petri

What awful news, we had many nice tours with Mike and Patti over the last 10 years or so The most recent one being in Hastings, NE last Fall. Howard and Iris

I drive a 1932 Packard 900 Light Eight on car tours. I find it's very comfortable to "cruise" along at 40-45 mph.It has a 4.36:1 rear end. They offered 4.07 and 4.69 in this car as well. At 50 it's starting to feel a little fast, it will go 60 and I even had it up to 75 mph once, but at that speed it was definitely scary. The chassis just isn't built for it and the steering says "slow down" before it's too late. The mechanical brakes aren't made for higher speeds either. If I'm going on car a tour, usually VMCCA, that has high mile driving days of more than 150 miles, I take a newer old car. With all the stops we make it's hard to get around the course and get back in a reasonable time with a 45 mph car. I wouldn't change gears for anything other than what was available stock at the time. I have a 1932 car because I want a 1932 driving experience. It just doesn't make sense to me to change that objective. Watching the world go by at 45 mph suits me just fine. Howard Petri

Working fine and replying from my IPhone 6.

I also sent you a PM. Howard Petri

I drive a 1932 Packard 900 Light Eight which I restored. It has all new babbitt bearings and of course, mechanical brakes. The rear end is 4.36/1 and I cruise the car comfortably at 45-50 mph. Both me and the car are happiest at about 45 mph. After that the engine seems wound out although it will go faster if you want it to but is very uncomfortable feeling at higher speeds. First gear is all but superfluous in this car; my grandfather pulled stumps out of the ground with a '31 Packard. I tour the car with the VMCCA and all of our tours for these older pre-war cars seem to be designed around a 40-45 mph average speed. I agree with the poster that prefers to go slower and "smell the roses"; that is why I drive an old car. I have it because I want a 1932 driving experience, not a modern one which I can get every day in a modern car.

I vote for getting any books I can find and doing it myself as suggested by most of the above advice. Success will build confidence and knowledge. It's is very helpful to have local people to ask questions of, thus connect with other car people in the area, clubs, AACA, etc. Find the people that actually work on their cars. If you want something more formal you might check out McPherson College's summer courses for hobbyists and professionals. Its costly but something there may suit you. It's located near Wichita, KS. I have visited there but have never taken any of their courses. http://www.mcpherson.edu/autorestoration/institute/ Howard

Hi Brad; http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/bboard/forum.php Try the forums on the Antique Motorcycle Club of America website. There are real experts there that will have the answer to your question. Howard

I like old bikes as well. I spent 12 years restoring a 1932 Packard; there are a lot of parts in a car, even a very old car. I had this 1978 BMW R100/7 and just never liked the looks of it. It came with a Luftmeister fairing which is not a BMW fairing but one made in the US. Last winter I finally realized why I didn't much care for the bike's look, it was the fairing. It hid the whole front end of the bike. I decided to remove the fairing and now I have a bike that looks like a motorcycle again and I now love it. The R90 of 914 driver is very nice with the cafe racer fairing. BMW did it right. I would really like to restore an old Indian or Harley from the 30's or 40's but these bikes have really gotten expensive. I had a '42 Harley 45 when I was 20 years old in 1964 and that might be a good place to start again. Both old cars and old bikes have always appealed to me. The '78 BMW is just not old enough but it is fun to ride.

Ugh, I really would like to have a set of those lights. Interesting that some people have actually received them in the distant past. I can live without them I guess and $25 isn't a fortune if I lose it. But what a way to do business; it reflects on the times we live in. I'd like to read about it on the Ford Barn; I'l try and track it down. Thanks Rons49 for the update. Howard

I have had the same experience. I sent in my $25 Dec 2013 and have been waiting ever since then. I have called and have had several nice conversations with John Peterson, founder and CEO. He offered to return my $25 but I'll just hope and wait. I need the signals for my 1932 Packard far more than I need the $25. The story is always "in a couple of months, we have a new supplier", but nothing so far. Howard

Yes, the sockets are where they break. If you have any luck with repairing them please let me know. Howard

Hi Dave; How about inside door handles for a 1932 900? The 1933 1001 has the same handles. Thanks, Howard Petri hrpetri@gmail.com

Restoration Supply Co. located in California sells all sorts of antique automobile restoration hardware. Restoration Supply Company They have electric wiper motors and and other vintage wiper supplies. These are new motors meant to replace hard to find vacuum wipers and have a sort of vintage look. I took this path since I didn't have the vacuum motors for my 1932 Packard 900 when I restored it and when you do see them advertised, they are insanely expensive. They advertise a 12 volt model but I wrote them and they said they could also supply them for 6 volts. I installed these motors and they work fine. They won't work in unison though. Frankly I just wanted something that would work if caught in the rain. I know the judges would never approve but then, I drive my car and am not interested in having it judged. I did have to design and fabricate some mounting hardware but nothing very sophisticated. regards, Howard

Hi Harry; I have repacked and reassembled the water pump without building up the shaft. I'm trying it one more time. So far it's much better, but still leaks some. I have tightened the nut after shutting off the engine; I haven't tried tightening it while running yet. Actually it's not leaking noticeably while running, I just have a small puddle the next day under the car. Like I said it's much better and if it doesn't get worse it's probably close to normal. The next time I decide to remove it I will see about having the shaft built up. thanks, Howard

Hi Bob; That's interesting that those shafts are resurfaced by hydraulic cylinder rebuild shops. I won't find one in Vincennes, IN but maybe I can find one in Evansville or Indianapolis for sure. I'll have to check that out. thanks, Howard

Yes that is correct and I now wish I hadn't dug out what I already had in there. Now I will have to start the process all over again if I decide to reassemble it and give it another try. But if I do that I will now approach it with more knowledge than I had the first time around and just add more as I go along. I'm now leaning towards just reassembling it with new packing. Howard

Hi Barry; Yes it is an impregnated rope packing and I had replaced it during restoration. I can replace it again and give it a try but I thought I would ask if the experts thought that the .005" wear was too much. It seems like a small amount of wear to me and that I ought to be able to get a decent seal but I'm not an expert and obviously it leaks. Maybe I should just have added a bit more rope seal. thanks, Howard

I rebuilt the water pump on my 1932 Packard 900 during restoration. I finished the 10 yr effort this year and started using the car. The rebuild consisted of new bearings and new packing. The pump leaks some. How much is too much? Well it's far more than a few drops a day, more like a small puddle. Still, not so much that I can't use the car but I think it should be better than it is. I have removed the pump and dismantled it. The region where the packing is located on the impellor has some irregular wear and grooves in it. I measured the diameter and compared it to an unworn region. There is at most .005" wear on the shaft which I think was .675" in dia if I remember correctly. So the question is, is this too much wear to seal properly? If it is can the shaft be built up again and machined true or does one make a new shaft? or do you think I should just reassemble it and repack it and try again. This was a very interesting thread and I suspect someone has the answer to these questions. Howard

Effingham Regrinding Effingham Regrinding Home Page They turned the crankshaft and did the babbitt on my 32 Packard straight eight and laid the crank a couple of years ago. They have been doing this forever and seem to have a lot of experience. The can even cut new camshafts as they have many of the old patterns. Probably not any closer than Paul's in Mo suggested above. Howard

https://www.etrailer.com/ They seem to supply just about everything that's available. Howard

My 32 Packard 900 has a Northeast type 5033450 dual point distributor. It is my understanding that while they came with single point distributors in 1932, Packard would retrofit this dual point distributor in 33 if you wanted it. They also would retrofit a Stromberg EE2 downdraft carburetor, an improvement on the updraft Detroit Lubricator. My car also has that mod. This information is in the literature somewhere. Howard

Gee you're at it again, I'm impressed. Don't wear out the L-29 before the VMCCA tour in Amana, IA. Howard 32 Packard Light Eight

I'm fascinated by them. The first one I ever saw was the National Roadster in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago way back in the 50's. A car similar to the Mercer Raceabout and the Stutz Bearcat. I wanted one but at age 68, I'm still "speedsterless". The Newport, Indiana Hillclimb attracts a large number of speedsters, 15 maybe and mostly Model T's. I'd love to follow a thread on these interesting automobiles. There has to be a lot of interesting history here. Howard 1932 Packard Light Eight Coupe-Roadster

A Beech C-45, also UC-45, also AT-11 are just the military designations for the Beech 18 in it's many variations. A real workhorse of a plane it was in production from the late 30's until the 60's or early 70's. Lots of them are still flying and are coveted by restorers that can afford to buy the fuel for those twin engines. On average each engine is burning around 22 gph. Thus 44 gph total and avgas is around $6/gal right now. That's $264/hr to fly that plane just for the gas. And we thought we had problems with our gas guzzling old cars. Marty we were on the Chrome Glidden tour with you in Petoskey, MI last year and also the Blue Ridge tour a couple of years ago. We were driving the little red 1959 Triumph TR-3A. This is the first year we will be able to use the 1932 Packard. We're looking forward to seeing you all on the Iowa Heritage tour. Howard

That's great, we look forward to seeing you and the famous touring L-29 Cord. I've attached a picture of the Packard that we'll be bringing. We're pretty slow I would imagine. The Packard seems to like 45-50 mph for cruising thanks to the 4.36:1 rear end. What speed does the L-29 like to cruise at? regards; Howard