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Quote:Tom,

Not only a beautiful day but Bessie is beautiful too!

You've done an outstanding job. Old Bessie should be called New Bessie! Congratulations.

Thanks guys. It has been a long road, journey, blood (literally), tears (really literally) and sweet but she is getting there.

As you can see I still need to tackle the front fenders and also need to find an upholstery shop to do the interior for me. That is one area I will leave to a pro.

But as of now I am enjoying taking her out once again for a drive.

Had some wiggle in the steering wheel when I took it out for the spin. I moved the tires from the front to the back and the wiggle is gone.

Do all think I need to have the tires balanced? If so would a truck shop should be able to balance the tires/rims?

Tom,
Your 833 looks great. I would definitely have the wheels balanced. I had the disc wheels on my 633 balanced on the car at a regular tire centre. They used adhesive lead strips on the inside of the rims.

Tom -

IIRC, way back in 1999, at another forum past, you asked about proper placement of jack stands for winter storage of your father's old Packard. After I gave you some advice, you contacted me via e-mail with more of the story. I could tell that you were champing at the bit to get the old girl back on the road, but I encouraged you to move forward carefully and keep posting publicly. Not only would you attract input from others with more experience than I with this era of automobile, but the details of your journey could be of help to future owners.

What started out as a refreshing turned into something closer to a full restoration. Though many of those early posts have been lost, there's no denying your tremendous accomplishment as a DIYer. I'm sure that at least one of those tears was from the joy of getting behind the wheel and taking her out for a spin this weekend. I've no doubt that your father would be proud.

Happy motoring!

P.S. - Before you try balancing tires, have those wheels that you moved to the rear checked for lateral runout. Some runout is inevitable, even acceptable, but I don't have any specs for that type of wheel. Get them to someone who knows old wood-spoked wheels.

Here are some pictures of Old Bessie 1931 Packard April 2015

She is all painted now; interior completed but as you know there is always something to do to these old gals .

Have a great day

Stunningly beautiful in those photos, Tom!! congratulations

I love the color, the artillery wheels and I particularly like the black radiator shutters set in the chrome radiator surround. I think it looks much better than those chromed radiator screens or chromed shutters. Its just right!!
Beautiful car.

Thanks Gents.

Next big expense is getting the bumpers chromed.

She also needs the pin stripping done. What color do you all think for the pin stripping?

Good question and hard for me to visualize what would be best - it might help to know what areas will be striped and in what pattern. Factory pinstripe colors were Ivory (off-white) for black cars and Gold for maroon.