Packard Motor Car Information

Re: 1924 Sport 136

Posted by Karl On 2023/12/8 15:03:53

After the first, decent impression the 1924 Sport made in the pictures from a distance, let's now take a closer look at what I actually bought.
Let's start with the top frame and the front window frame.
Any attempt at describing the top material makes no sense. This rag is trash.
The top frame obviously does not belong to this vehicle. The metal frame was completely worn out in all joints and could no longer be tensioned. The Wood Bows are in the wrong position when the top is folded behind the back seat. A restoration is without any sense.
The wooden bows are all broken several times and some goofy is screwing them together with metal strips and glue. This frame and the wooden bows are also completely unusable and have to be rebuilt.

The front window frame only looked good from a distance. The detailed photos give an idea of what it looks like under the remaining chrome. A repair is not possible because the multi-folded profile sheets from which the frame is made have certainly already rotted to such an extent in the areas that have not yet rusted through that a repair is pointless. But I have already seen parts like this where owners have putty and painted them black in order to be able to sell the car at a profit.
Soft top frame, hood and front window frames also have to be rebuilt
The soft top is only tailored after all other work on the top frame has been completed and the rear fender was uninstalled.
The material for the soft top has been in stock for 3 years. Thank heavens, because the price of the fabric has in the meantime increased by 40%.
I recreated the top frame based on the successor model, but with a slightly stronger flat steel profile.
I also deliberately deviated from the 1924 original because a search for an original top linkage would be pretty hopeless. And if one had ever been found, the price, shipping, customs and taxes would simply be too expensive.
I got the wooden bows from a professional “wheelwrighter”…(???)…(A company that produces woodwork parts on classic cars in Germany)... made from ash wood. When I visited him to commission the wooden bows …” Surprise”…. he was working on artillery wheels for a 1927 Packard. Completely new construction of all spokes and hubs in ash wood.
I had a T-steel profile worked into the wooden bows that I had made beforehand to prevent the bows from bending, which is often seen at the car shows and internet. The wooden bows are milled so that the steel profile fits completely into the ash wood. The steel reinforcements are not visible after being covered with the soft top fabric. And... no, the wooden bows are not steam bent. There is no company here that still uses this technic. In the USA I would have gone to the well-known Amish addresses in PA. The Bows are cut from solid ash wood without tension and are blocked twice. The connection points are not visible after being covered with the hood fabric.

At this point I would like to say something about originality when restoring classic vehicles. Because some things about my 1924 Sport will not completely correspond to the original. Basically, I have always aimed to restore the vehicles that I have restored to their actual original condition as much as possible and to preserve the original condition at all costs, down to the smallest detail if possible. There is now no real limit to originality when replicating missing parts. Everything can be recreated down to the last detail if the owner has the necessary money. I have personally experienced this with vehicles whose restoration costs have exceeded their eventual market value many times over. But I have neither the money nor the time to have this special work carried out by companies that have this special technology and the necessary machines. Assuming you can even find companies here in Germany that accept such work only for one or two pieces. (There is a completely different and much larger market for this in the USA). I consider deviations from originality to be permissible if financial resources, time or spare parts are not available and the changes do not change the essential character of the vehicle or if the changes are close to the time the vehicle was built and/or, for example, to the following models of this type can be counted.

In order to bend the arch into the finished frame profile with which it rests on the body, I built a profile roller bending device that I could mount in front of my motorized beading machine. So, I was able to bend the arch into the stiff profile in many small steps. It was also important to insert a very precisely fitting flat steel profile as a placeholder into the area that has to accommodate the rubber profile base, otherwise this cavity would be flattened under the pressure when the sheet was rolled. Well-greased, this rod could then be pushed out again later with light blows.
I then had the finished window frame parts finely ground and polished by my Electroplater comp. and double-coppered in order to grind out the last imperfections myself. The frame was then nickel-plated.

By the way...the chrome parts on this 136 were pretty well chrome plated. I
let the chrome completely removed and all parts newly nickel-plated.

Karl

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