Re: Eric's 1925 Packard Barchetta Speedster Project

Posted by Eric Boyle On 2008/8/3 23:40:48

As you can see from the last 3 pics, the steering box is right where the driver's side engine mount goes, so I'm stuck searching for the pre '51 front mounts. The cowl gets moved forward, leaving a 2" space between it and the engine. The balancer gets 2" of space, and is sitting where I THINK it will sit above the crossmember. The brake and clutch pedals were right where the bellhousing is, so they'll need to be moved back and completely modified. Everything seems to fit pretty well, with just some slight cutting and modifying here and there to get everything to fit. Also, the seats are where I am thinking they'll go, but as the temp hit 102 with a heat index of 108 at Noon today, I decided to stop and go inside for the rest of the day. With 60% humidity, it was a sticky last couple of hours out there! I hope to get more done next weekend, but I'm working both days, so I don't know how much I'll get to.

On a lighter note, I think that I'm going to leave the Maxwell cowl the width it is now, since it's the same width as the radiator shell and will make the hood sit on the inside of the chassis, effectively bypassing the original '37 Packard shocks. The cowl widens out enough to make the body fit on the outside of the chassis, just where I want it. Next weekend will involve mounting the cowl and the seats, to get an idea of the final driving position. After all of this, it's blow it all apart, clean everything up, and begin the rebuilding and body building process. But to do all that, I need to know where I'm sitting!