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G'day Mike.

aboard Packardinfo, a great Site. Sorry I can't help with your request seeing I'm an ocean away down-under.

But could you please add your '48 to the Owner Registry together with a pic, any known history and how you acquired it?

Thursday 27th November 2008

After a great morning with out daughter and granddaughters it was off to the workshop in the afternoon. Found Wade in his usual position, under a Packard, this time John's '39. He'd finished off the front end by replacing the right side torque arm rubber bushing in the morning and then moving to the rear spring shackle rubbers and he'd also hooked up the hand brake cable.Wade was working on the front bushing on the left side when I arrived.

Left him to that while I went back to the rubber sealing strips for the bottoms of the inner fender panels for the '41. Refitted the left side and did some minor trimming to clear the electromatic clutch mounting post on the chassis and the brake line and 'T' fitting just forward of that. Next removed the rubber seal from the left side and mounted it on the right side inner fender panels to check to see if I could use it for a template. And it was almost perfect, only 3 holes were in slightly different places. So marked up the rubber and cut for the right side and punched the dozen holes into it. Fitted it, and it's great. There will have to be some more minor fitting adjustments mostly on the left side but all up I'm pleased with the results.

While I was doing the rubber seals Wade continued under the '39 with my assistance given from time to time to hold multigrips, use a long bar for leverage, whack on a bar with a big hammer, etc. All these at moments when a second pair of hands was necessary to get the job done. Surprising how a rusty pin will stick to rubber and defy almost all attempts to move or loosen it. But all rubbers were removed and replaced. Leaves a bit of engine work like changing points and plugs and the brass bushes in the distributor the '39 should be done.

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Wednesday 26th November 2008

Part 2

After the excitement of the car moving exercise and test run of the '35 it was back to the tools. Started by cleaning up the rear hanger bracket for the tailpipe and painting it with POR-15 black. It looks twisted but Wade assures me that's how it is and how it fits! I would have thought otherwise, but what do I know? And while doing that, Wade was under John's '39 putting in the gearshift linkages and told me he should have done it earlier when there was more room to work with. Then he re-installed the tailshaft, re-greasing the universals which looked pretty dry and lacking in lubricant. I'd had a phone call from the locksmith while POR-15'ing so when I finished that went up his shop about 1 mile from the workshop and picked up the trunk lock. He couldn't cut the new key the same as the ignition key so cut it to suit the lock instead, cost AU$55.00, about US$35.00 at current rates.

Wade next turned to the front end of the '39, the upper bushes and the torque arm rubber bushings needing replacement. While Wade was doing that I started on trial fitting the front inner fender panels so I could measure then make up rubber seals to replace the badly perished originals which fell apart when removed. Needed some 'panel bashing' to get the inner panels into some sort of alignment. This was accomplished by comparing each side to the other, noting the differences while allowing for the mirror image, then proceeding to use some gentle but forceful persuasion to get the panels pointing in the directions they should be. A number of trial fittings and bashings were required helped along by judicious advice from Wade. And finally the panels from both sides were "reasonably straight".

At this point Wade was struggling with removing the left upper bushing on the '39 and so I offered my assistance, if that's the word for it. The battle to remove the old bushing was made worse by not having a specific tool for the job so one had to be cobbled together to enable the old bushing to be pushed out. Once the new 'tool' was assembled it worked very effectively and pushed the old bushing out with relative ease. Installing the new bushing was much easier when compared to the difficulty in removing the old one. After that I left Wade to tackle the left torque arm rubber bushing.

So while Wade did that I turned again to the '41 inner fender panels this time with the intention of measuring and making the rubber seal for the lower edge. As the large sheet of rubber I used for the floor underlay was getting progressively smaller I decided to make a template from an old cardboard box to save myself the embarrassment of incorrectly cutting the rubber. Just as well I did, the first cardboard template although reasonable was not good, But you learn from your mistakes, so the second was good! Then came the fun part trying to locate and mark holes on a rubber strip with a mind of it's own but even that was accomplished. Not easily but for me "with relative ease". Only did the left one and will have to catch up with the right side tomorrow as well as trimming the fiddly bits on the left to clear or accommodate obstructions.

In the meantime Wade had removed and replaced the left side torque arm bushing. Then moved to the right side and, without the need for assistance, removed and replaced the upper support arm bushings.

And to finish. Wade had picked up a contact John had discarded when he rebuilt an auto transmission. Looks like it'll be just about right as a contact in fixing Peter's O/D solenoid!

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Wednesday 26th November 2008

Part 1

Arrived at the workshop to be greeted by Wade driving out in his '37 120 Sedan and parking it outside. Inside the workshop the way was being cleared so that Wade could get Kevin's '35 out of it's position in Packard row. Rick's area overlaps Wades and because entry and exit of Packards is infrequent cars tend to get parked in front of them for lengthy periods. This includes a Toyota Soarer of Rick's that's been crashed bashed and belted and has a permanent position in front of Wade's '34 chassis and the spot Kevin's '35 occupied for over a year. Outside already was Rick's Toyota Hilux SUV which also occupies a more or less permanent position in front of my '41 and John's '39. When we went for a test drive in the '35 oil pressure was Great. But there are problems! Besides the carb needing a lot of attention the brakes were grabbing especially the left front. That's why the '35 ended up back in the workshop. I suspect if the test run had not had a brake problem the '35 would now be at Carburettor Service Company getting some specialised carb attention. Below are the pic's I took of the exercise.

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West,

Very impressive Packard, the restoration work is a credit to your brother. But WWW's?

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Seems like deja vu all over again. My '41 coupe was bought by a dentist just after he completed his dental studies in San Francisco in 1961. He and his wife then drove it to Idaho and he ended up selling in 2006 it to the guy I bought it of in 2007. So the precedent has been set, all that remains if for you to get your teeth into it, so to speak.

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Kevin,

Oz or Mal is fine, just trying to have a joke at your expense.

I insist on paying for any shirts, I wont be a freeloader on your project adding to my Packard wardrobe at your expense, but I appreciate the offer.

Kev,
again for this new fix not to mention everything else you do for Packardinfo. Looks like you just about pulled an 'all nighter' to get to the bottom of this one! I wouldn't want you to lose any sleep over me and my attachment to the Owner Registry, so take it easy please. I really can't thank you enough for all you do here to make it such a great Site.

Kev,
Looks good now -

Kev,

It's happening again. Just the big blank page when trying to access the Owner Registry.