Owen_Dyneto

The shift linkage (Handishift) resulted in many service letters issued by Packard to their dealers as their linkage, as that of other manufacturers, could be problematic as time passed and wear occurred. You should really get your hands on the service letters but in a nutshell, first make sure all the grommets between the transmission forks and the rods to the column levers are in good shape and free of play. Then drop the rods at the steering column arms, put the trans in neutral and push a 3/16 drill or drill rod up from the bottom thru both shift arms to align them; there is a hole there for this specific purpose. Then with the pin in place, adjust the rod lengths so the ends just enter their repective holes. If you have no significant wear on any of the other parts, this normally solves the problem of hanging up in first or reverse.

There are 3 adjustments possible, all of which are outlined quite nicely in the 41 Packard 110/120 owner's manual. If you don't have one of these, you should buy a reprint. The most common of the three is the roller shaft end play adjustment which is made with the adjustment screw on the top cover plate. Adjustment of the roller mesh by shims requires removal of the roller shaft from the gear housing, and from my own experience is rarely required. PS - my first response here was perhaps too brief to be helpful so let me edit it; you should by all means get the parts, owners and shop manuals for your car. If one needs the shims for roller mesh (or other shims as well) and you can't get them from the usual Packard sources, then you simply buy some steel or brass or whatever shimstock, and make them, not a difficult job as long as the stock is thin. But if you're not familiar with this type of work, consider sending it out to a pro. If you're new to old car steering gear boxes, forget the idea that you're going to make this steer like a new Porsche or Ferrari, the biggest mistake you can make is tighten the roller shaft end play (the usual adjustment) too tightly; if you don't want to jack the car up and feel for excessive drag when turning from lock to lock (use a fish scale at the wheel perimeter), then at the very least when you tighten the adjustment and feel resistance, back off at least 1/8 to 1/4 turn before tightening the locknut. And lastly but equally important, don't limit your attention to the steering box, there are many other sources of play that require attention more often than the steering gear, and are often easier to service. Check the king pins first, these cars can be hard on pins, and the tie rod ends, drag link ends, etc. There is an item on the steering linkage of these cars that's prone to wear that I'm not familiar with, perhaps someone else will come along and give you some advice on that.

My 1962 AC conversion chart shows the Autolite P-4 to be equivalent to AC 104 and Champion Y4 and Y5, and the Autolite P-6 to be equivalent to AC M8 and Champion Y6 and Y8. For your Packard, the 1962 recommendation (with the gasoline of that era) was for AC M-8 for light service, and 104 for normal service. Have you considered just going to the Autolite website and getting a current recommendation? I've had excellent luck with their plugs, and additionally like the fact that the shells are not cadmium or bright-plated which makes their appearance correct for your vintage. One supposed advantage of getting current recommendations is that changes in product and gasoline are taken into consideration. Can't assure you that is true, but that's what one plug manufacturer told me a while back.

Why not just take out the six flat-head screws and remove the cane and top plate as any assembly?

A very lovely car indeed. If I've read the factory information correctly, two-toning was not an option on these body styles after 1934.

EE-14 was used on 1935 Graham Model 72, and 1935/36/37/38 junior (120) Packards. Some late 1938 and the 1939/40/41 120 used an EE-16. The senior Eights in 33/34 used an EE-22 (4 hole base) and 35/36/37/38/39 used an EE-23 which was a 3-hole mounting. Starting with 1940 the senior Packards used a Stromberg AAV-26. Some of the Sixes (110s) starting in 1938 used Chandler-Groves which thankfully have by now mostly gone to the old carburetor graveyard.

I saw a nifty little kit today in the local auto repair shop for studs and bolts broken off below the surface, I think it was made by Snap-On, not sure but it was quite old. It had a series of small end-mills for squaring up the broken end, and then a series of drill guides that get inserted down into the threaded hole above the stud. A matching drill was used to center-drill the broken piece, and then a fluted tool steel drift kind of like a reamer was driven down into the hold, and turned with a hex head. It was probably pretty pricey in its day, though one might find one at a flea market. I agree with all those who said not to use an EZ-out, if it snaps off, then you've really got a problem as they are extremely difficult to drill out.

I know you said head bolt, but I'm assuming you mean stud? They are special threads and heat treatment, so I wouldn't advise going for an oversize thread and a harder-to-find stud. A little too much bigger and you'll end up having to drill the hole in the head for more clearance. Make the drill guide, drill it and chip it out, and if perchance you ruin the thread which you probably won't if you're careful, use a helicoil or other thread repair kit. There are many different kinds on the market.

There really wouldn't be any reason to guess if someone had the 39 specifications in front of them. I don't, but doubt the 39 120 engine could weight much different than the 1941 120 engine. Packard listed the 1941 120 as 781 lbs, including the transmission and clutch. With overdrive, they listed it as 839 lbs. Just for comparision, the corresponding numbers for the 1941 senior "356" engine with clutch and transmission was 986 lbs, and 1036 with overdrive.

If I had to guess, it would go like this -- you can't compress a liquid so when the thermostat is cold, all the ether or whatever the blend is, is all liquid, and you can't compress it, and it would take more effort than I've used to try to pull the bellows open. But when the shutters are partially open, there is some vapor in the bellows and by moving the shutters you can slightly compress the vapors, and when the thermostat is fully open there is just too much vapor pressure to be able to compress it. I'm not sure that's why I can can move the shutters when they are partially open, but not when they are closed for fully open. I think the movement I can make is more than just slop or flex in the linkage but haven't really studied it, it's just an observation I've made.

I did say "a very small amount". And the Sylphon units used in 34 are different that the earlier ones though I can't say that accounts for the differences in our observations. Sorry you feel that I enjoy contradicting you, it's not the case and I find your posts interesting and informative -- it's just that sometimes our observations or information sources are different. Sorry if you feel offended.

It's really no different than the master cylinder used in almost any other make of car for decades. Yes, just remove it, examine and decide whether to rebuild or replace, reinstall, and bleed the brakes. With brand new complete units so inexpensive, you might consider a complete replacement if the bore is pitted enough to require sleeving, though there is nothing wrong with sleeving if properly done.

Based on the Fulton Sylphon unit used in 1934, I'd agree with Mr. Otto. No motion when cold or hot, but inbetween you can move the linkage by hand a very small amount.

You should not be able to move the shutter blades and linkage while it's connected to the thermostat. With the linkage disconnected you can open and close the shutters by moving the linkage rod, though it takes quite a bit of effort to move it against the spring.

Looks like an engine that's had lots of experiences, not all of them good. Unfortunately all too typical of what we find in engines (sometimes advertised as "rebuilt") where the owner was unwilling or unable to invest the time and money to do it correctly. I'll take a "tired but unmolested" engine anytime over a shoddy rebuild or repair, as would we all. It appears that #4 rod has been replaced and rebabbitted, the engine probably bent a rod at some point. The babbitt looks a bit thick to my eyeball, perhaps the journal has also been turned undersize, best check with a micrometer. The babbitt with the grooves at the parting surface looks OEM to me, and not in bad shape either. One of the lovely things about babbitt is how it can "embed" dirt and protect the shaft, I'd guess the shaft looks pretty good on these two journals. If the rod casting numbers agree (remember, even and odd #d rods are different) and the weights including the bolts and hardware are the same, I'd probably not be too concerned about reusing it, assuming it matches the set for those 4 cylinders. Later rods (34-36) use a very different bolt, with a long tapered head that fits into a recess in the rod and conforms to the contour of the transition from the eye to the shank. They also had thinner babbitt and cooling fins on the cap. There is quite a bit of coverage in the service letters about installing these later rods in earlier engines.

Motor's reference says 55-60 pounds of pressure at road speed is correct for 37-39 Super Eight, which is of course essentially the same engine as the earlier (Standard) Eight for which they quote at least 35 psi at 25 mph. They also note 50 psi on the 356 engine and 50 psi at 25 mph for the Twelve. The 1933 Service Specifications state "minimum 35 pounds" for all models. So to me 50+ cold start and 35 at road speed sounds about ideal, those are about the ranges mine has been running at for 40+ years.

Four six-volt lead-acid batteries in series/parallel giving 12 volts was a very common arrangement on heavy duty trucks and construction equipment for many years, as was two 6-volt batteries in parallel, giving 6 volts and 2x amperage. I'm not aware of any problems with such arrangements.

Such are the joys and rewards of this hobby. Makes good fodder for story-telling (and occasionally embellishing) over the winter months. Still, I'd rather be there removing your shocks than replacing valve guides in the later straight eights!!

I paid $88 for the NAPA 7210 about 3 years ago, that was a wholesale price, and no doubt is much higher now. Do a web search on lead-acid batteries or automotive batteries, there are quite a few sources, Deka, Douglas (just bought out by someone), NAPA, etc. But you probably will have to order one from a distributor.

I'm not all that familiar with your particular shock, but normally you don't remove the forged arm from the shock unit, you remove the end link from the frame and then remove the shock unit intact from the axle housing, leaving the forged arm in place. But if you wanted to remove it, is there enough space below the rod eye for a simple two-jawed gear puller?

Get a NAPA 7210 or the Delco equivalent. It's an ultra heavy duty truck battery, lead acid. I typically get 6 or more years from them in my 34 Eight.

First of all, you should absolutely have a battery disconnect switch, and NOT one of those cheesy little dingbats that connects to the battery terminal; they can't handle the amperage that a 6 volt system needs. Buy a good high-capacity rotary cutoff like the Cole-Hersee which is routinely available from many, many sources and can take the larger 0 or 00 gauge cables needed. My preference is always to put the cutout on the ground cable. Secondly, your ignition coil is only energized when the ignition switch is on, so that should not be a concern. How convenient to have the external battery box, just remove the battery box cover, clip your charger onto the correct terminals, make sure the caps are loose or that the vents aren't plugged, check the electrolyte level, and plug it in.

Oil pressure relief valve went external on the Eights and Super 8s in 1934, in conjunction with the oil cooler, full flow filter, and finned connecting rods.

For whatever value the comparison is worth, on my 34 Eight I've set the oil pressure relief valve to open at 50 psi. Years back I had it set a bit higher but the pressure had ripped open a reproduction L-6 full-flow oil filter cartridge so I cut it back. In cool weather the pressure at road speed will be about 50. In typical warm summer weather the road speed pressure is about 40, with hot idle at about 25. The mechanical gauges are of the "bourdon tube" type, consisting of a flattened, sealed-end spiral of tubing; as the pressure increases the tubing tends to want to straighten (unwind) which moves a gear rack across the pinion which rotates the needle. I don't believe any type of adjustments are possible.

Jay, just like Rusty says. What happened to you has happened to most all of us at one time or another. If you decide to replace the stud, only use a correct stud, they are formed differently than simple machine studs to help insure coolant sealing, and of course they need to be capable to handling the clamping force. I'd be quite comfortable using the old stud as long as it shows no signs of problems and takes and consequently holds the torque. If it doesn't hold torque, that may mean it's stretching and obviously should be replaced. I generally use old fashioned Indian Head shellac as a sealant, but that's just personal preference.