Re: Stewart's 1955 Packard 400
Posted by HH56 On 2020/12/25 19:33:23
As a point of information, if that is a repro pad in your photo it is for a 56 factory AC car. Pads for cars without AC do not have the large square and rectangular holes on the left side and a few of the small round holes are also not needed. 55 has a different power brake pedal so it does not have the two slots on the left for the brake pedal support.
The pad is functional inasmuch as it provides heat and noise insulation as well as provide the finished look to an otherwise crap looking piece of sheetmetal. Pads were a jute and fiberglass insulation cemented to a formed cardboard with an embossed pattern on the face. Clippers only had the embossed appearance while Packard pads also had a piece of carpet matching the floor carpet attached to the lower half of the cardboard so the firewall would blend into the floor.
The main benefit of a repro pad is most if not all the holes for wiring, screws and their various shape and size mounting pads as well as the air ducts will be neatly die cut or at least located. The located spots will generally only need a slight pressure or Exacto knife to open up. If you make the entire thing yourself it can take a lot of measuring and trial and error to locate the various spots on the cardboard and cut the larger holes in the almost 1" thick pad underneath the cardboard the right size to clear the sheetmetal mounting pads welded to the firewall. Depending on what was used, cutting the cardboard or other support material so it has clean holes can also be a task.
I guess the answer to the question would be there is no real difference in function whether you buy or make it yourself. It is a matter of how much time or work you want to devote to the project and how much you want it to appear as original at the finish. I decided to make mine and it was a project not having the same materials Packard used to duplicate the thickness properly. A couple of items going thru the firewall do need a certain thickness so that is important but if the item in the photo is the only repro offered then IMO, you would be better off making your own.
Here is the official 56 description of the purpose. 55 was essentially the same.
Attach file:
(218.65 KB)
The pad is functional inasmuch as it provides heat and noise insulation as well as provide the finished look to an otherwise crap looking piece of sheetmetal. Pads were a jute and fiberglass insulation cemented to a formed cardboard with an embossed pattern on the face. Clippers only had the embossed appearance while Packard pads also had a piece of carpet matching the floor carpet attached to the lower half of the cardboard so the firewall would blend into the floor.
The main benefit of a repro pad is most if not all the holes for wiring, screws and their various shape and size mounting pads as well as the air ducts will be neatly die cut or at least located. The located spots will generally only need a slight pressure or Exacto knife to open up. If you make the entire thing yourself it can take a lot of measuring and trial and error to locate the various spots on the cardboard and cut the larger holes in the almost 1" thick pad underneath the cardboard the right size to clear the sheetmetal mounting pads welded to the firewall. Depending on what was used, cutting the cardboard or other support material so it has clean holes can also be a task.
I guess the answer to the question would be there is no real difference in function whether you buy or make it yourself. It is a matter of how much time or work you want to devote to the project and how much you want it to appear as original at the finish. I decided to make mine and it was a project not having the same materials Packard used to duplicate the thickness properly. A couple of items going thru the firewall do need a certain thickness so that is important but if the item in the photo is the only repro offered then IMO, you would be better off making your own.
Here is the official 56 description of the purpose. 55 was essentially the same.
Attach file:
(218.65 KB)
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