John N. Packard
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Posts posted by John N. Packard
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Ruth,
How did you recruit your replacement? Congratulations on your retirement!
jnp
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Roger,
When I joined the AACA in 1966 some members considered cars of the late thirties and forties simply "used cars". However, these were the cars that I grew up with. Now 37 years later our local meets are dominated by cars of the 60s. As a high school classmate commented recently, it is sobering to consider that the cars we drove in high school are now considered antiques. Personally, I think the 25 years old or older rule works well for the AACA. Often members join the club with a newer car, gain an interest in the older vehicles, and add one to their collection. My own personal collection ranges from 1928 (my most recent acquisition) to 1954. With the HPOF and Driver classes added to the original ones there is a place for most every production vehicle at an AACA sponsored event. I like that!
jnp
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Bill,
I use the Mopar 7176 transmission fluid exclusively. The ALLPAR website has a great deal of useful information about MOPAR transmission failures. I have a Dodge Dakota with 192,000 miles, a '94 Town & Country with 160,000 miles and ran a '69 Coronet wagon for 218,000! Have heard many sad stories from folks who used aftermarket brands of transmission fluid. I've had excellent service with mine.
jnp
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I discontinued my Hemmings subscription a couple of years ago. We give complimentary copies at our annual judged show, so I get one copy a year for free. In the sections of potential interest to me, there are mostly dealer ads. Only need one copy to keep track of them.
I have bought a lot of stuff on eBay; but in retrospect most of it was "stuff". For the really good items you pay a premium. Much of the material is misrepresented. I like the online vendors who give you a catalog of their merchandise. Order online today and UPS delivers tomorrow! This is the way of the future to my mind.
jnp
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Restorer32,
After careful measurement, and checking several websites, I came up with the following: the hole in the wheel is 0.205 inch diameter and the clip 0.213 inch diameter. The thickness of the rim and clip, to be joined, is 0.182 inches. Using the guideline that the shank of the rivet should be 1/32 inch or less smaller than the hole and the length 1.5 times the rivet diameter(to form the head) plus the thickness of the rim and clip I came up with a 3/16 inch, flat top, steel rivet 7/16 inches long. Hope that helps!
jnp
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Rich,
I bought the Eastwood High Temperature Silver at Carlisle and have used it to paint my '40 Packard exhaust, tailpipe and muffler. It is reformulated from what they sold previously. It has a bright silver color, sprays very smoothly, and when dry has a bright sheen. It requires temperature to fully cure. I found it to be an excellent product. Don't know if the color is a match to your Chrysler application. My guess on the judging is that if the painting of the head is well done, that you would not have points deducted for the color match. It would be good to hear from some of the judges on this however. At a Chrysler meet it might make a difference.
jnp
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Ken,
It's a lot of work; but I disassemble everything, sand blast, prime, and paint. Then reassemble with new bushings etc. as needed. My biggest problem is the fasteners. Haven't come up with any really satisfactory way to restore them. Cleaning the assembled parts in place does not work for me.
jnp
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Congratulations to Nelson Neff and his Hershey Region team for putting on yet another great Hershey Fall Meet in spite of the weather!
jnp
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Al,
I agree with you wholeheartedly! I think those who are protesting so vehemently have a deeper reason for resentment of PAC and perhaps other clubs as well. When they go to the PAC tent at Hershey they will encounter fellow hobbyists who are volunteering their time to man the tent. A little unfair I think to chastise a volunteer. Actually, I thought it was a fascinating article because I had always hoped for the revival of the Packard name. I recall news releases at the time suggesting that it was under consideration. As an AACA Region newsletter editor I have let a few articles slip through that I wish I hadn't. It seems to go with the territory! Also, I don't understand the demand that PAC has the responsibility to keep Packards on the road through providing information on servicing and maintaining the vehicles. I thought, as owners, that was our job! Oh well, thanks Al for at least one balanced view of this whole affair!
jnp <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif" alt="" />
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I heard recently of an organization that repairs old cars that are donated and gives them to people who need transportation. At the moment I don't remember who or where. Perhaps someone else on the board has heard of this as well?
jnp
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Ron,
Assess what resources are available to you and adapt your process to them. I have two persons that handle the printing/mailing function. I take the print ready copy to whichever one is available and they take it to the printer, pick it up, staple/stamp/address (I do provide the pre-printed labels), take to the Post Office and handle the financials with the treasurer. I also have a number of regular contributors. One invariably calls on the day the copy is due to go to the printer and asks when I need his article! Most are pretty prompt in getting their material to me. I would really like to have someone do the activities calendar, which is a task that I dislike. I usually put it off until the end of the production process. My guess is that even with committee help there is a lot of work for the editor!
jnp
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Peter,
I have a 3-volume set of books on Russian automobiles and had a section on the ZIS-110 translated.
"Making equipment for the manufacturing of the body was very complicated. ZIS could only count on itself. The plant's specialists made stamps our of zinc-aluminum alloy cast, not milled. For the small-serial production, they had a sufficient durability, and they turned out to be cheaper, and more importantly, they required less labor."
"Moreover, M. Sedgwick could not be certain that there were similarities between ZIS-110 and Packard-180 bodies. The cars were very different in size, and many of their parts (for example, doors) were not interchangeable."
So, it seems that at least one Russian author agrees that the ZIS-110 and Packard 180 were different vehicles and that ZIS made its own dies.
I also researched back issues of the Cormorant and found very interesting articles on this subject in volumes Spring 1981, 75, & 76. Final concensus is that the ZIS and Packard 180 are distinctly different yet similar vehicles.
Roosevelt championed the "Lend-Lease" program to assist US allies in their war effort against Nazi Germany. It is difficult to understand why dies for a passenger car would be considered essential for the war effort, and then not to be used until after the war! I wonder where Robert Turnquist got the information referring to the die sale printed in The Packard Story: "It wasn't until recently that the true story came out." My copy of his book is the second printing 1966. I wonder if this appears in subsequent editions of his book?
jnp <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/confused.gif" alt="" />
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HeyPop,
I can't help you with Fords, my passion is Packards. What I have done quite successfully, since I don't keep the records that I should when I disassemble a car for restoration, is look at original or restored vehicles of the same make and model to remind me of where things go. I did that yesterday at the Harford Region show and found that I was trying to mount the horn assembly for my '40 110 in the wrong place! Having a parts car for reference has also proven useful.
jnp
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Pete,<BR> The beat goes on! Just returned from the AACA Special Eastern Division Meet in Purchase, NY. In the flea market I picked up a copy of "Classic Cars" Edited by Kevin Brazendale and Enrica Aceti and published by Exeter Books. In their discussion of Packard they state: "The lifetime of the Senior 180 Packard in the West was ended during World War II, when dies for its body and chassis were sold, at modest cost, to the Soviet Union, which had always shown a liking for Packards. Made to cement wartime relationships, this deal accounted for the postwar appearance of Russian ZIS models that looked identical to the pre-war Packard Senior 180 models which had been so successful."<P>I know that you have stated that this lend-lease agreement never took place. Can you substantiate this and refute the above statement with any valid documentation? If so, a lot of sources continue to promulgate this myth!<BR>jnp
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Hey Packard V8, that is a great suggestion! I know from previous posts that you have done a lot of research on the cross referencing of parts. Why not write an article for us and submit it to the Cormorant?<BR>jnp
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Bud,<BR> Thank you for your straightforward admission that the 1965 Packard article was a hoax. Frankly, I found it to be fascinating reading! I guess I have always wished for the reincarnation of Packard. Unfortunately those persons who have a grievance for one reason or another seem to be the ones who are most vocal. I find the Cormorant to be an excellent publication. Keep up the good work!<BR>jnp
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Ron,<BR> I don't pretend to be an expert; but I did pull a '35 120 sedan out of storage a few years back and get it running for an antique car buddy of mine. It had been sitting for a good many years as well in a barn in Baltimore County. It had a couple of stuck valves. I pulled the head, dropped the pan and did a valve and ring job. Don't remember if I did rod bearings or not. Got good compression and the car started right up and ran fine; except the gas tank was full of rust and it blocked the fuel line and the fuel pump. When we got that cleaned up there were no more problems. These old Packards are great cars and don't really require a boatload of money to get running; particularly if you are equipped to do the work yourself. The purists bore the block, replace the pistons, etc. and sink a lot of money into them. I simply fix anything that may be broken and get the motor running. Let us know how it works out for you
<BR>jnp -
SOMETIMES!<P>jnp
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Peter,<BR> No temperature relief in Wisconsin. We just returned from Lake Geneva where we visited with our son and his family. The heat index on Tuesday was 104 degrees!<P>jnp
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Packard53,<BR> Jack Triplett states in his article in the Summer 1974 (Volume XXI, Number 2) of the Cormorant Magazine: "The Experimental Department took a straightforward approach to the task of designing a straight-twelve engine--basically, they coupled two Packard six-cylinder power plants end to end."..."The twelve's cylinder head, cylinder block, and crankcase were all cast from these drawings, and each of these parts was cast as a single piece. Thus, the 'Monobolock' term referred to this single casting method for forming the cylinder block of the twelve..." "The remainder of the engine was also based on the Packard six. Its crankshaft was formed by joining together two six-cylinder crankshafts. Pistons, valves, connecting rods, and other moving parts in the Monoblock Twelve were simply stock items from production of the Packard six. Intake manifolds also came from the standard six-cylinder enigne. Two were used, together with two carburetors (one for each group of six cylinders). The exhaust manifold was welded up from two six-cylinder exhaust manifolds, and fitted with a single pipe leading to the mufflers." My 5th series six has a bore and stroke of 3.5 by 5 inches (288.6 CID) which works out to 577.2 CID for the Monoblock 12.<P>The rest of the article is devoted primarily to the body design modifications required to accommodate this huge engine. A picture of the owner, Warren Packard (nephew of James Ward Packard and manager of the Detroit sales branch), with the car is included. Triplett interviewed Warren's widow who said "they used the Monoblock Twelve extensively through the summer of 1929, including taking it on a vacation trip to Canada".<P>It's a long article with many pictures. E-mail me privately and we can arrange to provide you a copy.<P>jnp<P>[ 08-01-2002: Message edited by: John N. Packard ]<p>[ 08-01-2002: Message edited by: John N. Packard ]
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Packard53,<BR> I'm on vacation right now; but when I get home next week I'll scan a copy and post it for you.<P>jnp
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I have a 1385 '40 110 Club Coupe. Bought a new harness through Mid-Atlantic Packards of the Packard Club. It is made by Harnesses Unlimited. Rhode Island Wiring also makes harnesses for this car.<P>jnp
Contact Info for Jed Rappaport
in AACA - Editors & Webmasters
Posted
Bob,
The 2002 AACA Directory lists a Jed Rapoport at 2919 W. Tilghman Street Allentown, PA 18104.
jnp