We snap the first of three tow cables trying to drag those old girl out of storage. The front wheels remained stubbornly frozen. We may have punctured the radiator at some point. As fluid gushed out I was feeling cold and despondent... "What have I got myself and the institute into?

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and finally she sees the light of day... for the first time since the 1980s!

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cortcomp that sounds terrific. I'm on my way down into Amish country right now to trailer her up. Regrettably, she'll temporarily be outside now at www.thepackardinstitute.com (covered) until such time as we secure garage space to work in - but anytime you can swing over it'd be great to lean on your experience.

Salient advice all.... and I'll get that fire extinguisher. I was down in Orlando looking at another '49 last month. The seller must have added a bit too much primer, as flames leapt six feet in the air when he cranked it over and the air filter caught fire. Pretty impressive. Anyways - we flatbed her up on Friday. I will youtube all major operations for the blog.

I just hope we're not blown six feet in the air.

Say cortcomp, if you find yourself in the Akron area, it'd be great to have a Packard person help me and the kids sketch out a preliminary plan of action. 330.762.4357

Thanks cortcomp. Any recommendations on where I can find a 6V battery? We'll see if that old girl turns over after 25 or so years.

Thanks for the kind offer cortcomp, I'll definately keep you in the loop. It's a three on the tree alright. The 288 I believe. I'm having her flatbedded up from Amish country (Millersburg) on Friday. We don't have a garage at the institute on W. Market in Akron, so we'll store it in a garage nearby until we can find a garage bay that we can work in. I can see this becoming a rolling restoration, so the engine and brakes would likely be the first order of business. Where do you start with a car that was parked when all the chicks had big hair?

John we'd certainly appreciate any guidance, consulting... even working with the kids. While they will surely benefit from skills learned - it's really about the healing in the relationships.

While in FL over the holiday I spotted a beautiful cormorant while out on an airboat. I took this as a good omen - and purchased the Packard upon my return to Ohio. Well, we've just made our first parts purchase for the 1949 project. I got this for 103.50 at an ebay auction.

Thanks for the vote of confidence John. Reading some of the fine project blogs here, I am intimidated by the vast and wide-ranging scope of engineering know-how.

Oh well, I am trying to teach our young charges to overcome fear... so let it begin with me.

Greetings fellow Packard automobile enthusiasts. My name is Raynard Dean Packard and I own a small non-profit counseling agency for kids in Akron, Ohio www.thepackardinstitute.com

Our kids typically have known a bit a trouble in their lives, and are at a time where they really benefit from adult guidance. To that end we have conceived the 1949 project. We will mentor our young people along in the restoration of a Packard.

We have just purchased this 23rd series standard eight down in Amish country:

She's been sitting in a barn since the eighties. I was told she was in fine mechanical condition until that point. There is very little rust that I can see, and that car appears remarkably intact and complete. I am trained as a therapist, and have embarrassingly few engineering skills - so I hope to prevail on the good will and expertise of visitors here as we guide our young people along on the restoration.

Thank you for your interest and please check back often as I photodocument and blog our progress,

Regards,

Raynard Packard www.thepackardinstitute.com

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