its encounter with the big Case IH tractor pictured.

The engine project was a great learning experience for me. I got a first-hand look at the anatomy of a pre-war, flathead six. In a way, the engine has served me well already by giving me that knowledge. For now, the block, head, crank and cam are essentially mothballed, resting in my shed. I kept most of the other parts as well, such as the bearing castings, tappets, generator, fuel pump, etc. I would love to see the engine run again, but the time and financial commitments of a young family make this impractical. Maybe some day!

Thanks again to everyone from the Forum and Motor City Packards for educating me and teaching me history about my great-grandfather and the Packard brand. I hope the future holds some other adventure together. Enjoy your week!

JKowFam
Thanks for the update. I enjoy being part of the project (by reading) and appreciate your willingness to delve into that Packard and mysteries.
Steve