Hi Michael

That vinyl/leatherette is also on my 50 rear shelf. Definitely not original, but done during a later restoration. I think the suggestion of dynamat underneath is a good idea. Mayber also use the material you will be covering your seats with?

Barrie

Hi Michael

Yes the wheel caps is for the 51 - 54 models I think. Couldnt get the originals at a affordable price. Anyway my rims are also from these later models so the caps fits fine.

My rear shelf is covered in the ugly vinyl material of a previous restoration in the 80's. I havent investigated the situation there too much, but my rear seat back also has serious damage from the fierce african sun. So have to recover seats and carpets. I am keeping the original head liner as it is original and in allright condition. Creates a bit of 'atmosphere' - haha!

Barrie

Finally fitted the hood and mascot this past weekend. Looks like a car again!

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Congratulations! Another 48-50 saved!

I like the original color.

I own a 50 standard eight. These cars were really of high quality when new and this helps with the preservatioan as well. My car was also good with very little rust. A Good body makes the restoration process easier.

Are you going to remove the front body panels for painting? How is your engine? I find that the chroming is one of the most expensive parts of the restoration. Are you painting it yourself?

Enjoy the process.

Barrie

Hi Joe.

Greetings from South Africa and congratulations with your project and keeping this car for so long. It must be part of the family by now! I am sure you are going to get your investments worth back again in future. Money wise as well as enjoyment wise! It will be worth it.

Keep at it!
Barrie

Some progress picks. Still need to attach the hood and do the upholstery and carpeting.

Had a problem with a mouse nest under the fronmt seat, but that has been removed and cleaned up now. Damn rodents!

The chrome seems to have been a huge success even though it was very expensive. Also installed the cable operated wiper system. That took me a whole day, but it works great now.

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Hi Tom

Congratulations with your progress. You now really have something worthwhile. Neat work!

Barrie

Well, it has been a while since my last post. With the soccer world cup and a cold winter progress is slow.

At least I have started with installing the door windows and mechanisms. But as luck would have it the last mechanism, left front, is missing its spiral spring that helps in winding close the window. It would not be good to skip on this as it makes winding terrible and the window tends to fall into the door by itself! Lucky for me I know someone with a large old car scrap yard. We matched up a mechanism from a late 40's Plymouth and it was exactly the same, even made by the same company called Briggs. So now I have to finish this last window, but something followed me home from said scrapyard...a 1955 Hudson Rambler Custom Cross Country wagon (56000 original miles)....................

Sooo....now I have to extend the carport by myself over weekends to safe some money to spend on my various vehicles. So be the life of the cronic oldcar hoarder!

Here is some pictures if you dont know what a Rambler Cross Country is...seems to be a scarce car. By the way ... the mascot played a huge part in my purchasing decision

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All the 48 to 50's that I have seen here are right hand drive. Also, none of them has heaters installed. Also this convertible.

The clutch, throttle and shift linkages has been converted over to the right hand side of the car. The steering gear misses the manifolds with a comfortable margin. See photos. They were taken when I was busy with dismantling so the car was extremely dirty. It is very difficult to work on the brake reservoir and to fill it without spills is next to impossible. The clutch linkage works with a pully and cable system on my car will look at the convertible again to compare. The throttle linkage is plain and simple. Gearshift also works easily, but does interfere a bit with the road draft tube. Might be why mine does not have one. Will have to move the rocker side covers so that the draft tube is on the front one. Michael in Britain also have a right hand drive car imported from Rhodesia, probably came from South Africa anyway. Maybe he can provide us with his take on this as well.

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Had a surprise visit from a friend yesterday in his 48 convertible. This was only my second time exsperiencing a Packard on the road. GREAT! The car is original and in great condition. I think its got the 327 and is still 6 volt.

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