Hi Tom,
When I went through this with my '39, I did a lot of looking for the original lights and could not find used or NOS. I did come upon a pair of repros for about $700 through Max Merritt, but that didn't seem reasonable to spend that kind of money on a Six, so I ended up putting a set of '40 lights on the car and am very happy with them. I'm also told that Packard routinely did this for '39 owners in 1940 as that was the introduction year for regular signal markers. There are, of course, dissenting views on their appearance and suitability, but many find them perfectly acceptable. Chris.

No Don, I didn't take it to the wrong plater! The impressions were vague to begin with and were almost imperceptibly less distinct after plating. Irrespective, I didn't see trying to paint them as something I would want to do for the stated reason of paint sticking to chrome, and a good quality decal seems like a better option.

Thanks John & Howard,
John, I thought of enamel, but a) the impression is so faint on the bumperette after re-chroming, that it would be hard to duplicate with a brush and b) I wasn't sure on the long term stickability of paint to chrome. I figured finding exact 'stick-ons' would be next to impossible as the bumpers/bumperettes differ so much model-to-model, year-to-year, even front-to-rear, so I decided to get out the calipers, compass and razor knife and fashion a template myself. I got what I -would call a 95-98% result, the only issue being the imperfect edges on the circles. They do, however, fit perfectly into the indentations on the bumperettes and I will take this back to the decal joint and see if they can scan them, clean them up, and produce some decals. FWIW, the OD of the outer black circle surrounding the hexagon is 2 1/2" and is a fat 1/4" 'thick'; the 'width' of the hexagon is +/- 1 1/4". I will obviously get the red to be a better match to Packard and the price of a dozen sets of these would be the same as 2, so if they would be of any use to anyone out there, let me know and I'll mail a set to you no charge. The bumperette is off a 1939 Six, front bumper. Chris.

Attach file:

---

  2022_05_06_0903R.JPG (167.08 KB)

Hi All,
Just received the pieces for my front bumper back from the platers. Gorgeous job and I will post pics once reassembled and back on the car. My question is: does anyone know where I can find digital copies on the bumperette decals?? I have scoured the net and cannot find anything usable. The bumperette has a very slight impression comprising the Packard hexagon with a circle around it. I went to the local sign shop to try and get decals made and was asked for a digital example. I recall someone saying earlier that the decals had been reproduced, which would be optimal to just be able to order them, but a digital rendering would suffice. Any help or direction much appreciated. Chris.

It IS an interesting topic and you make some good points, Ewrecks. I think the eventuality will be as projected, not sure just what the timeframe will be. I personally think it will happen a lot slower than some are saying and as far as the 'kids' of today not having an interest in our era of cars, there will always be interest, it will just thin out. There are places in the world today where square rigger ships are still being built and they have been 'obsolete' for 150 years.
And as far as EV cars being the 'answer', how does burning all that electricity in a country the still uses coal to create 65% of it's power, fix anything? Canada's a bit further ahead there with a lot more hydro-electric plants, but there are still a lot of smoke stacks belching C02 in this country. Taking gas cars off the road will exacerbate this issue ten fold. And if you look at the graph of what's on the road today for 'classic/collector/antique cars, the 100 year old stuff is pretty rare, 50/60 year old, not so much, and 25 year old cars are a dime a dozen. That curve can only continue as fewer of the really old cars survive and parts become impossible to find. 40/50 years from now, our cars won't be gone, they'll just be very rare. Packard already is rare (4 Packards in 3200 cars says it all) so I guess it's safe to say a Packard sighting in 2050 will be extremely rare and most won't have a clue what it is. Unfortunate inevitable evolution I guess; too bad, but not much can be done about it. I often wonder where my car will end up when I die and my stewardship is concluded. Hot rodded, left outside somewhere to got to rack and ruin, or the scrapyard/crusher??? Hard to find people who will look after them like we do!! I say enjoy 'em while we can, live in the sunshine and let history go where it goes. Chris.

Big Kev,
Kind and sincere wishes for the most optimal outcome with your treatments.
Health is so very important and so easy to take for granted until you don't have it. Then it becomes one's entire world.
Those of us out here in Packardom owe you a lot for what you do to keep P.I. up and running. As another poster said, 'not sure what I could do', but if anything at all, I echo the willingness to help in any way possible. Chris.

I have to agree with Tim; at least as it pertains to driving my car. 50 is a nice speed, 55 feels 'hot' and 60 is 'too fast'! Maybe you had some good highway gears in your 110, Don, but one can easily hear when an engine is 'straining' or over-revving and those flathead sixes won't take high revs. OD would move those numbers up a bit, but then I think other factors like the skinny tires would start to come into play. Bottom line - IMHO, they are 50/55 MPH cars. Chris.

There's a couple of great Youtube videos on machine shop rebuilds of those 12's. Amazing mills and super smooth when in good condition and properly tuned, but the machining costs would have to be astronomical. I seem to recall $50K being kicked around on here for a target budget on just the motor rebuild. Deep pockets required, that's for sure. Chris.

Hi Matt,
I did try and visit your book's website, but it doesn't come up under DetroitSteelArtists.com
Maybe the website's not live yet? Interested to check your book out. Chris.

Hi Bob,
I'm not familiar with your car, so not sure what year you are dealing with. I just wanted to caution you though, before you try hammering the shaft up out of the box, as I know in my case ('39 Six) the worm gear is an integral part of the shaft; it doesn't come off. There will be replies no doubt, from the pros on here who know exactly what you're dealing with and I do realize that year to year and even with some same-year models, there are significant differences in the way things are put together with Packards, but I'm quite sure the 'fixed worm gear' was pretty common across a lot of steering boxes.
I got mine out the bottom of the car taking the end plate off the gearbox and took the whole assembly, shaft and steering box to the rebuilders. The bearings for mine were no longer available but the rebuild guys were able to machine and adapt some 30's Chevy bearings and rebuild my box with basically zero play. The mechanics of the R&R is certainly a 'contortionist's nightmare' though! Good luck. Chris.