First, an honest assessment of the car and a realistic estimate of time, money and materials to bring it back....and you need to define what 'bring it back' means to you. Then, a realistic assessment of your capabilities to do the work. For some people, bringing it back is a full restoration. For some others, it is a mechanical / safety restoration and perhaps new glass an interior, with limited bodywork, to show the car as an original survivor. Costs for the first option are measured in wheelbarrows of money. Costs for the second are precipitously less. I was in a similar situation a couple years ago with a '40 110 sedan that I've had for 30 years--it needed (needs) virtually everything done to bring it back. I've done the brakes, some limited work on the fuel system, and I have a later engine that fell into my lap from a running '47 that will drop right in. The original engine needs $2500 of parts and machining. Overall, if I were to bring that car all the way back to a factory new condition, I'd probably spend 30K to do so. It's not worth it unless you don't care about ever getting your money...or even a portion of it...out of it when you sell. My '40 will be brought back as a survivor. I'll put the engine in, do some limited rust-related repair work, rebuild the front suspension, repair the electrical system, replace all the glass and install a new interior. Paint work will be very limited. And tires. That'll be enough to drive it, and if I decide to sell it, it will still be original and not a rod or custom. Instead of fixing the '40 though a few years back, I bought a restored '37 115C sedan, older restoration, but not running as it had been parked for the last 10 years inside a climate controlled storage facility. Probably restored in the 80's, it shows well and is a nice driver. I paid $12K for it, and there is no way that the work could be replicated for what I paid for it. With a battery, a carb rebuild and some other minor work, it was running and driving. Later I rebuilt the brakes, front end, and completed a valve job. Still have some work to do, but its easy stuff. Cars of this era are designed to be taken apart by average mechanics with generally limited tools. They're a joy to work on.

Packard friends, I have a 51 Packard 250 conv. Is there a way to increase the brightness of my 6v headlights? I do NOT want to convert to 12v. About 6 months ago I replaced the headlight beam with a 6v Halogen hi/low headlamp, but I only saw a very slight increase in brithness. My classic car mechanic thinks that if we replace the old wiring harness this should increase the brightness. I did some research on the forums and did not find enough information regarding my problem. I did see a list of companies to purchase a new harness from. But, if this is not the route to take to increase the headlight brightness, please someone give me some advise. Thankyou