The ebay seller was down south, Georgia I think, and I see a Barret Jackson plate on the back, so he probably picked it up at one of their auctions. If the car remains in the US, maybe I will get a shot at it some day in the future. It's funny how some cars just keep moving around and never seem to find a long-term home. A friend of mine sold his 1970 Charger RT to a dealer back around 2003, and as far as I know the car is still moving from one dealer to the next. It's been all over the country and the "history" of the car keeps getting modified with each new seller.

Jeff

Thanks for all the info. It looks like I was on the right track then, just the bolts are for newer cars. One of the previous owners must have picked them up at a swap meet sometime in the past. I suppose that the head size matches the lug bolts/nuts so that you can loosen it with the tire iron, saving the expense of supplying a separate tool for the skirts.


Jeff

If I remember correctly, these bolts were mixed in with some of the engine hardware that was in a coffee can when I got the car. They look important, but likely could be off of a different car. There was hardware from the 1940's to 1990's mixed in with what was actually removed from the car by the previous owner. I thought that the pair might be for the fender skirts, but they are 3/8" and not 5/16".

The pair is 3/8" fine thread with a 3/4" head.

The single is 3/8" fine thread with a 7/8" head.


Do they ring any bells with anyone?

Jeff

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Thanks, The wheel arrived yesterday. Not quite as nice as I expected, but still very good. Just needs a quick media blasting and a coat of paint. It's straight and the beads aren't rusty, which makes for a good start.

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This will probably be the final entry in my restoration blog. I was hoping to do a bunch of before and after shots, but I just don't have enough free time till I have to leave. Instead I'll post a few full size shots that can be blown up nice and big. I do have a couple final queries that I'll post in the post-war section if I have time.

I'll continue to check in on the site to see what's going on, and probably add a comment here and there as time allows. Driving a truck is a 12-14 hour a day job, so you don't end up with a whole lot of time for personal stuff.

Hopefully, I'll be back some day with my own Packard project. My dream Packard was on ebay about a year ago, but I didn't have a spare 40 grand laying around to make the purchase. I'm sure that there was much banter about it when it came up for sale. I love the copper, cream, and brown interior. Super-classy! All it needs is a set of wire wheels to be perfect.

Jeff

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A local wheel dealer has a 15x6 wheel from a 1951-54 Packard in his collection. I was wondering if all 15x6 wheels have the larger bolt pattern that's used on the 1948-50 Custom Eights? I'm aware that his wheel doesn't have the clips for the wheel cover, but that's ok, as it would just be the spare. It's in excellent condition, cheap, and delivery to my house is free, so it's a good deal if it will fit.

Thanks, Jeff

Thanks Roger. It should be an adventure. I just got a call from Maverick today and they have a spot open for next week's training, so it looks like I'll be leaving for Little Rock on Saturday. I just hope the weather is better than it was this past weekend.

Jeff

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I would love to help out, but I'm packing up the toolbox for a while and changing careers. After turning wrenches professionally for almost 26 years, it's time for a break. I've been patiently waiting for a training spot in the Glass Division at Maverick Transportation for almost two months now. They have very few on-road trainers in that division so the wait is quite long, which has been a good thing when you consider how long it took to get the Packard done. I'm not sure if I will go back to working on other people's cars someday, or reserve all my car-time to my personal collection of cars, which I have barely touched over the 15 years that I've owned most of them. I've wanted to drive a truck for a long time. It's one of those things that you have to do to find out if you like it or not, since it's such a different lifestyle compared to most other jobs. Only time will tell on this one.

Jeff

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The Packard has finally left my care, only 10 days shy of being here for two years. After encountering the worst traffic on any of my trips to Bayonne, things were really quiet at the shipping terminal, so it more or less evened out in the end. Hopefully the car will have a safe trip to Sweden, and maybe even arrive in time for Christmas.

I stopped at the store on the way home and bought myself a little treat to celebrate the occasion.

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Thank you for the kind words guys. I'm glad that you enjoyed my blog. I tried to make it as informative and interesting as I could, given my tight time constraints.

Jeff


Latest update: We're all loaded up and ready to hit the road in the morning.

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