My next project? 1921 Packard Coupe

3 minute(s) of a 548 minute read

Hi All

My absence for the last two or three days simply indicates that having almost recovered from CRB's $10,000 bill, I am busy out in the shed, slowly and very carefully re-assembling the engine. Having said that it is going together very nicely, while possibly somewhat expensive they have done a brilliant job in rescuing the crank shaft and bottom-end. Many people would have just said "too hard" and simply sent it to the scrap man. 

Right now I am busy polishing the contents of a box of stainless steel, 1/4 UNF bolts 1/2 an inch long to hold the side water gallery onto the block. It all takes time....

5-20-2011

More progress today but every little detail takes time. I know that I am not saying anything new to many experienced restorers but with the Packard there is almost nothing that has appears to have received any constructive work in the last 85-90 years. For instance I doubt that the tappets had been adjusted since the car left the factory in 1923. When it last ran it must have sounded horrible. The ends of the valve stems had dug little craters for themselves into the heads of the adjusting screws.The depth of the indentations would have made it impossible to use a feeler gauge to measure the clearance. Below is a photograph two tappets, one as found and the other after refacing head of the adjusting screw. It is polished to a mirror finish, that is the reflected grain in the piece of wood they are on not scratches in the finish. 

Ok it only takes twenty to thirty minutes to strip out each screw, grind down the head and bring it back to an acceptable finish then re-assemble it into the crankcase. There are twelve in the six cylinder engine taking the best part of six hours to complete this relatively minor task.

The good news is that they are all finished and last thing this afternoon I could lower the cylinder block onto the crankcase and bolt it down. Tomorrow I hope to be able to turn the motor over (upside down) so I can torque up the main bearing nuts and think about fitting the new pistons to the conrods.

Hopefully I will have some more meaningful photographs for you then.

Hello Again

This may help.