To expand on my last post here...I started my restoration blog last week. The cold weather that is going on here is giving me some time start it. The large hall in which I work can only be heated at considerable expense.

After the first, decent impression the 1924 Sport made in the pictures from a distance, let's now take a closer look at what I actually bought.
Let's start with the top frame and the front window frame.
Any attempt at describing the top material makes no sense. This rag is trash.
The top frame obviously does not belong to this vehicle. The metal frame was completely worn out in all joints and could no longer be tensioned. The Wood Bows are in the wrong position when the top is folded behind the back seat. A restoration is without any sense.
The wooden bows are all broken several times and some goofy is screwing them together with metal strips and glue. This frame and the wooden bows are also completely unusable and have to be rebuilt.

The front window frame only looked good from a distance. The detailed photos give an idea of what it looks like under the remaining chrome. A repair is not possible because the multi-folded profile sheets from which the frame is made have certainly already rotted to such an extent in the areas that have not yet rusted through that a repair is pointless. But I have already seen parts like this where owners have putty and painted them black in order to be able to sell the car at a profit.
Soft top frame, hood and front window frames also have to be rebuilt
The soft top is only tailored after all other work on the top frame has been completed and the rear fender was uninstalled.
The material for the soft top has been in stock for 3 years. Thank heavens, because the price of the fabric has in the meantime increased by 40%.
I recreated the top frame based on the successor model, but with a slightly stronger flat steel profile.
I also deliberately deviated from the 1924 original because a search for an original top linkage would be pretty hopeless. And if one had ever been found, the price, shipping, customs and taxes would simply be too expensive.
I got the wooden bows from a professional “wheelwrighter”…(???)…(A company that produces woodwork parts on classic cars in Germany)... made from ash wood. When I visited him to commission the wooden bows …” Surprise”…. he was working on artillery wheels for a 1927 Packard. Completely new construction of all spokes and hubs in ash wood.
I had a T-steel profile worked into the wooden bows that I had made beforehand to prevent the bows from bending, which is often seen at the car shows and internet. The wooden bows are milled so that the steel profile fits completely into the ash wood. The steel reinforcements are not visible after being covered with the soft top fabric. And... no, the wooden bows are not steam bent. There is no company here that still uses this technic. In the USA I would have gone to the well-known Amish addresses in PA. The Bows are cut from solid ash wood without tension and are blocked twice. The connection points are not visible after being covered with the hood fabric.

At this point I would like to say something about originality when restoring classic vehicles. Because some things about my 1924 Sport will not completely correspond to the original. Basically, I have always aimed to restore the vehicles that I have restored to their actual original condition as much as possible and to preserve the original condition at all costs, down to the smallest detail if possible. There is now no real limit to originality when replicating missing parts. Everything can be recreated down to the last detail if the owner has the necessary money. I have personally experienced this with vehicles whose restoration costs have exceeded their eventual market value many times over. But I have neither the money nor the time to have this special work carried out by companies that have this special technology and the necessary machines. Assuming you can even find companies here in Germany that accept such work only for one or two pieces. (There is a completely different and much larger market for this in the USA). I consider deviations from originality to be permissible if financial resources, time or spare parts are not available and the changes do not change the essential character of the vehicle or if the changes are close to the time the vehicle was built and/or, for example, to the following models of this type can be counted.

In order to bend the arch into the finished frame profile with which it rests on the body, I built a profile roller bending device that I could mount in front of my motorized beading machine. So, I was able to bend the arch into the stiff profile in many small steps. It was also important to insert a very precisely fitting flat steel profile as a placeholder into the area that has to accommodate the rubber profile base, otherwise this cavity would be flattened under the pressure when the sheet was rolled. Well-greased, this rod could then be pushed out again later with light blows.
I then had the finished window frame parts finely ground and polished by my Electroplater comp. and double-coppered in order to grind out the last imperfections myself. The frame was then nickel-plated.

By the way...the chrome parts on this 136 were pretty well chrome plated. I
let the chrome completely removed and all parts newly nickel-plated.

Karl

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Ok BigKev .. im learning still

The "troublemaker" on my property under the critical gaze of my wife.

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Sales Pictures from Spain

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This blog shows and describes the restoration of my 1924 Packard Sport Phaeton 136 Single Eight, Series 1. My research so far has shown that this vehicle is most likely the only 1924 Sport model still in existence that was equipped with the “Westinghouse Air Springs” when it was delivered was. Aside from the technical peculiarity of these “Air Springs” in these early years of automobile history, they were also a significant cost factor in relation to the overall value of vehicles of that time. I therefore consider it a remarkable feature of this vehicle.

But before I write anything about the restoration, I would like to thank everyone who has responded to my inquiries here in this forum, and who has answered technical questions, questions about originality, or helped me find or procure missing parts Have helped. My special thanks go to “David Mc”, who was the first to answer my questions and then helped me find solutions to problems with a variety of answers over the years. I wish him many more years of good health and continued fun with his current and planned work.

All I know about the history of my Packard is that the car was sold from New York to Spain in 2009. There the car was... nicely polished... shown at an indoor car show and then offered for sale in 2013. I saw the car for the first time with one of my friends when he called me about a technical problem with another of his classic cars. The 1924 Sport stood in the back corner of his hall. He saw the car online and was impressed by the description and pictures and bought the car without seeing it in person. As a busy company owner, he had the car picked up from Spain. The soft top flew away on the first test drive. All of the wooden arches on the top broke. The attachment to the front window frame was not in its original condition and had been repaired very amateurishly. The wind couldn't hold the top up. He had the whole thing repaired in a less than professional manner, also spent a lot of money repairing the alternator and had a few other things repaired that were obviously also out of order. All further driving tests ended after a short time on the trailer. His wife no longer wanted to ride with him and the car ended up in the back corner of his hall. 3 years later he bought a 1928 Packard Roadster 526 that was offered here in Germany and about which he then became more informed. (…. By the way, Mal H., you know this 1928 Roadster 526….) He called me to show me the car. It was in better technical condition than the 1924 Sport and drove without any problems. I saw that the Sport was still in the corner and asked if he was still interested in the car. He was not and sold it to me at a reasonable price.

It was clear from the start that I wanted to restore the Packard Frame Off. And ... by the way … there was no other way to bring this wreck back on the street. It was supposed to be my last project because I liked it much better than my “1935 Wanderer” Convertible that I had originally intended for my last “Frame Off” Project. I expected the restoration to take around 3 years and it should be finished by 2020 at the latest. Due to the really miserable condition and the necessary additional effort in producing worn components, the reconstruction of many components including all the missing original interior fittings and my health problems that arose in the following time, the whole thing was very delayed and is now almost complete take twice as long. I hope that I will have time to drive the car for a few years and that it will give me and my wife a lot of fun and any wonderful days and trips.

Karl

Note: All texts are translated by using the Google Translator. Inadequate grammar is possible. I hope there are only a few of them who make the meaning of my texts understandable.

First Pics show the Car at the CarShow in Spain.

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Gerd & Mel,
In the last 13 years I haven't had a lot of private time for myself and my wife and for our new start here in Germany because I first had to build our new home. The complete modernization and partial reconstruction of a 174m² apartment took 4 years alone. And I did a significant part of it myself. There was little time for my passion for working on classic cars. And it took a lot of time before I could think about restorations again for health reasons (three hospital stays).
Seven years ago I bought the 1924 Packard and then began restoring it a few years ago. My wife didn't really like it because she had had to share this passion with me for many years. I'm very happy that she still has a lot of understanding and interest in these things and that she lets me have my way.
I don't actually have the time to show the restoration of the 1924 Sport in a blog here. Anyone who has presented a blog here knows how much time it takes. I wanted to present the car at a Concours de Elegance here in Germany for its 100th birthday. But I probably won't be able to do that. Too much detailed work still needs to be done. But since it's winter time now, I can only work in my heated upholstery room at the moment. This gives me a little more time and I will try to start the blog and at least present something from time to time. I won't be able to show a complete progression of the work because at the beginning... as I said... I didn't think about recording the work and the progress completely and chronologically in the picture.
Karl

Hello Mal, Dave and Gerd (Gerd is right...right?)
Thanks for the information and the email addresses for Mr. Babinsky.
I have now sent both of them an email. And I hope that at least
Someone who has and also gives out information that makes it possible
to recreate the muffler. I already have most of the materials here.
Gerd, thank you for the information that was posted on the auction page. In the long time I have been searching the Internet for pictures and information about my 136 Sport, I have already seen one or two pictures of this vehicle. I also have some pictures of the original design door leather and door panels from other 1924-1926 models which are all identical. But so far I haven't had any pictures that show other parts of the interior specifically for the 136 with this clarity. All card boards are already prepared and still need to be covert with the new laether. I have the necessary Trim Hidem in stock anyway. Unfortunately, the dark red of the Hidem that I chose for the leather didn't match the leather color perfectly. That's why I had a specialist company mix the color that matches the leather exactly and will dye the trim material accordingly. A test showed that it really fits the leather perfectly. I hate it when good leather work is disqualified by differend color on the material. When the opportunity arises, I will show these photos in detail in my yet-to-be-created blog.

Karl

Gary , West Peterson thank you for your answer.
I wrote to "Dixie Exhaust in Charlotte NC" by email and asked them whether they had any data on the muffler. I don't belive they release them because they are a company and make money from it.
Steve Babinsky might be more likely to answer, because himself is a pre-war car enthusiast. But the question is how to reach him because he doesn't even have a homepage because he rejects it even though he has a restauration business. In an interview he said. That he has enough to do and doesn't need a website. West Peterson do you have any contact information...email address from him???

For my 1924 Sport I'm still looking for someone who can give me more precise data on the diameters of the individual pipes in the main silencer. It would be best to get this data from someone who still has an original muffler and can unscrew it. As you can see in the picture taken of a 1917 locomotive. It would also be very helpful if I can get a very good copy of page 80 from the "Service Parts List - Packard Eight" that is no clearer than the copy shown and that allows me to measure the dimensions and the holes in the pipes more precisely to count and possibly even measure.

Karl

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