Re: Restoring 1946 Deluxe Clipper

Posted by su8overdrive On 2012/5/21 15:47:31

Ahoy, '46 DeLuxe. You've a wonderful car, and nice colors.
Immediately phone Armand Annereau at Armand's Auto Upholstery, 1 (925) 934-4373 and tell him a certain black '47 Super Clipper in Walnut Creek referred you. (He also did my '40 120 years ago.) My Super Clipper came with the identical fabrics as your DeLuxe.
The coarse rear carpet you describe below is actually hogshair. I upgraded my car front and rear to a gray shortpile carpet used in recent Mercedes simply as i like gray. I was heartened to see a fellow who brought his '41 180 LeBaron Sport Brougham to Armand selected the same from the hundreds of possibilities.
But that's not why you called. Armand's is the third-generation owner of a family carriage and automobile upholstery shop in business since 1897. Armand has the big upholstery sample books Packard issued only to their larger, urban dealers. If a fabric is still available from any mill on this mortal coil, Armand either has it or can source it.

For decades, Armand's been the last word when Packards are judged at respected Bay Area/NorCal shows, for those who still like that sort of thing. He's also done much work for the world renowned area Behring Museum and Blackhawk Collection. And he's owned and owns 1938, '40, '48 and '50s Packards, is himself a hobbyist and his prices in line with lesser shops.

BTW, get a hold of Tom McCahill's Mechanix Illustrated road test of your car. He loved it.
The junior 8 Clippers like yours are every bit as good as the seniors, just smaller. The equal or better than a R-R Silver Dawn or Bentley R-Type on the same 120-inch wb in my book.
The English cars are arguably finer furniture than our cars, if, and only if, wood veneer and leather are important to you. Wood can splinter in an accident and gore you, and i'm a pescetarian, a vegetarian who eats fish, so i can do without the slaughtered animal skin.

But our cars are finer automobiles.