pontiacdaveuk

Gentlemen, Does anyone know the approximate weight of a 1955 Packard 400, originally from California without A/C. My car is in UK and for the annual inspection (M.O.T.)a new requirement is the cars weight for records and calculation of required braking forces. I looked through the shop manual but this info was not available as I guess the weight varied slightly with options for intended state to be sold. Regards, PontiacdaveUK.

Randy, PackardV8 and everybody, Thanks for your further advice, I have original shop and parts manuals which came with the car. I am presently working in West Africa and will be looking further into this problem upon my return when the weather gets better. The car is in England and is currently laid up for the winter. I will post my findings and will look again through the bundle of notes and receipts which I got with the vehicle to try and find out more about the oil pump modification carried out by the previous owner. I bought the car from California and imported it to UK in November 2003, having never actually seen the vehicle and knowing relatively little about Packards. I was lucky as it was as good as described and appeared on the photographs. It has history from new and came with original handbook and owners card. When I collected it from the docks the battery was totally dead. I suspect as the torsion bar suspension had been left on and it had "rock & rolled" across the Atlantic until going flat. It also had a starting problem but once I got it running I drove it 276 miles home without a problem. The oil gauge (I know they are not accurate) reads normal and I have done around 1,000 miles now so I guess the oil pump must be working. A tune up cured the starting problem, it would fire at first from cold then take a lot of turning over before it would fire again and was then erratic until warmed up. The ignition was found to be firing after TDC and the carb needed adjustment. Another problem with starting was if the stater (AC Delco)was engaged for long periods it would quit and then if left for 15 or 20 minutes would work again, don't know if it was getting hot and there is some sort of thermal cut out..? or if it was breaking down, the ammeter would fully deflect even though it would not turn over. This has not been a problem anymore as it now starts relatively easy but I may still get the starter checked out. I hope to have these and a few other small problems sorted for this Summer and attend as many shows and meets as possible. Regards, Dave. 55 Packard 400 59 Pontic Catalina 2-dr HT

Thanks for the advice, the car has covered 73,000 miles and the timing chain and sprocket was replaced by a previous owner just a few thousand miles ago. I got the original chain etc with the car which are still like new and certainly did not need replacing. The oil pump vac section was also removed at the same time as this was also in the trunk along with notes from the previous owner. The oil pan bolts were all found to be loose so I am now wondering if he didn't tighten the timing cover or something properly at the front of the engine and may be the cause of my leak. I also got an original shop manual and parts book with the car so I now need to do my homework. Regards, Dave.

Help and advice please... My 55 400 has an engine oil leak which has steadily got worse especially after an oil change. Oil is leaking down the front of the oil pan I suspect from the front crankshaft oil seal..? I already tightened the oil pan bolts including the front and the leak is the same. Does anyone know if it is possible to change this seal without removing the engine, and if so what would I need to remove and /or slacken to gain access..? Who would be best choice to supply the seal and gaskets required..? I am relatively new to Packards. When I first got the car the lifters tended to rattle, I found the cause was low oil after topping this to the correct level the rattle disappeared and the engine runs sweet. Regards, Dave.

Advice please, My 55 Packard 400 is currently connected with negative earth, this would have originally been positive earth but has been switched by a previous owner. Everything seems to work OK with exception of the Ammeter which indicates backwards and the original radio. I would like to put this back to stock, can anyone advise if this is a simple matter of reversing the battery leads and polarising the generator or would this affect things like the the torsion level suspension motor, windscreen wiper motor which both work OK at present or anything else...? Pontiac Dave.