Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Great info, thank you!

I will order the seal kit and add that job to my list.

My dad also had a new valve body and shaft on his parts shelf, so I have that too.

From what I could see, everything looked/moved extremely well as if it had been reworked around the time he rebuilt the engine. As we all know, looks are deceiving. Gotta get into the internals for the real story....

I'm really impressed how well the engine runs with an "ear tune" on timing and base carb tune after the rochester rebuild. Keeps motivation levels high to complete this project for him!

Yes, they were very well designed overall. You will also find that they are difficult to overheat even during highway driving in hot weather. Likewise, vapor lock is very rare.

The only real thing of note is to not run them on old gas. Whatever they are putting in gas nowadays can cause the valve train to stick up if the gas is old.

I obtained more info. The trans was re-built/sealed at 80k just before the engine was rebuilt. That's why what I was seeing made sense, looked so fresh. That car was stored indoors which I'm hoping would've kept things in decent(er) shape.

After running the car more, there are no leaks whatsoever. Was most likely residual fluid from moving the car around and it leaking out of the converter.

Exhaust goes on next week.

Ah gotcha, as long as that wasn't too too long ago the seals should be fine I think. I work at a place that makes industrial equipment and the seals we used 20 years ago are generally still holding up (and this is with frequent use) so I would hope anything from just a decade or two ago would be fine. Likewise the several clutch linings should not degrade over time.

It's also worth noting that these tend to leak some fluid out the vent from use, until the level ends up reading near the low mark on the dipstick. If this happens, just consider it normal. Packard released a service letter on how to relocate the vent to avoid this problem, but it's seldom necessary to do that.

Quote:

Not exactly related specifically to seals but rather to rubber in general, one thing I noticed years ago was that the original rubber on my ‘40s cars was still soft while any pieces that had been replaced quickly hardened after only a few years. In fact, one of my 1940 110s recently appeared on Facebook again and still has the tires from JC Whitney that I put on it in the ‘60s! I wouldn’t want to drive anywhere on them but they looked good and holding air, probably with the same tubes too.

Several test drives complete now!

All fluids changed after many heat cycles, and looked ideal!

Main annoying issue now is it sticking in park. I have to roll the car a little and it releases. My dad related the pawl needed replacement back then due to this issue. Not sure how in depth that replacement is, if anyone here may know?
I searched endlessly on the site and found a few topics/service bulletins, and I have already done most fixes listed.

For now:

- Torsion leveling now functions properly due to help from this site.
- Engine has massive power!
- Transmission shifts great up and down.
- Brakes are great!
- Cooling system is functioning great.
- Soon, on to paint/interior

Sounds encouraging and progress is being made.

As I recall from various bulletins and articles the park pawl and gear were both improved. Think the shape of the gear notch and pawl were changed for a better sliding fit and parts were precision ground to size and hardened. Not sure just modifying one item would help and not introduce other issues. You might need to change both pawl and gear to have a perfect mesh.

The gear was changed mid 1955 and also for 1956. I don't know what is different about the 1956 one.

The pawl itself I have not heard that it was changed, though actually I am not sure of the part number. I think it is this.

The relevant service articles are here:
https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/SC/SC-VOL29NO7.pdf
https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/SC/SC-VOL30NO1.pdf

Have you tried setting the E brake then shifting in and out of park? If it shifts smooth then, then it is probably something with the pawl engagement. If not, maybe the manual valve is sticking.

If the lever angle is unsatisfactory then IDK if there is much you can do there aside from getting the other type of lever shaft part.

Awesome info, thank you!

I am testing the E-brake procedure to verify as well.

I'll keep updating on this.

Setting the E-brake works.

It does not stick in park using that procedure.

Now I need to find (or make) a sealed cover for the compensator control box.

The rochester I rebuilt needs a little more help. The accelerator pump (AP) initally had the wrong size ball check valve. I replaced that with the correct one and now it works better but still has a slight bog issue from the 700-1000 rpm range. The AP fuel stream looks weak when observed, and was thoroughly cleaned out prior.
Air fuel screws have been optimized with a gauge, and by ear tune. No difference.
Jets are 48's. Have not changed those yet.

I may just upgrade to the Edelbrock to avoid the forever tuning nightmare.

I did install new points/rotor/cap/wires, no change after that.