Re: Larry's 1951 Club Sedan Project
Posted by Larry51 On 2014/7/21 17:21:42
Had a very productive day fitting the floor plate that slips over the brake pedal. I did a 'test fit' and just wasn't happy about the way the plate sat, with quite a few gaps between it and the floor area. There was about 1/4inch of space at the worst point and it seems there was no way to reduce that gap without bending the floor plate.
Thought maybe that I had a plate off another car but after thinking it through decided it was just the way the plate was, right from the Packard factory.
I used a few strips of 3M Strip-Caulk ("dum-dum") which is a great product. Laid it around the outer edge of the plate plus around the screw holes, and when the five securing screws were tightened down there was a nice bead of Strip-Caulk pressed out all around the panel and no gaps present.
The boots that fit on the brake pedal and over the accelerator rod have needed to be modified / siliconed or glued to the floor because they just plain do not fit properly, but should now be water-tight. (I have previously had a say about Steele Rubber parts that don't have the same shape and fit as the original ones, so won't go on about that again).
Other thing that has been renovated is the firewall panel. That was looking a bit sad but ok to use after a layer of fiberglass matt was placed right over it, and then glued a layer of DynaMat to the back of it for heat and sound insulation. Great to have the original piece to use, with the shape that fits the contour of the firewall properly. I glued the dark blue vinyl onto it and fitted it to the firewall using large washers with a layer of the same blue vinyl on them. Not exactly how it was new but a big improvement over the original ugly brown colour it used to be.
There was a large hole where the dipswitch had been relocated closer to the brake pedal. Covered that hole and mounted the switch back where it was originally, up on the transmission hump. It's not the ideal place but I want things to be how they were originally.
Showing foot plate and also the firewall panel. Rubber boot had to be glued to the floor around the throttle lever.
Thought maybe that I had a plate off another car but after thinking it through decided it was just the way the plate was, right from the Packard factory.
I used a few strips of 3M Strip-Caulk ("dum-dum") which is a great product. Laid it around the outer edge of the plate plus around the screw holes, and when the five securing screws were tightened down there was a nice bead of Strip-Caulk pressed out all around the panel and no gaps present.
The boots that fit on the brake pedal and over the accelerator rod have needed to be modified / siliconed or glued to the floor because they just plain do not fit properly, but should now be water-tight. (I have previously had a say about Steele Rubber parts that don't have the same shape and fit as the original ones, so won't go on about that again).
Other thing that has been renovated is the firewall panel. That was looking a bit sad but ok to use after a layer of fiberglass matt was placed right over it, and then glued a layer of DynaMat to the back of it for heat and sound insulation. Great to have the original piece to use, with the shape that fits the contour of the firewall properly. I glued the dark blue vinyl onto it and fitted it to the firewall using large washers with a layer of the same blue vinyl on them. Not exactly how it was new but a big improvement over the original ugly brown colour it used to be.
There was a large hole where the dipswitch had been relocated closer to the brake pedal. Covered that hole and mounted the switch back where it was originally, up on the transmission hump. It's not the ideal place but I want things to be how they were originally.
Showing foot plate and also the firewall panel. Rubber boot had to be glued to the floor around the throttle lever.
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