Well I was able to get back into the garage for a little bit tonight. Luckily since I filled the coolant system before I went to Atlanta, nothing has leaked. So hopefully everything is sealed nicely now. I will know once the system is pressurized.

I had to do a little air-line maintenance as I had the rubber line that feeds by ceiling hose reel split open on me. That Goodyear rubber line was only 18 months old, but looks like it split open from dry rot. I guess my garage gets really hot, with very little humidity. I guess thats why nothing ever rusts in there once its stripped. So I replaced the line, and I am back up and running.

Here is a picture of the bottom side of the trunk lid almost totally stripped. It was actually shiny, but turned blackish color after applying the Eastwood Rust-Convertor. I still need to do a little more clean up, and then it will go into primer tomorrow.

Some things I noticed about the trunk lid; The tar-paper insulation looks to have been applied to the bottom side of the skin before the skin was crimped to the support structure. This made is very hard to remove it all. I used a heat-gun and a putty knife to scrape it all out, don't use a torch or you may warp the skin, and the tarpaper is flammable. Also Packard primered, and painted over the tar-paper, and there was no primer or paint under the structure, or under the tar-paper. I am going to primer the hood bare metal hood, then install modern insulation (cheaper version of dynamat). I will but the pieces a little oversized so I can work them under the structure to maintain the same look. Then primer and paint over that. This will hopefully make it last another 55 years.

Some other things I noticed when I was using an air-gun to blow out the debris that was under the structure after breaking up all the insulation, I found various pieces of nut shells, cotton stuffing, and other misc trash. I think at some point rodents were living within the shell structure. Crazy.

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People will do what they want. I just can't see cutting a hole in a perfectly good roof and wrecking a headliner. At the least, save the piece in case you change your mind.

Just order the bottom hose from Kanter for a 51-54 car with a manual transmission. It is the correct shape you are looking for.

If you do the diagram, also measure the depth. If memory serves, there is a difference.

That particular piece shown is standard on pre 51 but you'll have to have something made since the bottom radiator connection is straight out on yours instead of bent up for using the factory elbow. The factory piece thickness is .070--roughly 14ga.

I've got the pan off of my 52 ultramatic, I could trace the pan / gasket / flange / holes onto a large sheet of paper and mail it to you...

Easy to do, go visit a muffler shop and ask them if they have any scraps that might work. New pipe, that is, not some junk that they took off a Honda to replace with the "fart pipes".

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LMAO! There's so many places I could take that statement............

Here's a question, does anyone know if the later '55-'56 Ultramatic transmission pans will fit the earlier transmissions? It would be an easy way to add a dipstick, since it's in the pan.

When I bypass my tranny cooler and put a new model in front of the radiator, I like this idea of replacing the original with a pipe the same diameter as the id of the hose:

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