My well loved thousand dollar wonder, a 54 Clipper Super, has been largely supplanted for sloppy weather driving by a thousand dollar 50 Champion which is easier to whip into small parking spots and leaves me some pocket money for coffee after I visit the gas pumps.

That is OK as I have imagined a fun future for the '54 and have started to take small steps in that direction. The Treveux race car replica brought me waaaaaay up the learning curve of sectioning and shortening cars and before that knowledge disappears down the rabbit hole of my middle aged mind I want to do it again, this time making an open car.

Thus, the rendering: a 4 door sedan sectioned 4 1/4", wheelbase shortened 9", and the rear overhang reduced an additional 4". A rear mounted spare a la '56 Thunderbird, but tucked in as tight as possible, as you will see. In a fit of whimsy I have decided to call it The After Eight, in honor of it being the last of the straight eights. In addition I am planning to paint it mint green and chocolate, if you follow me. If you don't like that connection, just refer to it as the Packard A8......

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I'm glued to this blog. can't wait for updates!!

your rendering reminds me so much of the drawings my Grandfather did. he had tons of his own custom Packards in mind, based off of factory Packards. He was an architect.

A packard A8, decades before Audi came up with it. I'm like Henry I can't wait to see what comes out of your shop, it's always spectacular!

Ross, looking forward to following the project. As I often say a busy mind is the devil's workshop. You are having too much fun.

By the way, I saw a person who I thought was you at the Keels and Wheels in Houston last weekend. When I asked him if he was "Ross" he said no, but could be for the right amount of money. Something I could imagine you saying.

Also, there was a mid-50s Dodge there that had been converted to a pickup. Really a wild looking vehicle and well done. I'll get some photos posted of it and the Packards that were there.

(o{}o)

Wow that is going to look fantastic!!

Ross, here are some photos of the Dodge pickup that was at the Keels & Wheels last weekend. Excellent worksmanship.

(o{}o)

The sign, which is only partly shown, says the name of the vehicle is the "Corneto".

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There are too many other projects swirling about the shop to devote a lot of time to this one, but I have been hacking away at some small steps that can be accomplished before the the car is out of commission for the major cuts.

First up is a minor rework of the instrument cluster to match the car's new station in life. Gone is the flat silver painted painted bezel and the black wrinkle finish background. The latter is is now a faux leather grain that will repeat throughout the interior.

Next up is the sectioning of a spare door that was handy. Even with practice removing the 4 1/4" is about a 4 hour project as there is internal structure to be dealt with.

The section lines were determined by some careful measurements on the car. Because of the roll of the body sides I chose two lines 4 1/4" apart that lay in the same vertical plane. This maintains the roll with minimum disturbance. The lower line is 8" above the door bottom.

The sweep trim that will separate the two tone is from a 55 Super I parted out 20 years ago. Click photos to make them larger.

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Looks great Ross. I have a question about sectioning. Do you have to take out the 4 1/4 inch in the same location or vertical plane all around? Looking at the front fender, it would seem that they need to be sectioned above the wheel well, which would be located higher than what you took out of the door. Good luck with the project, and thanks for posting.
-Mike

Hi Mike: The cowl, doors,and b pillars are all cut at the same level. The backs of the front fenders are also, but then the cut goes up over the wheel arches. The rear quarters are merely dropped the 4 1/4" and the bottoms cut off and rolled under similar to original. This same move neatly brings nice fresh metal down to the rear wheel openings where it is greatly needed because of the usual rust problems.

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Hi Ross

Great project, should be a ball to drive when its done. I'll be interested to see how you handle sectioning around front of the fender and hood areas. Do you shiplap the edges before welding or just abut the edges together?

Steve