jrbartlett

I learned to drive in my father's '29 Packard Super 8 club sedan. I was 12 years old. I still have a '29 Super, this one a roadster.

They are known for being near-bulletproof mechanically, and they certainly have a physical presence. One of the most impressive-looking cars of the mid-teens to mid-20s. I've had several owners tell me that of all the cars in their collections, the Locos are the ones they would never sell. My family feels the same way about my car, a '19 Sportif 4-passenger -- it's OK to sell everything but that one. My car cruises easily at 50-55. Weaknesses include the fact that they are expensive and complex to restore, particularly if an engine job is needed (525-cubic-inch T-head, two cams, massive Babbitt bearings, 3 separate cylinder blocks to align correctly on the crankcase, engine air pump that pressurizes fuel tank). The clutch has (if I recall correctly) 17 plates, though maybe it was simpler by 1924. Shifting is very heavy, but you can get the hang of it and shift quickly with practice. The electrical system is uncommonly complex for the era. Just need to understand that technically, a Loco Model 48 was a good 10 years behind its times compared to a Packard or Cadillac. Big and heavy, relatively low-revving. But the quality of the materials used was first-rate, and it shows when you look one over. They were reportedly the most expensive cars built in America until the Springfield Rolls came along. Many of the surviving Locos have fairly low mileage -- my car has 33,000 miles, the majority put on by collectors since the 1950s. A new owner should understand or be able to learn the ins and outs of the dual distributor ignition system, the wiring diagram, and steering and shifting what I like to call "A man's car." My car is pictured below. Happy to discuss further if needed.

Bigger issue to me in Houston is having to drive 1,000-1,500 miles if I want to participate in a Grand National, and then having only one a year. So if I happen to be too busy at work to take a week off, another year is gone.

The Hoe-chopped Duesenberg sort of exists -- parts of it and drivetrain components of other Duesies went into what is now an "in-the-style-of" Murphy-bodied dual cowl phaeton, with vee-shaped second windshield, on the long 153 1/2 -inch chassis.

I drive a crew cab long-bed Ford F-350 dually with HD springs towing a 10,000-pound-rated enclosed Featherlite trailer, all on Michelins. Everything sits level when loaded. That said, I don't have a sway control or a weight-distributing hitch, but have encountered no swaying or rear-end sagging issues. What are your thoughts -- do I really need to consider getting sway control and a weight-distributing hitch? I agree with Ed -- I've seen a lot of people trying to get by on the cheap when trailering. I've also heard about a lot of trailering accidents through my decades in the hobby, including fatalities.

A couple years ago I had a '38 Imperial sedan that had some of this, along with brand-new running board rubber and all but one of the stainless steel running board strips, plus OD transmission. I sold it as a parts car on this board, and it went to Finland. My brother has a '38 Royal convertible coupe (1960s restoration) that I could probably take some photos or measurements for you with a little notice. I think he has new sill plates that he bought just a year or two back, so he might part with the old ones.

My brand new '73 Riviera came equipped with some nice looking flat hubcaps.

There's one other factor of which you need to be aware. Back in the day I had a '66 Buick Riviera (now have two of them). Your car may have the same master cylinder and booster setup. Anyway, in 1972 the master cylinder failed and I had to put a new one on. When I did, I had an extremely hard brake pedal -- too hard. The problem was the adjustable actuating pin on the vacuum booster that extends into the MC piston. It was correctly positioned for the original MC, but was screwed out too far for the replacement, which had a slightly different receptacle for the pin to fit into. As a result the brakes were activating before the booster could kick in. In fact you couldn't push the pedal down far enough to activate the booster. I screwed the pen in several turns (shortening it), reinstalled the MC and now the brakes would instantly lock with the lightest pressure on the pedal -- couldn't keep from locking the wheels. So I removed the MC again and turned the pin until I found a happy medium. Brakes were perfect from then on. By the way, I ran into the same problem with an '89 Mercury Sable. Told the mechanic about the '66 Riviera, and he said the modern boosters no longer had an adjustable pin. I took the car home, removed the MC, and sure enough there was an adjustable pin. Fixed the problem myself.

What do you specifically mean by "destroyed garbage?" Crushed? Cracked? Disassembled with half lost?

Looks too rough to have been rebuilt.

Brings back memories. I had a '73 back in the day, and put 140,000 miles on it. Always considered it a good car, with good build quality. The car pictured is certainly attractive. I'll let others weigh in on its condition, and just comment on driving one daily. It's a great highway cruiser, fast, powerful and steady. But poor gas mileage. And it's a big car, which makes parking in an urban setting challenging, and the long, thick doors pose difficulties in cramped parking lots. The back seat is difficult to get into, and legroom is very tight once you're in. So a lot depends on whether you're driving in an urban or rural setting, and whether you want to haul multiple passengers. If you do buy the car, keep a close watch on the vacuum advance diaphragm on the distributor. Mine failed about every 10,000 miles, and gas mileage would go down from 13 to 11. That's how I knew it was time for a new diaphragm. Also, I replaced multiple mufflers and resonators. When the time comes either install a stainless system or go to a Midas equivalent and get a system with a lifetime replacement warranty. A plus is the fact that the car has the 5 MPH bumpers, which -- though often criticized -- are great at protecting the car. The sound system was good for that era. Never had any carburetor or transmission problems.

Noticed how neat and clean the buildings and cars looked, and how well-dressed the people were.

I have a '66, not a '65. But my guess is that if your car has an automatic air conditioner, that could be the "liquid vacuum motor" that regulates the ac/heating temperature in a slow, gradual manner. Some of the 1st-generation experts will weigh in shortly.

Strongly urge you to try hand polishing first. My experience on buffing plastic is that the first touch to the buffing wheel will gouge it almost immediately. I've tried it on a few junk pieces just to experiment.

Since you already bought an engine, why not rebuild it and sleeve the cylinders? It's done all the time. Might be your cheapest, easiest and fastest way to go.

I had the opportunity to get to know Hardy 4-5 years ago, and we swapped stories on Rivieras. I was able to attend a couple of his barbecues -- huge gatherings with hundreds of people, cars and barbecue. And in return, I had a chance to give him a ride in my Duesenberg, and he was certainly an enthusiastic passenger. Getting to know fellow hobbyists like Hardy is truly one of the pleasures of antique car ownership. I'm going to miss him.

Gee, I have been admiring this one myself.

As noted, Packard used a switch on the transmission. When in reverse, the switch grounded the backup light circuit and thus illuminated the light, which already had constant power going to it.

Go to the Buick Riviera forum farther down the list of AACA Forums and look for references to Rick Rawls in Houston (just do a search). Does a fantastic job at making perfect reproductions of these horn bars. I have one on my car.

1937hd45 -- What do you know of Alex Stein? I know of him through Locomobile circles.

You don't want a gasket between the flapper surfaces. As soon as the gasoline level rises in the inner tank and pushes up the cork floats, they shut off the vacuum from the engine -- and that enables the gasoline to drain through the flapper valve into the outer tank, which supplies the engine. Then the process starts all over again. The floats drop, opening up the engine vacuum into the inner tank. The vacuum causes the flapper valve to close, sealing the inner tank from the outer tank and allowing the vacuum to pull fuel up from the gas tank. That's why the flapper valve has to seal effectively under vacuum -- and not at all when no vacuum is present.

If the inner tank has a flapper valve on the bottom, I suggest you test whether it is sealing by pressing the empty inner tank part way down into a bucket of water. The flapper should hold the water out with minimal leakage. If not you'll need to check on why -- pits on the sealing surface, warped components, etc. This sealing action is important in preserving the vacuum so that the system draws fuel from the gas tank.

Put in some time to learn how the vacuum tank works, and make sure yours is up to snuff. Vacuum tanks are generally less troublesome to live with than electric fuel pumps -- they don't make noise, they don't require electricity, and they don't overwhelm the carburetor like a fuel pump can. There are people who rebuild vacuum tanks. One of the things to check for is a loose brass bushing/valve seat at the top of the tank. It can cause flooding at times -- then it can bounce back into place and the car will run fine until it falls out again. Carbking is a good source of info on vacuum tanks as well. If your tank is Stewart Warner, there is a wealth of reference information (even YouTube videos) available via a computer search.

My '29 Packard Super 8 has a vacuum tank, and I've run it out of gas a few times. After refilling the gas tank, it will pull fuel up to the vacuum tank and start the engine with a little cranking. Perhaps your White will too with a fully charged battery and good tuning.

I tried all the home remedies recently on a '36 Cord gas tank. None of them worked. Finally sent it to Renu. All the simple ways -- like shake it with rocks inside, Evaporust, Drano, etc. -- may well work with gas tanks that are only a couple decades old. They used to work for us back in the 1960s. But now, with tanks 80-90 years old, the rust has had too long to develop.