Tim Wile	Re: Tim's '55 Patrician	#11
Home away from home	I'm still working on accumulating NOS chrome and stainless steel for my Patrician. On another thread, I posed the question whether NOS or re-chromed parts would be my best bet once the Patrician is painted. I received a number of responses, many of which cited the high cost pf a quality re-chrome job. I can now attest that the estimates on re-chroming in that thread were spot on. I had my front grille sent to a re-chromer for an estimate and the estimate came back at $5,000.00. The grille was in pretty good shape for 60 year old pot metal so I was hoping somewhere in the $2k or $2,500 range. Not so! I did manage to procure a very nice triple chromed front bumper for my Patrician for $1,600, shipping included, which was a bargain in my mind. I haven't found an affordable re-chromed rear bumper and will probably have to have my parts re-chromed - all five of them. I'll let you know how I make out and the relative cost for the job. I'll most likely have the bumper ends done first and then the middle portion along with the license plate guards. Hopefully, that will result in a cost that I can digest. We'll see. Posted on: 2016/3/29 9:35
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Tim Wile	Re: Wile Family's Second Packard	#12
Home away from home	Good Point! Posted on: 2016/3/24 16:10
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Tim Wile	Re: Wile Family's Second Packard	#13
Home away from home	Howard, I think that you hit the nail right on the head with your last possibility. I had re-filled the radiator with clean water and then started the car. As it was running, water was pouring out of the heater valve down the inside firewall and pooling on the floor under the carpet. Do the photos look anything like a seal problem rather than a leaking heater core? Attach file:   (96.76 KB)   (70.24 KB)   (128.11 KB) Posted on: 2016/3/24 15:10
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Tim Wile	Re: Wile Family's Second Packard	#14
Home away from home	Well, spring is finally upon us and what better way to celebrate the coming of Spring than to purchase a new set of tires for one's Packard! There was a sale at Sears for 235/75R15 Guardian tires a few weeks back and I decided that there was no time like the present to put new rubber on the Four Hundred. I had purchased a set of re-painted rims a while ago and had the new tires mounted on them. I decided to go with blackwalls as I like the look. I'm going to feel much better driving around this Spring with good rubber on all four wheels. My major project on the Fourt Hundred is to track down a coolant leak in the heater. I had re-done the heater coil some time ago and I hope that this is not the source of the leak. An old hose as the culprit would be welcome news. Attach file:   (165.15 KB)   (106.22 KB) Posted on: 2016/3/24 12:54
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Tim Wile	Re: New Old stock (NOS) or Re-Chrome?	#15
Home away from home	I appreciate the input and advice. Right now, the biggest items I'm looking at are the front and rear bumpers and the grille. I have pretty decent parts or NOS for most of the other chrome. Just recently I picked up a pair of NOS front turn signal/parking light assemblies for a little over what a pair of NOS parking/turn signal lenses would go for. Lucky auction, I guess. I'm not planning to restore either of my Packards to show condition but I do want decent chrome to go with the body work and new paint. Posted on: 2016/2/29 14:23
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Tim Wile	New Old stock (NOS) or Re-Chrome?	#16
Home away from home	I'm nearly at the point with my '55 Patrician to start work on the body with a view towards having it painted by the end of the summer. With that in mind, I've been buying some NOS chrome items as I look to have some other items re-plated. The NOS items that I've acquired thus far have been quite nice for items manufactured some 60 years ago. However, I realize that I cannot get everything I want for my Patrician in NOS form. I have a friend in the restoration business who has agreed to let me include some of my parts in with his business for re-chroming, but he warned me that it was a 4 to 6 week process and somewhat expensive. I'll be starting out with the two front bumper dagmars to see the quality of the work and the cost. I also like the idea of having parts that were originally with my Patrician refurbished and remaining with the car. My question for the group is whether you prefer new re-plating to New Old Stock items when you are re-fitting your Packard after a new paint job? Anyone have any insights, preferences, or stories that they wish to share? Posted on: 2016/2/24 11:27
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Tim Wile	Re: Correct Trunk Script for 1955 Four Hundred	#17
Home away from home	I understand that the white metal pieces were plated rather than anodized. I don't think that Packard used any aluminum script or trim pieces in '55 or '56. All of the ones that I've encountered are white metal/pot metal. Posted on: 2016/1/22 21:29
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Tim Wile	Re: Correct Trunk Script for 1955 Four Hundred	#18
Home away from home	My next question is does anyone know of a good reputable firm that does gold anodizing. I've been searching around the eastern PA and NJ area for one and can't seem to locate one that does auto parts. Also, is everyone aware of the problems with Nu-Chrome up in Massachusetts? Shut down I believe for bad business practices and owing a load of back taxes. Posted on: 2016/1/22 11:16
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Tim Wile	Correct Trunk Script for 1955 Four Hundred	#19
Home away from home	I have a 1955 Four Hundred coupe that I'm currently using as my driver while I work on rebuilding my 1955 Patrician. A prior owner of the Four Hundred had it repainted a while ago and removed all of the script from the car except the "Packard" on the rear fenders and on the hood. I'm trying to replace all of the missing script and have everything but the "Packard" script for the trunk. I have the "400" script. My problem is that I am having considerable difficulty locating a decent example of the gold "Packard" script for the trunk. I bid on a set on eBay about a year ago but lost that auction. Since that time, I have not seen another gold "Packard" script on eBay nor have I been able to locate it from another source, Tuscon Packards included. I even had one supplier tell me that they were never made in gold, only in chrome. I know for a fact that this is a bunch of crap since every photo I've seen of restored 1955 400s has the script on the trunk in gold. The Packard part number is 444213. I know that this particular piece of script was used on earlier Packards in its chrome form, but on the 1955 Four Hundred, I am positive that it was in gold to match the "400" number. Am I correct on my assumption that the 1955 Four Hundred "Packard" script was gold in color to match the "400" number or am I chasing my tail on this point? I've attached a photo of the trunk lid script about which I am speaking. As I said, I have obtained the "400" script, but not the gold "Packard" script. While this is not a priority right now, it is annoying to have allegedly reputable sources tell me that they never existed in gold. Attach file:   (73.15 KB) Posted on: 2016/1/22 9:47
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Tim Wile	Re: Wile Family's Second Packard	#20
Home away from home	I strongly suspect that it was simply a case of an old tire giving way rather than a more dramatic "blow out." I'm not sure how old the tire was but it did fail on a sharp turn into the parking lot. Also, there was no dramatic "pop" when the tire failed, just a pulling to the right as it went down. Like I mentioned earlier, new tires are on the agenda for the spring. Just a matter of finances. I have a nice set of refinished rims for the 400 that I had picked up some time ago. I plan on mounting the new tires on them and then replacing all the wheels on the 400 with the refinished ones with the new rubber. I'm leaning towards radial tires from the reviews and experiences that I've read on this forum. Posted on: 2016/1/20 10:40
	PA Patrician (Tim Wile) [size=x-small][color=000099][font=Georgia][url=https://packardinfo.c