Started to work on the rust hole. First thing is a new fender lip. Giving my shrinker and stretcher a workout.

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I know, right?

There's also a pretty hefty dent on the same panel further back that was just filled with bondo as well. Very similar to your findings as you stripped your car.

After much delay, I finally got to do a little more work. I welded the second rear body mount into place.

Time to attack some of the more severe rust. The worst of it is the Driver's side rear wheel well. I could tell that there was filler on the panel, but it didn't know there was so much.

Instead of trying to sand it all off, which would have taken forever, I drilled holes through the thickest parts. Then used a cutoff wheel to score the rest with a grid pattern and used a chisel to knock the rest of it off.

They had well over a half inch of bondo, and there wasn't any metal to back it up. They just filled the giant whole with filler and repainted.

Now I'm wondering if the repair panels from classics2current are worth the $130 they're charging.

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Got the body mount welded in place.

Started to work on the other one. It's much worse than the first one.

Also a couple pictures of my latest Craigslist find. Picked up this welder for $300. Now I just need to get it running

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not being able to work more than 30 minutes a day is frustrating. I got a little further on the new body mount. I welded up the mount and used sheet metal screws to test fit it on the car.

Now I need to mark and drill the mounting hole and weld in the reinforcing sleeve. Then I should be able to spot weld it back on the car.

When I took the original off, it was only held loosely with two spot welds. I think I'll use a little more this time around.

Also, sorry for the poor quality pictures. Been using the cell phone. Apparently this thing only takes good pictures when there's a ton of light. I'll be switching back to the Nikon when available.

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Thanks Kev!

I feel like the Colorado River wearing down this Clipper Canyon.

Started to try and make some new body mounts.

The old mounts were 18 gauge steel. Luckily I still have some 18ga lying around so I started with a flat piece, then put a 90 degree brake in it with my homemade sheet metal brake.

On to the sheet metal stretcher that I picked up on sale at HF last winter. I just took my time and tried to match up the bend with the original piece.

It doesn't have to be exact. It's just a body mount that I'll never look at again. As long as it fits the trunk floor I'm happy.

Next I'll try and cap it off and weld it back under the car.

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After sandblasting, I've now got some more rust to fix. The next step is fixing or replacing the rear body mounts under the trunk.

I'd like to find some replacements, but that seems unlikely. There is a junkyard about 60 miles from me that claims to have a couple 55/56 Packards in the yard. I may take the drive to see what they have to offer.

The other alternative to fix these. They don't appear to be the easiest shapes to duplicate.

I removed one of the mounts from the car today to get a better look at what it's going to take to fix it. You can see from the pictures that it was just spot welded in a couple of places. The air chisel was useful in getting it loose. It's got two pieces. The mount itself and an inner sleeve to help carry the load and prevent deflection.

Unfortunately, this is the "good" one.

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Shot a video with my cell phone. Lower quality, but it gets the point across.

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Watched the most recent episode of "Chasing Classic Cars" and they featured a 1957 Packard Wagon which was purchased at an auction from a museum collection. The car had a total rotisserie restoration and then parked in the museum. The host of the show paid $45K and was into it for about $60k after fees and shipping etc.

About 9 months later, he decided to sell it at auction. He took it out of his storage facility and drove it to his shop. On the way there his brakes failed, pedal went to the floor. Luckily he was able to safely get the car stopped. They traced it to the Bendix and had it swapped out with a different rebuilt unit just in time to send it out for auction. He offered it with no reserve and ended up loosing money on the car.

I've been watching that show for a while. It seems like he never makes any money when he sells a car at an auction. He must make all his money as a consultant and restorer for his millionaire clientele.