[quote]
The 2672 denotes a 1953 Cavalier and the 4967 denotes that it is the 2967th Cavalier built (numbering started at 2001). quote]
Did they always start with 2001? My '51 has a body number of 2492 3195. Would that mean it was only the 1,195th model 200 built at that point?

This might be a stupid suggestion, but did you check the antifreeze/water ratio? I had a car that overheated because someone put in too much antifreeze compared to the water. I don't know if this would be true on a straight eight though. The car that was overheating was a 4 cyl.

I agree with Bob1951. Since it is already a parts car, most of the expensive stuff is gone. The only use would be to make it into a hot rod or use the remaining sheet metal on a different project. I suppose you could make one decent car out of two parts cars, if you bought them right and checked carefully for what was missing on each car.

My feeling is that it is easier/cheaper to find as complete a car as possible with little body damage. Mechanicals would generally be the easiest to get fixed. The interior will be what you want to make it. A complete interior in good condition will save a lot of money. If you buy a car missing the interior or it is very damaged and you want to keep it original, it gets expensive. If you are willing to sacrifice originality, there are cheaper alternative fabrics/materials available.

I don't know how, but I came across this website a while ago. I don't know if anyone else has mentioned it before. It is a list of cars in movies.imcdb.org/vehicles_make-Packard.html

I have been reading your blog and I think your paint job is coming out fantastic. I have been considering painting my car myself also. In the pictures you post, I noticed that it seems like you work in a narrow area. How much space did you have to paint your cars body? Was there a lot of overspray? Also, you put rust converter on your engine. Have you had any problems with that and the heat from the motor?

I think I would go with the original since it is in such good condition. If the front seat is bad, perhaps you will be able to locate a fabric that matches. It's only original once.

Try thishy-waysales.com then click vehicle inventory. That should work. You were right that the '55 was a Patrician. They list it as a 400 in their inventory, but the picture of the rear shows it as a Patrician.

I was able to go there on a Sunday a week or two before the auction. I was able to look at a lot of the cars, but most of the Packards were not there yet.

I'm glad you were there in person to see the cars. I don't feel so bad not being able to bid. I would have gone for one of the lower priced 4 doors though. The guy who seemed to by most of the lower end cars was an online bidder named rodthebod. I think he bought one of the limos too. I'm surprised that the cars didn't appear to be in that great of a condition. I wouldn't expect them to be mint, but if they really just sat around after being traded in for new Chryslers, I would expect that they would be pretty nice considering. The pictures and video certainly made them look like they were in nice condition. Here is a link to the dealers website that had their inventory sold offhy-waysales.com/inventory.html. That 1955 Packard 400 sat on the lot for a long time. When the asking price is $18,500, I can see why. I think the tops of the fenders had surface rust on them also. $3,995.00 for the 1951 was really steep. That one was pretty rough.

My transmission problems didn't stop there. I wasn't too upset about the smoke because my plan was to have it rebuilt. About a year after owning her, I saved enough money to get it fixed. I found a company in Hemmings Motor News that would send you a rebuilt unit when you send in your core and $1800. I took the car to a local transmission shop. He removed the old one and shipped it. I never got a good feeling from this guy. My dad picked him out of the phone book and he didn't seem to know what he was doing. After about 3 weeks the new trans arrived and it took him another 2 weeks to install it. He called and said he was all done, but it wasn't working right. Great! I had to call the trans company and they figured it was the valve body and sent a new one free of charge. I really didn't trust this guy so I took the car back. On the way home, I noticed that the car was shifting fine and it just needed a tune up. At least I got an extra valve body for free! A week later, the guy's shop mysteriously burned down.
The car was working great for a couple of months and then it wouldn't go into low gear anymore. I dropped the pan and took out the valve body and found a metal plate that goes from the band to a hydraulic cylinder. That fixed it for a couple of weeks until the car stopped going in low gear again. By that time I was fed up having spent so much money and still had a car that didn't work. That was about the time I stopped working on the car.

Wow...I have to wonder why they chose green. The quality of the covers are excellent. I didn't even think that the fabric underneath could be the original seat. I thought it was just some filler fabric. The fit looks so much like it should come from the factory like that, especially the back seat. I'm going to have to figure out what I should do with the interior once my restoration gets to that point. I have to admit that the covers look way better style wise than the striped cloth.