More Things to Make
Your Life Easier #2
By George Hamlin &
Dwight Heinmuller
Normally, the rule about reusing
gaskets reads something like this: don't. There
are, however, exceptions when things are
tight. Here are two we're pretty confident with.
First: oil-filter can top gaskets. If the thing comes off with the
top when you're
changing the filter, it can almost certainly be re-used with confidence. Why would you want to do that? To build up a small stock, for one thing. To cope with a shortage, for another; we have one filter
can that uses a P-34 but a different size gasket than the cans on Packards, so the supplied gasket doesn't fit.
While we were looking for a supply of
the different gaskets, we reused the original gasket eight times.
Just check for leaks after you start up; if
it doesn't leak then, it won't just up and start doing it one afternoon.
Second:carburetor-base gaskets. The right one might not be available just when you need it and you
don't want to be putting the carb back on a gasket with indentations
abundant. These gaskets can be re-faced many
times with a belt sander. And if you don't have that, swirling it with your hand for several
seconds on a flat concrete floor works remarkably well. Blow the dust off, of course; and if it's a nice asbestos gasket, try not to inhale
the dust.
If
you use lots of spray cans, try keeping the used spray heads in a closed jar containing lacquer thinner. Eventually you'll accumulate dozens of them, just marinating in there, and that way you'll always be
able to find a good one when the one
you're using plugs up without warning
during a job. Bonus: if you drop the plugged head into the jar, it may be free
next time you need a spray head. If not, you can always deep-six it.
Meritas
cloth and other top fabrics used in the Thirties to cover the holes in the tops of steel-top cars do not react well with lots of waxes, cleaners, and
silicone polishes. The best thing
we've found for this cloth: black shoe polish. Apply it to the fabric in the
broiling sun with a shoe brush. Waterproofing and snappy looks in
one step.
George
Hamlin
A little about Packard oil filters: I finally tired, a few years ago, of the mess and leaks involved with changing filters. I envied
those new car
owners with the neat, easily changed spin-on-&-off filters. They also cost only a fraction of the old style,
hard-to-find cartridge type filters
Packard used: the P70FF from1940 through 1954 and the P34 for the V8s.
I went to
I
removed the oil filter canister and tubing, bent some new brake line tubing and had
appropriate (high pressure,
heat and oil resistant) flexible oil lines made at the local hydraulic supply
store. Presto! No more mess! And, the oil filters - I use the Fram PH8 - are
only about $3.50 each - are the most
popular of the spin-on-&-off filters.
Yeah,
it's a little trouble to go through. However, I liked the results so much on my
'54 Patrician that I changed three more Packards over to the new filter arrangement. You can amortize the cost of the
changeover with the savings realized from the cheaper, new technology oil filters that do a better job of filtering the oil.
While I'm on this subject, I'd
like to say that I get excellent results
from Pennzoil "15-40 Long Life" engine oil. It's specially made for Diesel and gasoline engines. It has a very high viscosity index, higher than their
SAE 50W oil. It quieted, by about
75%, a noisy lifter in the '54, which now is very quiet at idle when the
engine is hot.
Also,
I've changed all of the Packard air filters to modern, paper air filters. These provide superior
air filtration and
eliminate another big mess when cleaning and changing the oil in the old,
inferior, oil bath air cleaners. Let me know and I'll give you the Fram air filter numbers for the following: all 1940 thru 1950
356 CID senior engines; the '54 senior
engine and the senior V8s (I'm still working on a replacement for the
Caribbeans).
Dwight
Heinmuller