Thank you David and Tolandis, I will source the tools and cutting fluid today. Everything takes a little while to obtain down here in Tassie... I'll report back in a while.

John

Thanks Packard Don and David. You've given me plenty to think about. I really like the idea of the drilling jig. I've done some Googling and discovered there are some commercial ones available. They don't look very robust but I might get one and give it a try. Does anyone have an opinion on something like this?

http://biggatortools.blog/standard-v-drillguide-18-38/


Cheers from a saturated and stormy Tassie; any autumn leaves still on trees are flying off rapidly as we are getting hammered today.

John

No, I'm open to all suggestions. I guess I wasn't confident that I would be able to get them out; do you think I should try an Easy Out tool?

Thanks, John

G'day all,

Back on deck after an extended leave of absence. Motivated to move forward with the restoration of the coupe.

First priority is to get the water jacket ready for re-installation. I have 6 broken bolts on the water jacket; see picture attached. Wondering if anyone has experience with helicoil inserts for this application?

I had a long and very productive phone conversation with Peter Toet in Canberra who advised this course of action. Do I just jump into the engine bay with a hand drill? Or is a greater degree of precision advised?

What size helicoils are needed?

Do people think I should do something entirely different?

As always, thanks in advance for your advice.

Cheers from Tassie,

John

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G'day Mal,

You are welcome to fly down to Tassie and work on my old beast if you get the urge to tinker. :)

Good luck in your Packard-retirement; hope the motivation returns!

All the best from down under down under,

John

Beautiful! Thanks for posting those, Dave.

John

Belated thanks for the above advice.

I'm still here, haven't given up, just treading water in terms of the coupe restoration. I was sure I would get it out into the sunshine last Australian summer and flush the engine to progress forward, but it didn't happen. Maybe in the coming spring months.

Checking in today to say thanks for today's random photo on the side of the page; so close to my model!

The Super Eight obviously has the extra pieces of trim on the lights, etc., and the running board lights, and it is 5" longer, but otherwise looks so similar to how I hope my Eight to eventually be.

Thanks Kevin for the picture!

Cheers from Tassie,

John

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Good evening all, just checking back in for the first time after a month in beautiful Vietnam.

As Mal writes, I can confirm that the soft roof insert is sealed on mine. My understanding is that the closed roof shapes exceeded the combined capacities of the presses and steel of the era to reliably press the roof curves necessary. I believe that later advances in metallurgical science and engineering would overcome these limitations. I'm sure other readers know more about this.

The insert in my '35 is still watertight and in good condition. It appears to be a thickly coated fabric. I've just left mine intact for now.

The rear window does open. It winds down; the mechanism is actuated by a chromed window winder.

Cheers, John

PS: After a long wet spring, summer has finally arrived in Tasmania, and I hope to roll my coupe out of the shed in January for the first time in 24 years to pressure clean the cooling system and some other components. I'll post pics if it happens.

@BDC,

I knew the 1935 Twelves were longer than our Eights, so I incorrectly assumed they were still longer in 1939. Thanks for this useful snippet.

It's just been bumped above $40,000. It will be very interesting to see where it settles.

Cheers, J.

The body looks almost identical to all the senior 2/4 Coupes from 1935 to 1939. It certainly looks the same body as my (and BDCs) 1935 Eight version; and it would make sense for the steel panel press dies to be reused over those years. The major visual differences are the divided windscreen (a retrograde aesthetic step in my opinion) and the rear-opening doors. Maybe there are subtle differences to accommodate the longer wheelbase chassis? Or is the extra length all forward of the cowl? I'm sure experts will know.

It is clear that this body style was produced in relatively small numbers over all three engine sizes from 1935 to 1939.
The market demographic for these is an interesting question. In the case of my coupe, I have a vague understanding that it was bought new by two unmarried and childless brothers who made a substantial fortune in the emerging super-phosphate fertiliser industry in the 1920s and 1930s. They founded a fertiliser company that is still prominent in the industry to this day. On their passing they left the coupe to their housekeeper, my great aunt. I believe they also owned a Packard limousine and a Rolls Royce of some kind. Sorry none of this applies to the 39 Twelve in question, so I'll desist.

John