With both the front and rear suspension installed, a new brakesystem and lines, it was now time to load the engine assembly back into the chassis.
I was excited.
At first I thought four men could help lift the assembly in. Since Packards have a three point mount with the rear pair on the transmission you need to load the engine and transmission together. Forget 4 guys, even 15 couldn’t get their act together to shift the monster. Obviously it requires technique and they were labourers not accustomed to moving machinery.
Finally I ended up using my trolley jack to shift the bench under the chain pulley and managed to manuevre the assembly into the chassis alone!!
With the engine transmission in, next came the peripherals. The starter, the dynamo, the fuel pump, the distributor, silencer system, drive shaft and various other small items.
There was one big problem though. I didn’t have a carburetor for this car. It needed a Carter double barreled down draft unit found typically on American cars with big engines.
I was at a loss. Enquiries through friends in Bombay, Delhi, and Madras turned up a zero. Nothing in Hyderabad too. Old city junkyard shops asked "Carter? What is that?". And there was a time 25 years ago I had seen hundreds of them parked on shelves in those very same stores.
Now this was becoming a big problem. I was all ready to start the engine and no carb. This being a larger eight even the carbs off our other Packards wouldn’t suit the manifold. Buying a reconditioned one from the US would be too expensive and a long drawn out affair. I utterly dislike modifications and wanted the real m'coy
Out of the blue, call it a telepathy or whatever, I figured if I were to approach some of the families with similar 47/48 Packards or Caddies chances are some disused old Carter or Stromberg may be lying around on garage shelves. Since a neighbour has a 48 Caddy I thought I’d start with him. I was just not convinced this would work.
I walked over to his house and casually asked if by any chance he had old disused carbs off his car lying around which I could repair and use.
He said ‘ Ahh I think I might have one for you’ and disappeared into his garage only to emerge in seconds saying ‘Here this might be of use to you?’
I was dumbstruck. He was holding just the carb I needed. The manifold pattern matched perfectly. It would require no alteration. And it came off a 348 cu in Caddy, more juice but perfect for my 327. Atleast I wasn't going to throttle the 327!
He most graciously gifted it to me saying ‘Would love to see your car running’ and I don’t think I walked back to my house quicker ever in all my life!
Back at home I took the carb apart wondering why it was sidelined ever as it seemed to be in great shape. I meticulously cleaned out all the passages, there were a few blocked, and reassembled it, hoping it would work. What a delight as I bolted this carb onto the manifold with no alterations required.
I had made brass spacer washers for brand new Japanese 10mm motorcycle plugs (longer electrode) and next came the wires for the plugs and the radiator was installed with new hoses. Filled up the radiator with water. All the oils had been filled in earlier.
I had retained the six volt system as I have this quirk to not ever want to alter electricals for convenience. Hooked up the battery, filled in some petrol in a can (with some oil in it for positive lubrication) and got ready to fire up the beast.
My heart was pounding in excitement as I turned the big 327 over. It seemed to respond instantly as it coughed a little. The second crank it simply fired to an unbelievably smooth idle. A minor tweak to the air screws and the legendary silk smoothness of the Packard Eights was glaringly apparent.
I was speechless, and so was my father. Others in the family rushed out to the garage to see this momentous occasion. They were simply dumbstruck. The look on their face was sheer bewilderment. This guy really did it!!
I can’t ever express how deeply satisfying that moment was. There I was standing along a Packard chassis which just 5 months ago was a total piece of junk, rusted and jammed. And here she stood silently purring, the valves chattering ever so lightly (left a thousandth gap extra to allow for seating)
Despite all the hardwork that had gone in I still couldn’t believe I pulled it off.
Since I had completely overhauled the gearbox and had done some major work on it I wasn’t sure that would work. So gingerly I sat on the frame easing in the clutch and shifting into first with the small lever off the gearbox. First gear engaged smoothly. As I started to let out the clutch the chassis started to move. Wow!! Now this was something. Damn I had to take it out for a spin right away.
I tied a plastic chair to the frame and held the petrol can with rope.
No amount of descriptive essay would accurately describe the thrill, joy, and deep sense of satisfaction I felt as I moved her out on her own power to emerge from the garage.
Now you have to understand that I am not a mechanic. I had never ever overhauled anything in my life. And here I was having overhauled a magnificent Packard Eight chassis and I seemed to have done it right!!
It was a crazy sight as I drove the chassis out of our gate onto the road and up the hill with Dad following me in another car.
I drove it for a kilometer and turned back as this was way too radical. I was ecstatic. This was way too exciting to digest.
I realized I had experienced something very special. To mechanically overhaul a car entirely and actually drive it. Without a doubt this was the ultimate any enthusiast could desire. It was a humbling experience as I sat back to marvel at the potential of human beings and what they can achieve should they desire to attempt new heights.
Now I had a rolling Packard chassis!!