Heat, Parts and Straps

[Guest BigKev]

So how is everyone doing around the country with the heat? Today it topped out at 109 here with pretty high humidity and thunderstorms. Very yucky. I have a work bench full of parts, but it just too damn hot out there. Last night it was still 91 at 11pm at night.

Hopefully this heat wave will break soon and I can get back into the garage. I need to shimmy under the car and drop the oil pan. This will be the first time trying this, so the last thing I want is to be sweating to death while trying to brake free all those bolts under a greasy 4,000 lb car.

On a side note, did the Straight 8 have any other ground straps than the one directly to the battery? It just seams like there should be another ground strap to the body somewhere. Right now the battery grounds to the directly to the engine (I flipped the battery around so it's now negative ground), but I would expect another dedicated ground between the the engine and the body. Unless I am missing something here I dont see a very strong ground connection between the body and the battery. Was there a ground connection between the generator and the fender? Perhaps that was the return path to the battery. I'll have to break out the voltmeter and do some checking to see what the voltage drop is between the body and the battery.

[Guest Albert]

There sorta is a ground strap, from the black wire from the generator to the mount of the voltage regulator mounting.

[Guest BigKev]

Well looking at the wire diagram it looks like the ground feed went from the generator to left fender junction block. Where it grounds, from that junction block it ran a wire to the Voltage regulator ground on the firewall, and also it ran another wire over to the other junction block on the right fender. I think they did this to provide a better ground path of the high draw items(Headlights and blower motor), and also to provide a ground path between the generator and firewall. This was probably done as the fenders and core support are mounted with rubber bushings. This may also explain why the cars with overdrive have an extra ground strap between the transmission and the body for the solenoid. Very interesting. I would imaging I will have to duplicate the grounding path for the front end. I will probably also install another strap somewhere between the engine and the firewall.

When I used to install car stereo and alarms years ago, I was always amused with people that would run 2 gauge power leads, and yet ran 8 gauge ground leads. They would blow fuses like crazy and their Amps would always overheat. I always told people to run the same size ground or bigger.

Also dont forget that negative battery cable. Why do people use 00 gauge postive cable to their starter, and still use a 4 gauge battery cable or strap back to the battery ground? Madness. Maybe if they upgraded both cables, they wouldn't have starting problems.

[Guest BigKev]

Thanks Albert. You confirmed by thoughts. Bt the way, here is the reason I am not garage today (see attached). This was at 3:15 this afternoon. We have never had a streach of heat like this.

[Joe Block]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks Albert. You confirmed by thoughts. Bt the way, here is the reason I am not garage today (see attached). This was at 3:15 this afternoon. We have never had a streach of heat like this. </div></div>

No attached , but I see in 110F in Walnut Creek calif. You guys are going to feel the cooling bills, It was 125F in Saudi arabia at work today, over here, everyone stay inside accept the foreigh labours who suffer through, those not much real work get done.

[Guest BigKev]

125, thats insane heat. The hottest I found in Calif today was 119 in Baker. For those that are not familiar with Baker, it the only town along a 100 mile strech of I-15 between Barstow and the Nevada State Line. It's basically an overgrown rest stop with a coffee shop, a couple gas stations, and a few fast food joints. Also home to the worlds biggest thermometer. It's also the center of hell as far as heat is concerned if you are making the drive from LA to Vegas. I will be making that trip on Tuesday. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> 5 days in Vegas, at least the casinos have killer A/C.

[Guest Albert]

We have been running 80+ here and with 75% humity here..and i have been working outside, tomorrow i'am going to try and transfer the Panama body over to the rebuild chassis, a buddy brought over 2 45 gal drums to prop up the front of the body and i have the engine hoist to lift the back..

[Guest BigKev]

I suprised you havent built yourself a body hoist with all the frame off work you have been doing. I always told myself if a was to build a workshop, I would put in a good 4 post lift. That makes doing under body repairs so much easier, plus you can use it with some lifting straps to pull the the body off the frame and and put it back on. I just need all my numbers to come up on my lotto tickets.

[Guest Albert]

i hear you, would love to get all those numbers right.. just once...

[Guest CaptainBristol]

You guys are breaking my heart. Here in my part of Alaska it hasn't hit 60 degrees in the past 10 days and the rain has been drenching us that long, too. We got 1.3 inches on Friday alone. There has been so much runoff all the ocean bays are murky with silt.

Can you send some of that heat & sunshine this way? Even the salmon must be ready for a break in this dreary weather.

All the best,

Mark in Wetville

[Guest BigKev]

I grew up in the High Desert, but I still hate the heat. I like 50's-60's weather just fine, and the rain doesnt bother me as we only are rainy one month out of the year. So some rain is welcome. All long as it's cool, I dont care if it's raining cats and dogs, because at least the inside of the garage would by dry.

We had a nasty thunder storm move through about 5:30 last night. I't dumped hard sideways rain for about a 10mins and the wind was insane for about 20mins. It downed about 5-6 very large trees on my street alone. 30 mins later the sun was back out like it never happened. We have lots of very old and very tall Palm Trees in the area and now the streets are littered with the frawns. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

On a positive note, it cooled down to 106 today.

[WCraigH]

It seems the rest of the USA is getting desert heat too. It's 106F in SoNV at this moment (2PM Sun 23Jul06), but that seems about normal with the rest of you guys, except those who got rained on, of course.

My solution is to rise at 4AM, work from 5AM until about 9AM on car stuff in the garage. When temp reaches 85-90F in my garage (even with the swamp cooler running full blast), I'm done for the day in there. My 55 Pat sits outside while I'm in the garage. She doesn't seem to mind much since she gets back in the garage by 10AM. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[Guest BigKev]

Well Craig I will be up in your neck of the woods for the next week. Maybe a freak cold snap with move through while I am up there. (wouldnt that be nice). How far out of Vegas are you. I am staying at the Stardust.

[WCraigH]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">(snip) How far out of Vegas are you. I am staying at the Stardust. </div></div>

Pahrump is about 70 miles NNW from the Strip. If you have a free evening and a (rental) car with A/C, take a few hours and drive "over the hump to Pahrump" for some Packard face chat. Email me for phone # & directions if you can make it.

[Joe Block]

It a 104F right now at in 9:00AM this morning here Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. the humity starting to climb, that when it not fun. It look like a stay inside day, like summers in texas. I was home on leave last week and working in the yard at some 90F plus when my son keep saying "Dad think we should stop". He was looking out for the old man 57. He doe do as well as me in the heat, I forgot that people get climitized. I am his bread butter ticket for a few more years. Now winter that when i feel the cold at home.

Joe

[Guest BigKev]

Well my schedule didn't free up liked I hoped so I wasnt able to break free to see Randy. Hopefully I will be back in the area soon and I can try again.

[Guest Albert]

well for us we have a long weekend here, hopefully i can get some stuff done around the house. Have to rebuild the riding lawmower engine and get that going again, and hopfully work on the Panama, picked up some primer to paint the front fenders so i can test fit them back on the car and see if i can get things lined up again after i replaced the frame last weekend. I also made up a new front today at work for the riding lawnmower, still needs a little work to finish it befor i paint it though, not sure if it needs something on the top thought.. let me know see pic..

[Guest Packardsforever]

Upper 90s and the usual high humidity here in the south (Tennessee) You just learn to live with it here in the south. I'm not sayin it ain't hot in the west but I've experienced the dry heat as opposed to the humid heat and give me the dry heat any day