Ken_P

You may have misunderstood me. Force and acceleration are both vectors, but that's not the whole story. Newtonian physics assume perfectly elastic collisions. Vehicle collisions are inelastic - not all force is transferred from one body to the other as motion. A vector analysis of a crash wouldn't add up. Much of the force of a collision is converted to work, by things such as the crumpling of sheet metal, compression of deployed air-bags, losses to friction, etc. Pool balls colliding are pretty close to elastic collisions - minimal friction, no deformation of materials involved in the collision, etc. Vehicle collisions are not so simple. Newtonian equations are simple, and very useful, but don't account for all of the energy absorbed in a collision. The reason modern cars are safer, even with reduced mass, is because they are designed to absorb much of the force of the collision (the kinetic energy of the crash) via crumpling, material deflection, etc. vice behaving more elastically (less deflection) and forcing your body to absorb the force. Interestingly - my 1937 Packard 120 weighs 3,300lbs, a brand new Hyundai Sonata weights about 3,100 lbs - so not that different. Granted a '70s El Dorado weighs about 5,000 lbs.

And absorbs much of the force via the deflection, which is something the Newtonian equations don't account for.

How’s it holding up? I’ve been tempted by then before. Costco has some nice boxes too. My dad got one several years ago and it still works like new.

Nah. The car would fare much better than the 2020 econobox, but you wouldn't! The crumpling of the econobox absorbs a whole bunch of energy so your body doesn't have to. Similarly, airbags are much better landing spots for your face and body under rapid deceleration than a steel dash, even if it is lightly padded. I love older cars, and they are far superior in style, but as an engineer, the I have to respect how the newer cars are just designed to be so much safer.

Looking at the pictures of the 29 more. I see it has cowl lights. I believe those were optional in 29, right? How easy is it to remove them and have the car look right? Is there a different trim strip for the cowl, or some sort of cover in lieu of cowl lights? Take the driving lights and cowl lights off, and she's pretty much perfect to my eye.

Maybe, and it's out of my current budget, but... man is that a sexy car! I love it. Especially like the contrasting body colors with the lighter wheels, and the blackwalls. Painted spokes vs. chrome on a car of this caliber are just amazing. I'm really falling in love with this era of Packard (29-32) in particular, and classics in general. My first full classic won't have skirted fenders! Great car; I could look at it all day.

Agree with Matt. Evaporust only attacks iron oxide. It isn’t an acidic product that will attack solder, brass, coppper, etc. - only iron oxide. So if your radiator leaks after a flush, it’s because you dissolved rust that was “plugging the dike” as it were. Tried gluing my impeller back together, thought I might as well flush cold until the new pump got here. Nope. 30 seconds to failure. Oh well...

Well, I’m not flushing anymore for a day or two! Pump impeller failed again - turns out they mean it when they say it can’t pump hot liquid. Northern tool has a pump that can handle hot liquid, but it has plastic fittings in a weird thread size, so I ended buying a wort (beer in the process of being made) transfer pump from Amazon. Stainless steel, 5 gpm - perfect. It will be here Tuesday, so we’ll see how it works. The best part is, I brew also, so I may be able to clean it out and use it for that too!

Make that two. I re-cleaned/flushed everything, and got the pump running again. The heat apparently made the hub and impeller in my cheap harbor freight pump separate. New impeller, and back in business. Also, I just dumped out a bucket of black evaporust. 2 weeks sitting, no change in color

Thanks Terry- it was a blast! Really appreciate your generosity. I read that article in this month’s AACA magazine- I’ve wanted to learn to drive a T for a while, but the article kind of pushed me over the edge! I knew there were several Ts in my local club, so I somewhat presumptively asked Terry if he would give the kids and I a ride, and maybe a driving lesson. It was great - the kids got to crank the car over (ignition off of course) and I got to start the car and then go for a nice long drive with Terry and the kids. What a ball! Kids loved it too. The only problem - now I need a bigger garage! Thanks again Terry.

Thanks for the encouragement Matt! Agitation is in my future... the three pictures are near the front of the block, middle, and back of the block down the water distribution tube hole. You can really see a big pile of crap by #8 cylinder. I’m going to start with a long enough metal rod to reach the back, sharpen it a bit, and go to town. Magnet too. All of my tools are about 8” too short. Tried using a piece of tube attached to my shop vac, but not a lot of joy. I’ll probably also order a set of those brushes before my next evaporust treatment. I though my filter was clogged, but I think my pump may have died instead. Filter was pretty clean.

Nothing to fear, the advice above is good. Make a match mark, take a picture, do something to get you back to close to the original position. Start it up, warm it up, and re-time the engine once the work is complete. If you have to roll the engine, just set it to the timing mark (4-8 BTDC, depending on the head, if I remember correctly for that car), and put the distributor in. If the rotor is about 180 away from the #1 plug wire, pull it out, rotate 180, and drop it back in. Two bolts to remove and a pinch bolt to loosen (held by a screw) to disassemble. There are springs under the bolts, watch out for them. Also a good time to clean up your fuelizer (I think that was Packards term) and make sure it’s set at zero. I’m not that old (no reading glasses yet), and it’s much easier to work on a distributor on the bench.

After more reflection, I went ahead and pulled the radiator. Glad I did. I had pulled the water distribution tube about 600 miles ago, and it was clean. I pulled it again after pulling the radiator, and FOUND A WARNING LABEL in the back hole of the water distribution tube!!! I don't think this alone caused overheating, but it certainly didn't help! I think it's worth pointing out that I bought this car in 2015, and do not recognize the warning label, so who knows how long it's been in there. I also looked down the block with the water distribution tube removed, and there seemed to be quite a bit of debris laying in the water jacket. I set up my evaporust flush rig to go in the heater supply line from the back of the head, fabbed up a plate to block off the thermostat housing, and have the flush exiting the water pump. Just for fun, I put the gano filter in the discharge. Overnight, it plugged up the filter! After work today, I'll clean the filter, flush the block with water again, and I'm going to try and pressure wash/ mechanically agitate the block where the water distribution tube goes. (Note, I did all of this last summer while I was doing an in-frame overhaul, but it seems the evaporust has knocked a bunch of crud loose). I also have the radiator at a shop for flow check and inspection. Should have those results next week. One additional note - before I tore it all down, I got it good and warm, and pulled out my heat gun. With the gauge at about 190F, and the engine idling, the radiator showed an even 25-30F drop across it. Top of the head and the water jackets were all within 5 degrees of each other.

The forum moderators may help and move your post - I think you’d have better luck with the Packards For Sale/wanted section under the for sale. That said, you might give John Ulrich a try, https://julrichpackard.com/, and I would also encourage you to post a wanted ad with the Packard Club forum or on PackardInfo.com Good luck!

You'll have the best luck with your own post, and a bit more detail. What year? What series? That said: Max Merrit - Packard parts vendor Kanter - Packard parts vendor Terrill Machine - gaskets, bearings, pistons, etc. Advanced electrical rebuilders - distributor work Fort Wayne Clutch John Ulrich Packard parts Check out the Packard Club and packardinfo.com as well.

I'll second what Ozstatman says - it really depends! If it's a 120, it is almost a near bolt-in. Senior Packard, I know there are a lot more differences, but my knowledge ends there. Good luck!

Great choice! I think the Bedfords look much more period correct. Bringing the wife into the process is key too. My wife Jessica is not as invested as Melanie seems to be (granted, it's also your business), but she does have opinions about whitewall vs. blackwall. Can't wait to see them mounted up!

Excellent guys, thanks for all the help! I'll post updates if I find anything. Terry, it was a pleasure, and thanks so much for affording me the opportunity!

So, my '37 Packard 120 was delivered December 31st, 1936, in Cleveland, OH, to a Knowles and Brown Inc. They are not on the Packard dealership list over on PackardInfo.com, and so far the only reference to the company I've been able to find is as a Plymouth dealership (in a story about a bank robber) and on the roll of a list of attendees from an Oxy Acetylene conference in 1936. Anyone have any good research tips (beyond Google) for the dealership, or know anything about it?

I applaud your effort, but this request is old enough to drive. It was made 17 (17!) years ago. Probably not still in the market.

Ugh. I know radials probably ride better. Hell, there is a reason that’s what everyone uses. That said... I love the Firestones!

Ok - I changed my mind. If you paint the wheels to match the pin stripe, or some other correct, contrast color, Firestone blackwalls all the way!

Matt - I’m in the same boat. I normally prefer black walls, but just put wide whites on my black sedan with black wheels. My vote is the Firestone whitewalls. The tread pattern looks awesome, and the whitewall will offset any Nazi staff car concerns.

I'm not normally into station wagons, but I really dig the funky styling on this one. A lot of work, but could be a neat car!

Just thought I would give an update- another 50 miles, and the evaporust is black again. Much less crud in the filter and in the fluid this time, so I think I’m making progress. I was going to pull the radiator this week, but just for the heck of it, I’m going to flush the block and core with water, and do one more round of evaporust before I pull the rad for flow testing. I’ll have to take shorter trips so I don’t boil over, now that it’s getting warmer, but I want to make sure the block is squeaky clean before I drop in a new radiator (if that’s what it takes).