Jump to content

1955 Packard 400 Slow Resto Thread


Recommended Posts

Hey guys I am posting this here and packardinfo site. I purchased the Packard in the link below for $8,800 and that is including shipping. I am having it shipped from Washington to my house and should be arriving Saturday evening or Sunday morning. Who knows I might really regret this purchase since I havent seen it in person or driven it but I had the owner take ALLOT of pics and I asked ALLOT of  questions . He was very resposive unlike the last couple guys I dealt with.

The last owner said he....
- rebuilt the wheel cylinders
-new master brake cylinder
- changed the coolant
- cleaned the gas tank(no new liner)
-new fuel pump
- Has installed a carb that was rebuilt a long time ago so he thinks the accelerator pump is going bad since it had been sitting for so long. He is sending the original carb with rebuild kit that he was planning on doing.
- color sanded
- installed electric wipers

After driving it off the carrier I am planning on doing the following...

-flushing radiator (any tips would be appreciated, I have never done this before)

-Change oil and Filter (should I change the pan gasket as well?)

- Change transmission fluid and drop pan and clean out (any tips? I have never done this before )

- Leaky power steering any tips on how to handle this?

- Check all gauges, knobs etc.

-Check Torsion level


Any advice would be much appreciated!
This is just the first of may posts from me. I will post a ton of pics once she shows up!

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/754038732285248/

Edited by Packardfan84 (see edit history)
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

GAS TANK QUESTION

The last owner only rinsed out the gas tank swashing around nuts and bolts, he put a inline fuel filter in under the car next to the tank and it is filled with rust dust/sludge. So now I want to get the gas tank in order before I rebuild the carb.

I just spoke with a "Gas Tank Renu" company close to me in Los Angeles but it will cost $950 bucks for the whole process. (soak, sand blast, coat, bake)
Just to get it deep cleaned will cost $375. I will check a few local radiator shops to see if they are any different for a good cleaning. Just wanted to see what anyone else has done. Thanks


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just not a fan of tank coatings, especially for CA and all the extra chemicals that go into gas.  Leave it alone, find the biggest filter you can, buy multiples to change it out regularly, and run it for now...  If the issue is still nagging you, start looking for options to replace it while you can still enjoy your new hobby.  A new accel pump should be easy to do on the car without a complete rebuild.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey guys, so I took the task off yesterday. The outside looks worse than the inside. The inside actually doesn't look too bad in my opinion what do you think? 

I think I might just rinse it out really well and just let it be. I will wire wheel the outside, spray it with some rust inhibitor and top coat and add missing flex hose for vent.  

What should I clean it out with since I don't want to recoat and when I refill should I put some oil in the gas to kinda coat the tank?

 Thanks guys.

20220622_200050.jpg

20220622_200100.jpg

20220622_200112.jpg

20220622_201724.jpg

20220622_201007.jpg

20220622_201027.jpg

20220622_201319.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey guys thanks for all the feedback!  

I have ordered a new sediment bowl set up from Kanter. The new one doesn't come with a ceramic bowl the guy said it has a paper filter. I still want a new bowl for my original. The guy from Kanter told me they sold just the bowl and seal in the past but didn't see it as a option anymore. 

Heres the story with the carb throttle body. The last owner bought a rebuilt carb and bolted it on, the problem is the carb had been sitting for a long time so the accelerator pump was shot. The original carb was in pieces in the trunk. I took both carbs apart 100% everything came apart easily with the carb that was installed. So when I got to dissasembling the original carb that was in the trunk I didn't know they peen the throttle valve primary and secondary screws since the other carb was so easy to take them out, I broke 1 of the secondary valve screws off in the shaft. Since I want to use the original carb I took the secondary shaft and valves  from the unoriginal carb and installed it on the original carb. Well it didn't work out as you can see with the gaps in the pics. I put the original secondary shaft and plates back in the original carb and wala no gaps.  Now I need to drill out and tap the one screw I broke to 8-32×5/16 right? I am going to rebuild both carbs since all parts are there.  Does anyone have any experience with the new style float needles?
I still have the original rubber tipped ones but didnt know how troublesome old needles are. What size are the original throttle valve/shaft screws? 6-32×5/16?

As far as the gas tank goes I was going to take it to a Reun 
place but it would have cost $950!!!!! So then I was going to take it to a radiator shop and have them clean it out but that alone was going to cost $150. So then I got the great idea to try and remove the rust on the outside using electrolysis. See the attached pics. I let it sit 3 days 12-15 amps continous, looks good just can't get the black stuff off 100%,cant see it since it flash rusted so quick.  Why do some parts of the tank rust quick and some parts not at all? Is the tank galvanized?I didnt have a node in the tank to draw the rust so there is still rusty stuff from about mid tank. I will just throw some chain/ rocks etc in there with water and shake it every day until the kit gets here. Thought I might as well try and make this tank work before shelling out $500+ dollars for a new tank.

 

 



jpg  20220630_061643.jpg (1,249.27 KB)
225549_62be797395e6c.jpg 2951X1806 px

jpg  20220622_200054.jpg (1,775.59 KB)
225549_62be7e6e63de3.jpg 3300X2461 px

jpg  20220622_200050.jpg (976.43 KB)
225549_62be7e7ece1fd.jpg 3700X1125 px

jpg  20220622_200100.jpg (913.87 KB)
225549_62be7e8c09a7d.jpg 2662X1546 px

jpg  20220622_200112.jpg (1,431.98 KB)
225549_62be7ea5d9837.jpg 4000X1732 px

jpg  20220622_201007.jpg (2,200.51 KB)
225549_62be7ec733a7e.jpg 3354X2960 px

jpg  20220622_201319.jpg (4,216.42 KB)
225549_62be7ee190ca1.jpg 3024X4032 px

jpg  20220626_152950.jpg (2,827.59 KB)
225549_62be7ef0e2aa1.jpg 4032X3024 px

jpg  20220626_160039.jpg (2,619.30 KB)
225549_62be7f09b2302.jpg 4032X3024 px

jpg  20220627_180840.jpg (2,852.44 KB)
225549_62be7f18769e5.jpg 4032X3024 px

jpg  20220630_220155.jpg (2,154.56 KB)
225549_62be80567db95.jpg 3556X2486 px

jpg  20220630_220230.jpg (1,653.06 KB)
225549_62be8063ae0bc.jpg 3184X2473 px

jpg  20220630_220241.jpg (2,316.75 KB)
225549_62be806e7b3cd.jpg 3520X2820 px

jpg  20220630_220533.jpg (1,215.97 KB)
225549_62be80ed49aa1.jpg 2430X1863 px

jpg  20220630_220821.jpg (1,289.01 KB)
225549_62be8182a3fa4.jpg 3402X1914 px

jpg  20220630_171807.jpg (2,201.15 KB)
225549_62be8379739f1.jpg 4032X3024 px

jpg  20220630_171625.jpg (2,900.13 KB)
225549_62be83935ea8e.jpg 4032X3024 px
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...