1955 Packard 400 Slow Resto Thread

Packardfan84 · June 9, 2022

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 June 9, 2022 by Packardfan84 (see edit history)

Packardfan84 · June 21, 2022

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

Fr. Buick · June 22, 2022

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.

Fleetwood Meadow · June 23, 2022

Kanter says they are selling new gas tanks, straps, and filler neck for $349.

Edited June 23, 2022 by Fleetwood Meadow (see edit history)

Packardfan84 · June 23, 2022

16 hours ago, Fleetwood Meadow said:

Kanter says they are selling new gas tanks, straps, and filler neck for $349.

I talkd to them directly and they are selling just the tank without filler neck for $500 plus $60 for shipping.

Packardfan84 · June 23, 2022

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.

Mike "Hubbie" Stearns · June 24, 2022

What I don’t see is the top of the inside. I do see some rust in the pics. The top is generally where the rust start and is the worst. I would spend the money to get a new one. Mike

Packardfan84 · July 1, 2022

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.