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!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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After about three years of fiddling around with the car it is running. In the process I fixed things that were obviously broken (e.g. leaking front shock, passenger side king pin), put new tires on it with the correct 16" rims, gave the car a complete tune up (e.g. taking apart the distributor, check tolerances and cleaning it up) and installed any new chrome pieces I had laying around from my 20 year "virtual restoration" process. My last few months were spent taking the front clip apart while it was off the car and then putting it back together. Now to get it licensed and on the road to give it a couple of shake down cruises. Next up are to get a new oil pressure sensor, a new brake light switch and chase down so minor electrical issues.

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Pre 1940 Packard 16" rim 5 x 5" bolt pattern. Motor wheel stamping 16 450 569. 4.5" wide at bead seat, 3 3/4" center hole diameter - this will not fit a 1940 Packard with a 3.25" center hole. No dents a straight rim with no rust.

Selling it for what I paid for it: $100 plus postage or pick it up in Eureka MO.

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1940 Packard passenger car rim. 5 x 5" bolt pattern, 16" diameter, 3 3/8" center hole. Motor Wheel stamping 16 550F 572. Note the bead width at the bead seat is 5.5" the more common width for 8 cylinder 1940 Packards is 5".
Rim has been sandblasted, primed and painted in satin black wheel paint.
Asking what I paid for it $125 plus postage or pick up in Eureka MO.

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Set of four 16" diameter commercial wheels for a 1940 era commercial Packard. Motor Wheel stamping on inside of wheel is 16F 550 572.
Note these are the 5 x 5.5" bolt pattern and they have the larger 3 7/8" center hole. To my knowledge they do not fit the standard passenger car hubs (much to my chagrin they certainly don't fit my 1940 160). I started stripping the paint and surface rust off them before discovering they don't fit are just in primer.
Asking what I paid $400 for all four plus shipping. Shipping will be extra. Can pick them up in Eurkea MO.

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Ron Carpenter has been writing a series of articles on a 1940 Packard he is restoring in the Southern Wheels Magazine. For those not familiar with Southern Wheels Magazine it is a monthly car magazine full of old car part supplier ads along with some articles on repairing old cars and some reprinted technical articles. You can access the earlier Packard articles from Ron on-line athttp://www.southernwheels.com/.
A subscription to Southern Wheels is a bargain at $12/year. It is a great resource to have if you are restoring old cars. Ron covers rebuilding the front end, fixing sheet metal, putting in a new coil that looks like the old one etc. Good stuff.