I look at these cars with tattered interiors and rusted wheel wells and bubbling paint with condition listed as " fair" and have to chuccle. If this is the case our cars can all move up a notch on the grading scale. If anyone is interested- the thief proof 222XXX number 55 Clipper is on ebay this week. All decals and embellishments removed except for the painted on pinstripe which is enamel on over the catalized urethane and i am told it can be removed without issues to the paint underneath .

Thank you sir for spending your time and effort in compiling the data. Excuse me if I bother you for the information again but it has been many months since our pm and I was unsure if any new additions had come to light. I have no access to your articles and I needed to get info here so as to convey accurate data for a possible upcoming auction.
I want to also say part of the charm of car guys talking old cars is kicking around the uniqueness of special options, features and cutting edge (for the time) advancements. Did any other auto manufacturer include id numbers etched or stamped into body steel as far back as 1929? I think it wasn't until the seventies or eighties that hidden vin and body panel numbers were used to combat theft.
Part of the fun at cruise ins and shows would be discussing with those who remember or educating some who are younger about an in house designed and built automatic with the first locking torque converter or the "new" auto leveling suspension. To be able to point to an embossed number under the hood and tell the story of Packards "thief proof" numbering system going back to 1929 and be able to state the fact that only a hand full of cars slipped through blank and six had an anomaly of having a two instead of a C or a D is one more topic of conversation. To be able to say " one of six" in 1955 or one of one 5562 is topic for conversation and is just stating the facts as they are known now. If someone has a copy of the articals can you pm to make arrangements to mail me a copy? Thanks

Reading through the thread here is very interesting but I still have a few questions on the 55-56 Packards and Clippers. Seeing the assembly line photo of the first body shells coming down the line with empty space between the triangles is this for certain the Detroit assembly line. If so it would seem the numbers were embossed after the firewall stamping procedure or is this a pic of South Bend ? It was stated earlier that South Bend cars had blank TP? How many cars were built there? Did they have the triangles and no digits or completely blank? Excluding the blank TP cars < > , all the 55-56 cars have TP starting with a C or D?

Pitman arm puller?

Wow. Thanks MrPushbutton for telling all what works for you. I must say I have never heard of epoxy primer inside the block. Cant argue with it though there are other products for that.
What is your topcoat of choice? I would say it depends on what you are painting the block with . I am like Troy in that if using a direct to metal enamel an epoxy primer is not necessary but many high end shops if painting the engine body color with 2K urethane will spray epovy. I will say it was mentioned to do this before machine work on the motor and I have to disagree with this. All 2K mixed products using a hardener have a recoat window max time for top coat without sanding and since you cannot sand cast iron rough surfaces you may have adhesion problems if machine work and assm takes over a week. Look at the data sheet. There indeed was one episode of peeling/ chipping of the color coat before the first firing most likely due to this. If you go the DP lf rout you may want to use it after machine work and partial assm. Should we have a thread on paint , primers, max recoat windows without sanding. Min recoat times vs ambient temps vs heated booths vs baked paints and required safety equipment etc.?

Kev, l am surprised you have not contacted these venders and explained your situation here on the web page. You would think they would be offering you some perks and hand selecting from stock to ensure quality so you would pass on your experience with their product to spread the word here.
I have Coker radials not pie crust or bias. Happy with the look and performance.

Chat inop from iphone?

You are lucky to have good weather this time of year for your event and enough people still involved in the hobby to make it worth while. Wish we could say the same. Have fun. How did you get away with it on VD weekend?

Hello 352 V8 fans. This started as query for the 55 Clipper marker lens chevron treatment but correspondence with others who have tried to restore plastic emblems finds a lack of success and little DIY info on these subjects.
From the info I have gathered it looks as though the vacuum vapor deposition method was used to create the silver and gold coatings on the inside of the plastic lenses. This method could be done after the lens was premasked on some surfaces and in fact done after( and over ) other coatings such as semi transparent red or blue. This did create a very brilliant, lustrous effect showing through the previously applied colors. In the case of the Clipper,an emblem could be masked on the back with a pre-punched "ship wheel spoke" design, sprayed black, then demasked and vapor deposit aluminum over top, resulting in a brilliant silver ship wheel on black as seen through the plastic from the front. In the case of the red emblems or the green steering wheel center cap, the Design is masked, painted with a semi-transparent red, ( or green, blue etc) then demasked and vapor deposited aluminum over the back giving a bright silver ship wheel showing on the areas that were masked clear plastic, and a luminous effect of the silver through the previously applied color. (This process is still being used by a company making pony car emblems and was described on an internet link- (some were 5 or6 step maskings). Recreating the luster on the plastic emblems has certainly been a challenge as many know trying to replicate the metallic effect with any type of silver paint is unsatisfactory. There is a you tube tutorial posted showing the red portion of a 70's Cougar emblem being restored. The textured(faceted) surface on the backside of the lens after cleaning off all old coating is sprayed with several coats of a semi transparent dark candy apple paint and then over coated with a spray of silver to try to achieve the original effect of the emblem. (Google or Search cougar emblem restoration in you tube). His method seems to be satisfactory though it is hard to tell in the pictures and he admits this is a trial and error ordeal adjusting the amount of red coats so as not to be too light or dark since the brilliance of the silver paint does not approach the vapor deposit. The texture or faceted surface on the back of some emblems adds to the effect but would seem to be very difficult to clean all the old coating off without etching or chemical hazing. The surface needs to be clean, clear, almost polished for acceptable restoration. ( Has anyone tried a sonic tank?)
As far as the original vapor deposition-the silver is said to be aluminum vaporized and the gold was a brass or bronze alloy and then coated with a gray paint for corrosion protection.
Speaking for most DIYers if not all, an acceptable finish without breaking the bank and DOES NOT require caustic chemicals, deadly fumes, or expensive materials that can be done at home is what we all search after. There may be an acceptable solution for the gold coating( and possibly the silver) on larger flat areas of some parts(ie the 55 fr marker lens chevron), as these areas are more easily cleaned of the old vapor deposit. There is one more effect going on on these plastic emblems and lenses I want to bring attention to which is hard to pick up on photos but I will try to do so. The plastic can be up to 1/8 inch thick and when they were originally produced a silver, gold, green ,or red coating on a polished EDGE of these parts causes a "fiber optic" effect transmitting this hue up the "skin" of the plastic. This needs to be reproduced also to achieve the original pleasing appearance that your eye picks up. Look at the pic of the steering wheel center cap medallion. The edge where a finger is pointing to a green band which is INSIDE the thickness of the plastic visible as a dark green tone only at this angle - diminishing lighter and lighter as the your reference angle changes more to vertical from the surface. This is not a tint in the plastic. It is from the edge treatment. These 55 lenses will only look right if coated on the inside of the plastic with an appropriate material and treated to an edge treatment with another material.
On the 55 gages "gold" center medallion and the 55 Clipper silver ships wheels and the silver and gold fr marker lenses I had asked if anyone had pioneered an acceptable coating to reproduce the metallic effect?(that is DIY). I have 2 other questions. Can anyone else confirm the 55 Clipper fr marker lens with chevron has silver coatings on the inside of the rim and EDGES of the plastic and gold on the inside of the chevron and the edges but not on the side walls(inner or outer) of the separation wall between the clear lens and the top of the chevron? My originals were quite worn. I would ask anyone to post pics of the inner face of a lens here(or mail me a spare lens for photo representation). I would like to confirm that the original design intended for (or did not) light to be allowed onto the chevron with parking lights on. Also if anyone could tell me if there is a left and right fr marker lens? I checked the parts book and the housings are the same part # rt and left so they are the same but my lenses are both "guide F8-55" and have RH on top and a small part number on the back on the edge of the lens which does not match the number in the parts book for the lenses. Was there a rt and left or only 1 lens produced for cost savings? Thanks.
I also want to thank the gentlemen from Signs n Things for the generosity , expertise and time!
55 st wheel orig center
55 marker lens




Having trouble resizing pix on phone

I am glad you posted this. Thanks. And the other topic with the clutch bearing I thought was a Abbot and Costello skit- Throw out your chest! Throw it out- I said throw out your chest!
Costello: but I am not done with it yet.