1940 Super eight running board chrome mouning clips. Working with Jeff at Restoration Specialties & Supply Inc. we were able to identify some clips that fit the outer running board chrome and the top running board chrome strips.
The clip that came closest to original outer running board clips which are the same for the 120 Packards as well are the 88148-CLP wire clips at $1.32 each (you need 22 on a side for my 138" WB touring sedan and 20 for my 120 Club Coupe). The running board top chrome strip clips that worked best are the 1212-CLP wire clips. I need a total of 110 of them for both running boards on my 160 138 WB Touring Sedan!

Attach file:

---

  IMG_0265.jpeg (3,902.04 KB)


  IMG_0264.jpeg (3,828.03 KB)

The car has been added to the registry. Search for it under Model 1395.

It is time to finally get started working on this 1940 Packard 120 Club Coup. I pushed it into my garage this weekend. This is the Packard my parents had for over 20 years. The engine and brakes were rebuilt ten years ago. My parent’s friend was going to fix and paint the car but he gave up on it after several years of starting and stopping work on it. The body needs to be completely redone but fortunately it does not have major rust issues despite coming originally from near Philadelphia. Now it is my turn!

Attach file:

---

  IMG_0226.jpeg (3,627.38 KB)


  IMG_0225.jpeg (4,073.58 KB)

Yes I did jack up the front of the car and spin the wheels. Each side spun freely without any noise in both directions. I don't have any in and out play on either side.

A High pitched scraping/grating sound is coming from the front end on my car when I am moving the car at any speed and is speed dependent. The sound happens when the car is moving at all sperds: out of gear, in gear and even when the fan belt is disconnected. The sound is not present when starting and running the car at standstill. The brakes have been rebuilt and have been properly adjusted and there is no evidence of parts scraping and anything hung up on the brake drum. Note that the U joints and carrier bearings have been replaced and noise is in the front of the car. I replaced the bearings by cross referencing what was originally in the car. I followed the bearing tightening sequence posted elsewhere on Packardinfo.com. The only other clue I currently have is that maybe I have the wrong bearings. When I pulled the front brake drums the inside bearing could be slid a bit inside to outside. Anyone ever have a similar noise issue? The car is an original car without modifications. I am thinking my next step is source another set of wheel bearings. Thoughts?

One crazy detail I learned when installing new headlight wiring harness' is that the hollow headlight mounting bolt only allows you to pass a maximum of three wires with practically no ends on them. The headlight is installed on the fender first using the flat washer, lock nut and then the nut, then you push the headlight wiring harness through the hollow bolt and then you solder/attach on the headlight plugs! All I could do was put a couple wraps of harness tape on the wires going through the bolt - certainly not the loom cover.

One of the more complex things I did on the car was replace the thermostatically controlled front grill louvres that came on the Super 8's. The originals were completely rusted through in some places and I had some replated ones I bought years ago (for way too much money!). In order to replace the louvres you have to remove the front clip and then remove the grill frame from the clip. I soaked all the bolts and screws for weeks with my favorite 50:50 ATF:Acetone penetrant solution. Then you have to undo the thermostat linkage and remove the top louvre mount from the frame. After that grind off the tops the brass rivets on the top of the frame. Take lots of pictures and number the old louvres left and right from inside to outside. They fit in the frame in a particular order and have different lengths depending on their location. Then you need to order 14 new rivets from Max Merritt (best price I found) and a Hanson HT-178 hand rivet clincher tool for 5/32 dia rivets (Amazon or from Hanson directly). Somehow it all needs to be held together while setting the rivets and then you need to feed the ends of all the louvres into the holes in the bottom of the grill frame. It can be done but it will test your patience!

Attach file:

---

  594BEBC5-395D-4F31-8B0E-35253C0013A0.jpeg (248.12 KB)


  4DFC9E81-6C5A-4CC1-B933-AAC26F9C956D.jpeg (271.19 KB)


  EDD620D0-4D14-436F-8D46-FEDCCBB5676B.jpeg (0.00 KB)


  310B23B4-6788-40E0-90A0-DC1FC8A1C658.jpeg (0.00 KB)

I never questioned the front fender parking lights that came with the car until I started trying to repair them and get some fender mounting pads. They turned out to be parking lights from a 1937-38 Buick Special 40. Fortunately, all Packard parking lights for 1940 are the same and I had an extra set from one of my junior 1940 cars. The Buick parking lights found a new home for $137 on E-Bay.

Attach file:

---

  0427E5EB-9E41-4978-A2B2-D59FE7DFCC23.jpeg (129.02 KB)

One of the surprises after putting the front clip back together was the bent bumper arm on the driver side. I took it off and bent it back using my hydraulic press and some steel blocks and pipe as forms. The top arm in the picture was the bent one.

Attach file:

---

  6D8D371B-6EF9-435F-8247-2F26F9B90732.jpeg (362.86 KB)

Of course the first time I tried to back in out of the garage the crumpled driver front fender was rubbing on the new 16" wheels. The car had 15" Buick wheels on it when I bought it - they didn't rub!

Attach file:

---

  DB5F2129-BBF6-4CE4-B785-BF763C95846C.jpeg (159.68 KB)


  C647811B-F38A-44F7-916A-7F7428C14667.jpeg (107.67 KB)