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(1) 2 »

Into the Sun
#1
Home away from home
Home away from home

Robin Adair
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P2p9kMMfXdU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

First time started in 15 years, second time in 30 years, third time in 50 years

Posted on: 2015/3/19 16:36
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Re: Into the Sun
#2
Home away from home
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64avanti
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Progress. Keep at it.
Yell us about that '56 in the shelter.

Posted on: 2015/3/19 16:46
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Re: Into the Sun
#3
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Robin Adair
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/InRzK_m0rDs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


Both of these cars are my fathers. He drove the 56 back from California in about 1999 when he was 80 years old. It has a torqueflight transmission and developed a wobble in the drive line he attributes to the mod that was done to adapt the Chrysler transmission. It's up on jacks waiting for him to swap out the transmission.

Posted on: 2015/3/20 9:02
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Re: Into the Sun
#4
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BDC
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That looks like a 39 V12 is that correct?

Posted on: 2015/3/20 9:27
I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you

Bad company corrupts good character!

Farming: the art of losing money while working 100 hours a week to feed people who think you are trying to kill them
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Re: Into the Sun
#5
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Robin Adair
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Yes that is correct. It's my father's 1939 V twelve convertible sedan. I wonder if you would call this a barn find since no one had seen it for 50 years? :)

Click to see original Image in a new window

Here's what it look like in 1966 or so when he got it. We moved to Belgium for four years in 66. He painted it in the yellow primer and put it in a buddy's garage in New Jersey for safe keeping.

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About twenty years passed and he went and got it and moved it to the house we built in Virginia. This was around 1985 or so. Here he is unloading it from the trailer, he borrowed someone's trailer and a six cylinder pick up to bring it back.

Click to see original Image in a new window

He put some new plugs in it and fresh gas and it fired right up. He commented that the plugs he put in it twenty years earlier were brand new and would probably work. From here it went into the garage attached to the house for about ten or twelve years. in the late 1990's, I'm thinking 1998 or 1999 we built a quanset hut garage and that's where it remained untill I moved it Monday

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Here's what it looks like now, mom and dad are living in an assisted living home and we've been fretting and figuring how to get four of dad's cars moved to my place for safe keeping. My father, ever frugal, insisted that we could start it and drive it up the driveway to load it on a trailer. I knew that wouldn't work. The car had 15 year old gas in it with a locking gas cap with no key, no brakes, dead battery, 50 year old tires and tubes and frankly I didn't think my nerves could take it. I aired the tires up last week and they help air,shockingly. I had by buddy come over Monday so we could see how hard it would be to get it started. He cleaned the points on it, we jumped the battery, sprayed some gas in the carb and it fired right up. We did a little test to see if the brakes were locked and they weren't. My buddy convinced me he could back it out of the garage and drive it up the hill without needing the brakes...so we did...seems like I heard that before.

Click to see original Image in a new window

Two house later another buddy arrived with a roll back and we began the nerve wracking 25 miles drive to my house. Moving this car was the most stressful thing I have ever done in my life, specially since dad has no idea I moved it.

Click to see original Image in a new window

Now it's safely in my garage, that's my son, third generation Packard collector.
I'm going pick up dad tomorrow morning. He thinks he's coming over to help me wire a light socket. It should be a nice day to surprise him and take one of the other Packards over to Snack Shack for lunch

Next week I begin working on moving the other three cars.

Posted on: 2015/3/20 14:14
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Re: Into the Sun
#6
Home away from home
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Steve
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Love the story.......Thank you.

Regards,
Steve

Posted on: 2015/3/23 14:22
Steve
Old cars are my passion

1951 Packard 200
1953 Packard Clipper Custom Touring Sedan
1955 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer Tri-tone
1966 Rambler Classic 770 Convertible
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Re: Into the Sun
#7
Home away from home
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58L8134
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Hi

Great videos, thanks for posting them. Your dad has excellent taste in cars! Acquiring a '39 Twelve convertible sedan in the 1960's tells us that he really knew great cars then and now. Lucky you for having such a smart dad! Glad to see the Packard knowledge and appreciation is passing along to the next generation. Will be following your next Packard moves with interest.

Steve

Posted on: 2015/3/23 18:05
.....epigram time.....
Proud 1953 Clipper Deluxe owner. Thinking about my next Packard, want a Clipper Deluxe Eight, manual shift with overdrive.
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Re: Into the Sun
#8
Home away from home
Home away from home

Robin Adair
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"Your dad has excellent taste in cars!" Yes he does. I'm heading back to his garage Monday with a crew and two rollbacks to try to remove 3 more cars to bring over here. As soon as I can convince him to sign some titles there will be a variety or projects for sale. I might even have to sell one or two of my cars too to make room.

Anyway,

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cUucTvFuMZ8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I brought him over under the premise to help me install a new light. He's such a sweet heart you can see him recognize his car for a second and then he's off to help me with my new light.

Click to see original Image in a new window

You can see how unsteady he is in the video. I know he's in a lot of pain from his back injuries so that hampers his movement. Still though, we did get to hangout for about 4 hours and vacuum the car and put a little leather conditioner on the scraps of leather clinging to the seats. We turned them from light gray in color to black.

Click to see original Image in a new window

At three o'clock he couldn't stand or move any longer and I asked him if he was ready to go back to his apartment. He said yes which tells me he had as much fun as he could for one day. This is pretty much what he likes to do, just sit around and tinker on his cars. Not really drive them.

Click to see original Image in a new window

I have asked my dad for permission to let me work on some of his cars, which he has always refused. Recently the thought has occurred to me that maybe we are past the point of him being able to make these types of decisions. So after Easter this car will be off to have a light mechanical once through. Get the brakes working, rebuild the carb, clean out the gas tank and fix the drivers door hinge. It seems the wood pillar needs to be replace. Now that I've seen what it is it doesn't look like it will be that difficult to repair.

When it gets back we'll be getting ice cream in his Packard Twelve.

Posted on: 2015/3/28 10:41
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Re: Into the Sun
#9
Home away from home
Home away from home

Kevin
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Great story! God bless your family!

Posted on: 2015/3/28 15:34
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Re: Into the Sun
#10
Home away from home
Home away from home

Robin Adair
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Well, we've made a little progress, might end up moving this to a project blog.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BUlli9pOgdg?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
We returned to the garage to work on getting the rest of his cars moved. Here's the Ferrari coming up the hill. After this one my nerves couldn't take filming any more.

Click to see original Image in a new window

Followed by the Facel Vega, the right front wheel, frozen, put up one heck of a fight. It finally broke free when the roll back winch connected to it

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And the Alvis

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Not a bad haul, we managed to get three cars out and moved to my place in one day.

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After dropping the Alvis off, the rollback took the 56 400 to my buddy's shop so we can begin the mechanical on it. It basically need brakes fuel system and carb work. The push button transmission won't go into reverse but it looks like that is fixed now with a change in fluid and cleaning up the wires for it.

Click to see original Image in a new window

The next day, the roll back truck brought the Custom Eight over.

I brought dad over and showed him the rest of his cars in my garage on Tuesday. Since the garage is full and the Alvis took the spot of the 400, he wanted to know where it went. I told him I sold it...he looked so pitiful and sad and said" I really wanted to keep that one". I finally relented and told him it was at the shop getting fixed. He perked right up then.

We have come to an agreement he get's 2 of the 3 400's he has running and he can pick one and keep it and the Custom Eight if he buys a 2 car enclosed carport to keep them in, which he has agreed to do.

As you can see the 400 is off to the shop. The Custom Eight is next and the Packard Twelve will go after that.

We spent the rest of the day oiling the door hinges and he tried picking the lock on the gas cap again. The most important thing we talked about was how nice the Twelve drives with the top down. Since we can't use the ratty old vinyl one on it anymore he wants to have a new canvas one made when it goes to the shop. Kind of looks like I may have the chance to experience the feeling of air whistling past my ears whilst driving in an open Packard Twelve.

Click to see original Image in a new window

Meanwhile, dad is fussing at the Packard engineering involved and in his in ability to pick the lock on his locking gas cap

Posted on: 2015/4/5 6:43
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