Engine coming out for what? Routine overhaul or worse? [Am hoping not, that's a babbit motor, isn't it?]
I presume this will get a thread of its own, it's the sort of thing I used to enjoy seeing in car mags... now it's all on youtube and some of them are pretty good, but you just don't see tin like this.
It has babbitt bearings. The car overheated in Colorado many years ago, and the No. 1 rod bearing developed a knock. To fix it properly, I am pulling the engine. I want a chance to go through the whole thing - all nine (yes, nine, it’s a Packard) main bearings, all the rod bearings, crank journals, and take a look at the cylinders, valves, etc. the crank may need to be turned.
Best case, I get one rod bearing re-poured, turn the crank, hone the cylinders and put in new rings.
There’s a good machine shop in town for that work, and there is a small Packard group with whom I’ve been in contact. Also, Fantom Works (
https://fantomworks.com/ ) is nearby, and I’ve talked with the owner, Dan. We actually talked about making an episode with the car, doing the engine, some paint restoration, some interior, and some electrical work, about six years ago, but then my youngest got into a great (and expensive) college, so the Packard project was shelved for a while.
The Packard Eight. This is a standard eight, of about 320 cubic inches. The plugs are disconnected and threaded in by hand so that I can take them out periodically, add a few ounces of oil to each cylinder and turn the engine over by hand to keep everything free