<VV> heater still smells

[jeandelucca at aol.com]

hi friends, i have replaced the manifold packings and the crossover packings on my 63 spyder coupe, and my heater continues to smell. the old packings looked old and brittle, and one from each side manifold showed signs of leaking- slightly, a little blackness. i have not driven the car much at all since the re-install, and am wondering if i am smelling the new packings as clarks says you will. i also have not re-tourqed the manifolds yet, clark says after five hours. i should also mention that the engine is very clean showing no signs of oil leakage, and shrouds were clean and i cleaned them also. could problem be elsewhere such as heater box, or do i wait for smell from new packings to wear off. thanks, jim