Having a rare night of not being able to sleep last night, I got up, saw your post and went through your entire site reading all the captions and was quite impressed. I do want to go back and read the rest as it's a fascinating build and even interesting regulations about you may and may not do.

Very nice! I expect that the insides of your doors are now painted far better than they ever were.

A little more esoteric stuff.

The door is just a shell now and a cutter is on the way to remove the caved-in outer skin so that I can see how the door-holder device works along with just getting access to it. I’ve never seen any door with so many screws holding panels on as my 1951 Combination and 1952 Nu-3-Way used standard upholstery clips for everything with only a few screws. On this door, the upper panel alone had 27 and that does not include the tiny ones that held on the aluminum trim pieces around the edges.



This angle shows just how hard a large oak limb being trimmed hit it years ago! Fortunately the glass was not harmed and good thing as they are almost impossible to find.



This depicts rather well the original USAF bluish-grey color. I would be curious to know if this color had a name but I’ve never been able to find any specific USAF paint records.



The seal around the door is nothing special but is very squished to nearly flat. I’m trying to hold it apart here in the photo in order to document which way it was attached. Steele also has by-the-foot rubber of the type used on the glass.

The VIN itself should tell you but if 1938, it would have a floor shift and there would be a little piece of trim running up onto the roof above the center divider. More likely yours was a dealer replacement which often came unstamped, they we’re stamped by the dealer.

Any type of oil is better than no oil and I’ve even sometimes used a hot drop from the dipstick.

Those are similar but not Marsden.

I've never driven a car with an R9 but on the R11, I seem to recall lots of free-wheeling so no engine deceleration, requiring more use of brakes. You'll probably find you have better overall control if you shut it off during around-town driving where it isn't needed anyway.

Just to a Google search which is how I find them. I'm not home at the moment and won't be for a couple weeks but may even have the size you need. One company in particular I buy from specializes in locking hardware and have Marsden nuts in many sizes so again, just search. However, for a bulk pack of 25, you're getting off easy as some places have minimums of 500 or even more.

I bought this beautiful 1951-1954 spotlight with rear view mirror a couple years for my 1951 Henney-Packard, then realized it was incorrect for my USAF car that used Unity. As I have no other need, I am offering it in the hope it gets a good home! While I’ve not tested the bulb, this visually excellent, needing only a good cleaning before installation. $275 plus domestic shipping.

The last time I was here I commented in passing that the parking brake does not appear to be connected to anything and indeed it isn’t. I can pull it all the way out. The mechanism is all there with all cables under the car including a rear that’s NOS so whatever it is, it’s at the firewall but, as the engine is about to come out, I’ll deal with it then with more room. That said, I did reach in with a camera and took a photo although it doesn’t really show anything clearly enough other than the desparate need of new wiring.




I know that much of this is too esoteric for most Packard people but I’m posting bits in case it helps some other Henney-Packard owner in the future.

Hard to see but this is the huge mechanism inside the back door that allows it to open nearly 180 degrees and was anchored near the center of the door with the cylinder or whatever it is going half way to the other side. With the door caved in as it is, I am not sure how to remove it so I may have to just cut open the door as it’s not really repairable anyway. I just bought a Ryobi saw for the purpose. The piece at the jamb on the replacement door was cut off so I definitely need to save this one!



I did manage to remove the license light holder which is the same as used on most 1951 passenger cars and all 1952s. With the cast adapter behind it, it also fits all 1951-1954 Henney-Packards but I’ll have to replace the license plate holder as it’s rotted away at the bottom. I think I have one somewhere though and yes, it is specific to the Henney-Packards.