My next project? 1921 Packard Coupe.

[oldcar]

Some more photographs from the weekend. Here you see in the first pic a Vauxhall 30/98 with a MG "L" Type , a Riley 2.5 litre and the rear of our Lagonda Rapier. The second ia a close up of the MG "L" Type out on the road, Next a pair of Vauxhall 30/98s one 1923 the other 1927. and finally a Delage .

There were a total of 21 Pre WW2 cars on the Rally. This is a highly competitive event with sections timed to the minute and extremely challenging navigation over a variety of roads ranging from single track dirt roads climbing through mountain country to fast sections on good two lane country roads calling for high average speeds. Generally the weather was cool to very cold with some rain on Saturday. Cloudy and cool to cold on Sunday with gale force winds blowing straight off the South Pole. You will note that all the cars were driven for the whole event with their tops down.

Bernie J.

Edited September 26, 2011 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

Having fully recovered from the weekends motoring, yesterday was spent profitably wire brushing all the rust and cr*p off all the little brake operating levers etc.

I have mentioned some similarity to a Chinese laundry before and the situation has certainly not improved. Sorry about the quality of the photographs but the lighting is not ideal and the space rather cramped.

Bernie J.

Edited September 26, 2011 by oldcar (see edit history)

[West Peterson]

I'm assuming that the MG is supercharged?

[oldcar]

Hi West

Despite what they say about assumptions, you are quite correct. The "L" is basically the touring version of the racing K3. Six Cylinder (SOHC) 1200cc. Not all "L's" are supercharged but over 75 years all sorts of things can happen. This one has been with the same owner for as long as I can remember and is driven flat out everywhere. The good thing about supercharged cars is that you can hear them coming and going.

Bernie J

Edited September 27, 2011 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

Hi All

Sorry but I can't help bragging a bit. The attached photograph was sent to us by Susan Burns co-organiser of the Two Day Rally. It shows Helen & I being checked into the Cape Otway control during the rally. (Note AACA badge on Helen's wind deflector.)

By the way we came Second Outright and Second PVT (1931-40) in case you were wondering.

The other photo shows the entire Rally contingent enjoying Pre-dinner drinks on the fore shore at Port Campbell.

Bernie J.

Edited September 29, 2011 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

Back to the Packard,at last!

A question for all the show people:

I am about to start re-assembling the rear axle housing, should I paint, polish, nickel or zinc plate the heads of the bolts retaining the centre piece and the rear cover? Likewise the clevis pins in the brake levers and brake rod ends? The new nuts that I am using for the "U" bolts and shackle pins are zinc plated do I paint them, polish them or just leave them the factory finish? Going back to the bolts I could buy Stainless bolts and polish the heads would these be acceptable? I have used polished stainless bolts to hold things like the side water plate on the engine, is this OK?

Come on all you judges, these are serious questions, someone must have an opinion.....

Bernie J.

Edited September 30, 2011 by oldcar (see edit history)

[Guest cben09]

Promote some talk on those 1/4,,,,28 cap screws on the water jacket plate,,,,Sometimes stainless will stick,,,more than regular steel,,it is said,,,This is wey back in my fuzzy head [on coffee only!!]]],, but compelld to start? a discussion on that,,

Just got out the old 143 [1924] this afternoon,,parts car,,but its out for 180/360degree inspection,,,,Glad to hear all is progressing well,,BUT its not fair to put 2 batterys in the clock to speed up dinner [and liquid],,,haha,,,Ben

[MCHinson]

Bernie,

I have no experience with Packards so I have no idea. As a judge, I avoid classes of vehicles that I am unfamiliar with. What I do know is that they are to be as they came from the factory. Do you know anything about the original assembly process? I would guess that most chassis parts would normally be painted black.

For example, if the rear axle housing was assembled and then painted as a unit, the bolts would be painted. If the parts were painted and then assembled, the bolts might have a different finish. While it may not be correct in this case, my opinion is that a good rule of thumb on most chassis finish questions is... if you don't know, paint it black.

[oldcar]

Thank you Matthew

I suspect that as you suggest the factory would have painted the complete assembly. I tend to paint things like brake levers etc un-assembled so that I am sure of complete coverage. I don't know if my Packard will ever make it to an AACA show but none the less it is important to me that it looks "right".

Bernie J.

[oldcar]

Hi y'all

At last the tied seems to be turning and I am starting to put things back together. While I am unable, due to space constraints, to mount the front springs and axle back onto the chassis I have assembled the steering arms and front stub axles back onto the axle beam and replaced the U'bolts holding the springs to the axle. Next step was to washout and repack the front wheel bearings and lock up their retaining nuts and lock plates.

As my good friend "Ben" has mentioned these do not require a great deal of tightening and I could use my version of Ben"s favourite tool (a monkey wrench) that would open sufficiently to fit onto the 2" a/f nuts. With typical Packard thoroughness the left hand thread nuts are clearly marked "L".

Attached are some photographs that I hope are sufficiently clear to show the simple locking plate arrangement.

Bernie J

[oldcar]

One more photograph of the front end showing the drag link end with its new leather grease retaining boot. and one of David's Alemite grease "connectors". The clip for the leather boot is the original.

[Guest cben09]

Notice that the tab fitting the keyway does not line up with the hole,,,,so that flipping it gives yet another adjustment,,,,

Lots of nice features to watch for,,,Ben

[oldcar]

Hello Ben et al

You are 100% correct Ben this in effect gives a vernier adjustment of 16:1. If you cannot get the adjustment within this range it is time to give up. Meanwhile at last I can say that there is nothing more to take apart from here on it should be all re-assembly. I have just this morning collected the relined hand brake bands. I decided to leave the existing lining material on the foot brake bands as they were almost totally unworn woven lining material. With what it has cost to have the handbrake bands done I am sure that this was the right decision...

If it turns out that they have to be relined, it is not a big drama to remove the external bands.

Bernie J.

Edited October 5, 2011 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

Today I am into the rear axle further dismantling and cleaning mode. This has unearthed the fact that one rear wheel bearing had been loose on the axle halfshaft and will need to be replaced. This is potentially expensive however to offset this I have discovered that all the oil seals in the rear axle including the pinion seal are the felt ring variety and should represent a considerable saving over the leather lip seal type. So I loose on one and win on the others. Peter, my contact at "Blast-off", tells me that I should have the rear axle housing back ready to paint tomorrow. Once it is re-assembled I can start to seriously think about putting a rolling chassis together and back on its wheels. I still have one rear spring to dismantle, clean and paint but I have been putting it off as all the wire brushing has been not doing my right arm muscles a lot of good.

I really must be getting old!

Bernie J.

Edited October 5, 2011 by oldcar (see edit history)

[TexRiv_63]

Hi y'all

As my good friend "Ben" has mentioned these do not require a great deal of tightening and I could use my version of Ben"s favourite tool (a monkey wrench)

Bernie J

Bernie,

I love the picture of that "seasoned" monkey wrench, I have one just like it.

[oldcar]

Hi Don

re; the 'Monkey wrench' mine is a family heirloom handed down by my father.

I have just returned from buying the replacement rear wheel bearings. Much to my relief the two cost about 1/4 of what I had anticipated for one. The felt oil-seals are not so simple and it seems as though I will have to do a little trimming to make the ones available fit. At least they are a step in the right direction.

Bernie J.

[oldcar]

Hello

Slowly ever so slowly I am approaching the stage where things can be put back together again. with the bearings and felt seals under control all I need to do now is to buy a sheet of gasket cork to cut the gaskets for the diff centre and the rear cover. Last job yesterday was to paint the diff centre and hang it up to dry. For this one a length of welding wire was just not going to do the job. While in the mood I also painted the heads of the securing bolts. I have had this can of spray silver paint for years so I don't use it a lot and then only for small jobs. The finished job looks very like cold galvanising and is quite durable. If they look too "in ya face" when in place I can always paint them black.

Bernie J

Edited October 8, 2011 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

Progress in a number of directions today. Son Steve came to lend some expertise in putting the various sections of the windscreen frame together. Unfortunately we ran out of time so he has taken all the various pieces of brass extrusion home to complete silver soldering them. Having come to a halt in that direction I completed cutting down the felt seals to fit the rear wheel bearing retaining housings. A little job but none the less one that had to be done and one that is now crossed off the list. Unfortunately my friends at Blast-off failed to return the diff housing on Friday so the rear axle assembly is still on the "to do" list. Next week!

With all the wheel bolts (lugs) and rings still at the platers it will be a couple of more weeks before I can put the chassis back on its wheels anyway....

Bernie J.

[oldcar]

hi

[oldcar]

Hello Again

Sorry about that, I have been extremely busy in a number of directions over the past two or three days although I have managed to do some more work on the windscreen frame and have cleaned, re-assembled and painted the last of the springs. I am still waiting for the rear axle housing to return from the sand blaster, once this is back I can start in ernest on re-erecting the chassis. Hopefully by the end of this week.

Bernie J

[oldcar]

Packard32 is held up by the rain and lots of people have taken time-out to visit Hershey. I just get sick of being held up by un-reliable out-workers. Just how long does it take to sand -blast a rear axle housing??????

Meanwhile I bought a new piano-hinge for the top of the windscreen and filled in the afternoon yesterday drilling 3/32 holes and taping them out to 1/8 unc. I have 20 more to do this morning. At least once they are done I will not have to do them again. Then I can start shortening 40 1/8 X 1/2 inch long c/s metal thread screws.

Hey! this is meant to be fun???

Bernie J

[oldcar]

Its back. The rear axle housing has just been delivered. It is now 6.15pm so no more work to-day. First job in the morning will be to thoroughly clean every last grain of sand out of the interior!

I remember being on a rally some years ago when a newly restored Vauxhall 30/98 started making very expensive noises from the rear end. It turned out that the "professional" restorer had sand blasted the entire rear axle assembly without dismantling anything. Gave it a beautiful coat of paint and said "It is all a top job".

"Just sign the cheque (for many thousands of dollars) and you can drive it away."

Problem was that despite the rear axle assembly being all "buttoned up" about half a cup of sand had creeped in and after a very few short miles had ruined bearings, crown wheel and pinion, everything.

I think that I will continue to do things the hard way....

Bernie J.

[Guest cben09]

The crankshaft will return from the grinding shop,,,not cleaned,,,as they will ASSUME the engine builder will clean it,,,,

Occasionally the doityourself er will not que in on this,,and a few shops as well,,,grrr,,,,Glad to hear the good progress youre making,,,Ben

[oldcar]

Hi Ben

It is always good to hear from you. I am not sure if my e-mail to you went or not so I will repeat it here.

I am sure that you will probably have heard this before but it is worth telling again.

To "assume" is to make an ASS of U & ME.

Cheers

Bernie J.

Crankshaft Rebuilders who do all my engine machining always state on their invoice

It is the customers responsibility to clean everything before assembly. They don't mean that you have to polish the hood before you shut it!

Edited October 12, 2011 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

To illustrate my comments above the attached photographs tell the story. Beautifully painted on the exterior but look at what is lurking inside.

Bernie J.

[oldcar]

I am amazed just how much sand I have extracted from that "clean" rear axle housing. It took the whole morning, sucking with a vacuum cleaner, brushing, even using a dentist's probe and blowing the stuff out of all sorts of nooks and crannies. I now have the diff centre bolted in and the half-shafts fitted to both sides. The brake bands are set up on one side and the hub/drum ready to go on. I am exhausted! Those parts are really heavy, I could just manage lifting the diff centre by myself and the main axle housing is almost as heavy especially when you are turning it end for end and over and over. I have learnt in the past that you cannot wash that sand out, wet it and it just sticks to everything that it comes in contact with.

It is now 11.15 pm and bed time.

Bernie J.

[oldcar]

Some real progress today. I have one side of the rear axle & brake assembly put together. Time for some before and after photographs. Living and working in comparative isolation I am not sure what is AACA Show Standard. I am trying to achieve something akin to how the car would have looked when it left the factory.

Bernie J.

[MCHinson]

You are doing it right. The AACA standard is essentially, "how it came from the factory". To be more precise, it is how it came from the factory or as it came from the factory plus the addition of any factory authorized dealer installed accessories.

[oldcar]

Thanks Matthew

As an AACA Judge I value your opinion and input.

The rear axle assembly is now complete and once I manage to move some things (such as the body) to organise my space (or lack of) a little better I can start towards getting the chassis frame back on four wheels. Perhaps over the next two or three days. The next step will be getting a roll of webbing so that I can finally put the snubbers back together and set up on the chassis again.

Back to work!

Bernie J.

[oldcar]

Hi all

Today as predicted has been full on, Unfortunately my help had a problem with his Land Rover and was unable to come so as they say in all the best books "When the going gets tough, the tough get going!"

Starting after lunch,(Monday morning is reserved for Petanque then coffee) first job was to move the body out of the way. The chassis could be moved from its resting place, standing one side, up against the wall. Then the front axle etc could be moved into place and the shackle pins fitted. This involved slackening the "U" bolts so the ends of the springs could be lined up.

With the front end fitted next step was to turn the chassis around, using one man power a trolley jack and a make shift hand truck. That achieved the next step was to move the completed rear end out of the garage and into place under the chassis. The rear of the chassis had to be lifted high enough to allow the rear axle to be wheeled into place. Problem my lifting point for the chassis was directly in the middle so so weight had to be added to the front. Simple just lift the four wheels complete with 600 x 23 inch tires up onto the chassis.

That done the rear end could be slid into place and the shackle pins pushed in. with jack stands in place I could call it a day. It is now just after 6.00pm (Eastern Australian Summer Time) which means just one thing."Drinks time" and the "Boss Lady" will be becoming impatient!!!!

Cheers

Bernie J.

Edited October 17, 2011 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

For all those who do not understand "Petanque". It is the "Bowls" game originally invented by and played by the French using steel balls, not unlike Lawn Bowls except that it is played on any available gravel area. If you need to know more try feeding the word Petanque into your search engine otherwise known as "Google"...

[oldcar]

Another day...

Today after finishing installing the shackle pins and tightening the lock nuts. For anyone who has not worked on an early 1920s Packard the spring shackle pins screw into the inside shackle plate and are then secured with a lock nut. Following this I have been assembling the brake rods and setting them up. In doing this it again reinforces my theory that this Packard had a short and probably hard life. One thing that bears this out is the fact that the yoke ends on the brake rods and their associated clevis pins show remarkably little wear. Added to this it is really nice to work on the car as virtually all the original small components are still existing. I am able to re-use all four brake return springs and the special clevis pins designed to be used in conjunction with them. Earlier I talked about restoring the original brake light switch. Today I refitted it using the original (bath-plug) chain and spring to operate it. One thing that was causing some concern was my inability to find the pivot bolt used to mount the handbrake lever. I literally have a dozen or so containers all holding an assortment of nuts bolts and small fittings removed during the original dismantling. Finally this afternoon I emptied out one of the last containers and there it was, the missing hand brake pivot. While I cannot fit the lever until after the body is back securely bolted down onto the chassis it is good to know that it does still actually exist.The only things that I am not re-using the originals are the split pins securing all those clevis pins. I think that I can honestly say that EVERY nut and bolt on the car has been apart. Now they are going together again. However I am replacing those with rounded heads, have stripped threads or that are rusty beyond recovery. Those with slight surface rust are wire brushed totally clean before being evaluated as being re-usable or not.

All new bolts are (Grade 8) Hi-tensile, UNF.

Bernie J.

Edited October 18, 2011 by oldcar (see edit history)

[Landman]

It's a good feeling isn't it, putting it back together all nice and neat...

[oldcar]

Hi Pat

The only reason most of us punish ourselves doing this work is because of the satisfaction of doing a job to the best of ones ability. Sometimes it is more successful that others. It can certainly stack up any number of frustrations but then look at the compensations.

Today, attention moved to the front end. While I could buy the correct bump stop rubber buffers for the rear axle, the ones to suit the original mounting plates that were still on the front axle when I first dismantled the Packard were unavailable. I had been given some cast off samples of black hard rubber from a local rubber manufacturer and today was officially "National Bump Stop Rubber Buffer Day". This being so I got out my mounting plates and the rather large lump of black hard rubber. In a perfect world I would have simply cut out the required pieces on my band saw. Just one problem, a band saw is just one more essential tool that I don't have!

First attempt at cutting I used a cut-off disk in my angle grinder. All this produced was clouds of evil smelling smoke and a totally unsatisfactory cut. Next I tried a hacksaw but it quickly clogged up and jammed in a rather ragged cut. Finally I tried a carpenters wood saw treated with ample lubricant on both sides of the blade. While perhaps not perfect, the two rubber blocks that I cut were a snug fit into the original plates. In a perfect example of "belt and braces" I drilled two 1/8 holes through the plate and rubber block from side to side and threaded a length of tie-wire through to make doubly sure that they were not going to come adrift. In practice any any severe bump should put the rubber buffer into compression rather than dislodging it....

By a strange co-incidence It is also International Alemite Grease Connector Day so quite a bit of time has been spent sorting out the "connectors" that both Joe Puleo and David McC had sent to me. These are cleaning up nicely and one by one finding suitable homes around the various grease points. Together with the ones that I already had I now should have enough to cover all the grease points on the chassis. A big thank you to both.

Bernie J.

Edited October 19, 2011 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

Watch out the "Gabrielle Snubber Day" is just around the corner........

[unimogjohn]

Bernie, I can see a wheel in one of your latest pics. Do you have a shot of the frame with all four wheels on? She certainly is starting to look like a car again. Great work and thanks for keeping us updated every day.

[oldcar]

Hi John

It has all four wheels on and is rolling. At present the wheels are secured by temporary bolts while the original bolts and "rings" are at the platers. You may have to wait a day or two until I have the engine & gearbox in the chassis for the "rolling chassis" photograph. I am currently waiting on the delivery of a 50 metre roll of webbing so I can complete the snubbers. That should come by courier today. I need to get the motor etc off its "transport" so that, that can be modified to go under the body before it is moved out to be painted. My extremely fussy painter says that he cannot achieve the sort of finish that he likes to work to with the body on the chassis.

Life does get complicated....

Bernie J.

Edited October 19, 2011 by oldcar (see edit history)

[oldcar]

Sorry! I hate to let all you folks down but there has been no work on the Packard today.

We have another driving event in the 1934 Lagonda Rapier on Sunday. As it has not been touched since parking it following the 437 mile Two-day Rally last month it was time that I gave it a good clean and check over. Not that I expect to find any problems. It was idling 50 to 100 rpm too fast so I wanted to adjust that. Check the oil and water levels etc. By running a program of regular maintenance any potential problems are "cut off at the pass". It is such an interesting (2ohc) engine it is a pleasure to work on it, Like any 77 year old it needs a little "TLC" from time to time.

Bernie J.

[DavidMc]

Bernie,

I guess you already know this but just in case, the belting on the Gabriel snubbers has shim brass between each layer where it bwraps around the centre to reduce friction and allow the webbing to recoil. I used very thin spring stainless steel on mine because I had the material. Teflon might also work well, the shim brass on my originals had lots of fatigue cracks.

David

[oldcar]

As I have already explained to David in an e-mail, I have the remains of the original snubber straps complete with the brass interleaf. The webbing strap I have on order is a locally (Melbourne Australia) manufactured polyester material, mainly for Ratchet tie downs, used to secure loads on trucks and trailers. It has a far higher tensile strength than the original cotton, flax or hemp webbing and a much lower coefficient of friction so may not require the interleaf. The one I am getting is cost effective at about $1.00 per metre. RSC do offer a snubber belt that is the same width, 1.5 inch and thickness, 3/16 inch. They don't say what material theirs is made of but at $12.50+p&p per ft I can afford to do some trial and error. Theirs is brown, the one I intend to use is black. As with all their products RSC say repeatedly their's is "The Right Stuff".

They do not include the brass interleaf with their snubber belt.

Bernie J.

Edited October 20, 2011 by oldcar (see edit history)