49 Deluxe, I was thinking of the foam board for the doors but after looking at it again, maybe too thick as it's about like the masonite--but it will compress and would be much easier to work--although not formable using water, maybe heat?.

There are some cardboards that I think would work for the kickpanel. One is watercolor board which is almost 1/8 thick, but biggest size I found locally is 16x20 so not big enough for shelf. There is another thick cardboard used for dry mounting pictures without a frame--also about 1/8 thick but available in larger sizes. The ordinary mat is too thin but probably could glue 2 together and would be about right.

Obviously the correct cardboard from upholstery shop would be best, but locally the suppliers are wholesale only so need a regular shop to order anything.

At this point no, the oiling system is about the only thing not leaking on this car so I don't plan on touching it untill I have to. My odometer reads 86xxx miles or so so it's good to know I still possibly have a while of service left in it.

the plastic sheeting isn't 3 mm - that's about 1/8"!

One of the things I like about these Packards is the massive body. Man, they make a '57 Chevy look like a mid-sized car.

When it comes to paint schemes, I generally liked the two- and three- tones schemes that the factory offered, but I cam to appreciate monochromatic paint schemes.

My first Patrician (purch'd 1987) was originally painted white over black two-tone, but someone before me had repainted it in a monochromatic dark blue metallic - like the one featured in a color plate in the Kimes book. Coming home, just across the PA border, I began losing high range in the Ultramatic, and I crept the car along the shoulder, in low range, to the next exit. I pulled off part-way down the off ramp and walked down to the gas station to get a couple quarts of ATF. On my way back, I looked up at the car, against the bright blue sky, and she looked magnificent. Normally, I like to restore a car back to the way it left the factory, but I'm really tempted to paint this one all-black.

Personally, I think the Patricians - both '55 and '56 - look better in a dark monochromatic paint scheme. Foro one thing, it make the sedan pillars and rails around the side glass less noticeable. The '55 Four Hundreds, where the ribbed stainless ends at the courtesy lights, really neds a two-tone, but I'm split on the '56 Four Hundred. Two-tones are an interesting alternative on the '55-'56 Caribbeans. A monochromatic paint job seems like a real waste with all that special side trim, but I was disappointed to find a '56 convertible at Fall Hershey one year that had been produced in all-white, but repainted white/heather/gray.

I repaired computer equipment from main frame Honeywell to PC's and mac equipment much of my life. For the home market I have always been a PC fan. The main complaint I have regarding Mac computers is the cost of the upgrades. For instance 10 years ago a hard drive for a PC was around $100.00. For Mac the same hard drive manufactured by the same company was around $350. Same drive, three times the price. There would be some dumb little change in the hardware instituted by Mac that would make the drive unique and preclude anyone from using the $100 version. I understand that Mac is more friendly today than they were. I always felt that if Mac didn't change it's ways it would go the way of the Sony Betamax. It almost did hence the change in policy regarding compatability of peripherals. The Mac/PC discussion goes on and on. I'll stick with the PC.

Does anyone remember the Z80 and CP/M and CP/M-86 operating systems? CP/M was superior to DOS at the time. IBM had the chance to use CP/M in their new PC's with 8088 processor but shined them on on favor of Microsoft. Big mistake in my opinion. Anyone heard of the CP/M based Cromemco computer?

gerardo, I took that photograph at the 32nd Texas Packard Meet in Salado, Texas last March. I looked to see if I have any more photos of the car, but this is the only one. It is an especially attractive car, and it immediately caught my eye when it came to the meet. I'll take more photos of it if it returns to the Meet this year. I also think the single color paint schemes work especially well on the Senior '55 and '56 Packards as compared to the multi-color schemes that were so popular.

Upholstery supply stores sell the type of backer board you are looking for, but also they sell a plastic board product that is used the same way. It takes the staples and adhesive well, and wont degrade or mold from moisture.

Feltz Terrill was at the Salado Meet last year, and my attend again this year.

You've used the foam mat material that way? When I looked at it (with this purpose in mind) it seemed too stiff and brittle to use. I never found any suitable cardboard.

I never thought about moistening the foam board. I just assumed it was too water resistant to be affected.

And yes - it is the high cost of shipping that board that deters me from ordering the "right stuff" from a distant supplier.

O-D & Jay beat me to it with the negative comment. I used the thinnest masonite available on a 56 which was labeled 1/8 and it is just what he said. Too thick and stiff besides being hard to work with when cutting the multitude of rectangular holes for the edge clips.

Restoration Specialties does have the correct material, labeled as water resistant, but the shipping cost is not pretty because of the oversize. If you're doing it yourself but have a local upholstery shop you are friendly with, they might be willing to order in the correct cardboard like stuff from their wholesale dist with a regular order and resell to you. I've done that on lots of assorted supplies they have access to.

EDIT: Restoration also has what they call painted cowlboard which might work for the question re kickpanel and curved places. The same shipping problem though. Weren't the originals cardboard? As an alternative to both applications, what about some thick cardboard or even the foam mat material from the artist supply? They come in large sheets, colors, and could be fit and probably made to conform by moistening the back, set in place and weighted down with sandbags or similar until dry. I use that stuff for templates when needing a floor layout on equipment and it's durable & works very well.