Hank,

I simply went to Lowe's and picked up a 5 foot length of 2"id black PVC drain pipe for $4. I used the black because it has a foam core and it's more easily cut and peeled when taking the bushing out of the pipe.
Then I cut a piece of pipe about 5/8" thick, like a little bracelet and taped off one of the ends. I put the original steel washer inside of the newly created mold after a little trip to the blast cabinet to remove 54 years of rust. The Original washer measured like 1.9 inches in diameter so the 2" pipe was just about perfect. Next all I had to do was pump some Rhino into the mold and wait for it to harden.
This created the bushing with the integrated washer, but it took some sanding with the belt sander to get the top perfectly flat.
I think that for the rest of them I'll cut the desired thickness I want from the solid tube I created and just leave the washer loose on the outside. Once its bolted into place, it's not really going to matter.

I've never used Herculiner, but I have seen it after it's been applied. I know that it's more of a paint like product and when applied to a truck box it's pretty thin and hard like a paint. I just don't know how well it would set up when poured into a mold. I would be affraid of it cracking and braking. You'd just have to buy some and give it a try.

As far as making them for you, I could do another 12 inch tube and you could cut you own, you could get quite a few 1/2" bushings out of it. I would think enough for the whole car, and maybe a few left over. That would be the cheapest way to do it. Or, if you really wanted to have the washers molded into them, they'd all have to be made individually which would mean higher cost.

Shoot me you're address and I can mail you a sample of one so you get an idea of what they're like.

I agree John, the 22nd/23rd series car puts a bit of pizzaz in a body shell pretty much devoid of same, whereas the 52/53 version is stubby, awkward, and just plain "frumpy".

John, if I may suggest, earlier in this thread you seemed to be quoting from a reference book and then perhaps added some further comments of your own. It's not possible to tell where you stopped quoting and started with your own words. It is proper and would really be helpful, and this goes for all of us, if when we quote from a reference source, we either use quotation marks or put it in italics so readers can separate our own thoughts from the material taken from a reference source. Just a suggestion to bring some better clarity to what's posted.

A few further comments on the 52/53 Monte Carlos; the cars apparently had some real structural deficiencies, lacking rigidity of body in the front. An article about Arbib relates an exchange between Packard and Henney that concludes that if Packard were to consider making 100 of them, radical re-engineering including using portions of the convertible structure would be necessary. Perhaps that's what helped kill off the idea.

1 of 2 things.


1. can you give me detailed instructions on how you made the body mounts, so i can do it myself. and would herculiner do well enough?? as it is alittle more available to me off the shelf.

2. how much would you charge to make me a complete set for my car??

thanks dude,

Hank

Still plugging away on the floors. The shop had a little surge of business, so the Clipper took a back seat for a while. I figured I'd post what little I've managed to get done.

I found that I needed to recreate the floor where the body mount bolts to the frame. In the sheet metal there is a depression where the bolt goes through and the floor is recessed to meet the floor brace. I ended up making a little fixture to clamp down the sheet metal so I could use the torch to heat it up and hammer out a replacement. It took a couple attempts, but I'm happy with the results.

I've got the rest of the passenger side inner and outer rocker panel removed, and I had a friend use his large sheet metal brake to make me some new inner rocker replacements. I'll have to take a pic of those once I've got them in place.

In dealing with the rusty floors and braces I realized that new body mounts will have to be installed. I found some in the Steele Rubber catalog, but the price seemed a little high for some rubber donuts. I know that many people use the polyurethane mounts and bushings because they are less likely to deform over time so I decided to make my own.

Some of you may know that my shop spray's the Rhino Lining truck bed coating with is a two part polyurethane material. I took the old rubber bushings, removed the metal washer and placed it in the bottom of a 2 inch PVC pipe cut to the desired thickness and poured in the Rhino. After it hardened (about 30 seconds) I cut the PVC and pealed it right off. What I got was a perfect new bushing with an integrated washer ready for install. I also poured the Rhino into another PVC about 10 inches tall creating a solid 2 inch diameter billet that can be placed in the chop saw or band saw and cut to any desired thickness and then center drilled to accept the bolt and washer. Way more fun than just placing an order.

More to come.

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September 10, 1952 two Mayfairs are sent to Henney for conversion into the Monte Carlo showcars.

October 22, 1952 The two Monte Carlo show cars are shipped to the Packard factory from Henny.

Owen: Thanks for posting pictures of the two version of the Monte Carlo. After seeing pictures of both I prefer the looks of bathtub Monte Carlo.

John F. Shireman

"Murder in the Heartland", with 55 Pat standing in for 56 Pat. This was shown at the May 2006 PV8C meet. It is a Lifetime specific movie and is shown on occasion on that channel.

Craig

Owen -

That image fits better with what I was thinking for the other Monte Carlo, but my fuzzy recollection is of a front 3/4 view and monochromatic paint, with vinyl covering on the rear roof - perhaps only a rendering, though.

Starting off with a hardtop body was needed to get the removable roof, but that makes no sense for the rear seat occupants.

I would have expected, rather, the front half of a hardtop married to the rear of club sedan (that is, up to the front hinge pillars), with the front sedan doors reworked to serve as rear doors - along the lines of the 5450/5451 models - and the rear closed off from the front - like a limo.

Thanks Randy. Packard purchased from Motor Wheel Corp. for many years, up thru 1956. The 17" wire wheels on my 34 Eight are also marked "Motor Wheel Corp" and i think I've also seen their name on a set of wooden artillery wheels from a 1932 Super Eight. At some point Kelsey-Hayes bought Motor Wheel, I forget the year but think it was about the time Packard expired.

I can't answer why there is no patent plate. One reason may be that some demented people like to remove them and put them up on eBay. But if there is no patent plate where did you get the # 1472-2801, the selling dealer and delivery date from? The patent plate should look something like the attached - if all the silkscreen paint were worn or polished off, you'd still see the stamped information. The vehicle # was stamped at the factory, the other information was to have been stamped by the dealer at the time of sale.

If by the numbers on the firewall you mean the large embossed number enclosed by a triangle at each end, it is a "thief-proof" or body serial number and isn't traceable to anything. It was simply there as an additional identifying number in case of theft. For a 1941 car it should begin with a 5 or 6, double check again on the first digit you give as an "8", this would place the car as well into the postwar era.

The motor numbers for each year and series are on this website so you should be able to verify if at least the motor is correct for the year and model. Your car should be a chassis type 1903 and the correct motor number would be between C-500001 and C-504550.

The 127 inch wheelbase would have been used for the 5 passenger sedan, among others. If in doubt, just check it with a tape measure.

To my knowledge there were no "military built" cars, just normal production cars commandered for military use.

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Why is there no Patent plate on the car?

What are the numbers on the fire wall for?

Is there any way to verify that the engine is original to the car?

The car cannot be 127 in wheel base because that would make it a 2 door coupe and it is a four door. It is not a limo style car, there is no divider window or fold out middle seats. I honestly believe the car to have a 138 in wheelbase. The car does have two ash trays under a roll up door in each arm rest with lighters in each, in the back seat.
I looked at the Packard model info and there is no 1472 model located on the list. Can this maybe be a mid year addition or would it possible denote a military modeled car?