Re: KPack's 1954 Panama

Posted by kevinpackard On 2020/10/20 15:23:19

Alright, so that I have the interior sealed and protected I'm getting ready to move onto next steps. Here's my plan of attack:

1.) Drip rail repair - I need to finish removing the old seam sealer inside the drip rail. A few sections have surface rust under the seam sealer that I removed. I want to get it all out, then clean everything really well, then 2K epoxy seam sealer to protect it all.

2.) Headliner - I assume this will be much easier to install with the windshield still out of the way. I'm not totally sure how it attaches to the front and back. The back was already removed when I got the car. The front was so rotten that I couldn't tell how it was secured. Was it glued both front and rear? I can see what appear to be staple holes in the front of the windshield header, so maybe it was also stapled? I know for sure the sides were glued.

The headliner is the first piece of the puzzle to putting the car back together. Can't do the stainless and weatherstrip around the windows until it's in.

3.) Strip and repaint roof - The paint on the roof was mediocre at best. Tons of it flaked off the drip rail when repairing the windshield header. There was surface rust peeking out under some of the seam sealer. Closer inspection revealed a handful of areas that are bubbled. Looks like poor prep (not that I'm an expert). So before I get the windshield on I probably ought to just strip the roof and repaint it....probably back to the original Packard Ivory.

4.) Windshield - after the headliner I'll order the windshield and gasket, and install.


During all the above I will also pull all the brake drums and replace everything. New fuel pump will go on. And I'll need to figure out why my fuel and temp gauges aren't working properly.

-Kevin