Re: 51Packard's....51 Packard

Posted by Larry51 On 2013/6/22 21:19:36

Regarding the rust - my '51 Club Sedan had plenty, and I suspect that most '51's suffered badly with water ingress. The Club Sedan had a problem of water entering through rear windows and it was severe enough for Packard to retro-fit a special cover internally that was sealed off to prevent water dripping down and making its way into the cabin. Service Manual mentions this . . . .

Water entering there could and I suspect did run forward and wet the floor in front of the car also.

I've adopted the attitude that water will get in somewhere unless some special treatment of areas (like window seals) is undertaken. Co-incidence that today I fitted a newly re-rubbered quarter window to my car and noticed there is a gap that might let water in. This is using new rubbers.

When you've finished the resto work, liberally apply rust-proofing to floor, internal of rockers (sills) and doors etc, plus as suggested by 55Packardguy, some silicone under rubber seals etc (out of sight) will probably be necessary!

In modern cars I've had I always used fish oil (deodorized) mixed 2:1 with new engine oil, and got that into internal places everywhere. The slight (emphasize slight) odour goes after a few days and no rust will happen there whatsoever.

I'll have a look at my outriggers soon and see if the very front ones had some welding as 'standard'.