For me it is far more about the project than value of the car. The car is valuable to me, what others think.."eh". Of course I could buy a decent car for 30k but anyone can do that and what the hell am I supposed to do watch "Wheel of Fortune" all day. I don't think so.

I turned 57 last summer, the kids are grown (although one is still hanging around the house) and the act of restoring (for lack of a better word)an old Packard has been on my agenda for decades but life seems to get in the way. Wife seemed to think we should by a house and new cars. Well now it's my time and I can think of nothing I would rather do. As for time spent on the car well it takes what it takes. I really want to say that I did everything I could do myself. I've got a '69 MK3 Spitfire that keeps me entertained for the moment good practice I hope.

I was thinking about 2000 hours should be in the ball park. A couple of hours a day spread over 4 or 5 years should do the trick and if I croak in the process, guess I can't control that.

I do have a bit of financial planning to do though so I was hoping to get within 10k one way or the other of guesstimating the cost.

Thanks everyone, you folks are great.

Thanks for the responses. You are guys are making me feel better. I'm pretty sure I can handle the mechanical, been working on old cars all my life by necessity. Have never done any body work except to weld in re-pop floor panels.

As a rough budget I was planning 6k for body and paint, 5k for a through engine and trany overhaul and 3k for the interior. Of course everything costs twice as much as you plan then there is chrome and all the little stuff. I got to 30k pretty darn fast. I'll be under water on the car but I figure it's my anti-altzheimer's therapy. Any tips on saving money along the way would be greatly appreciated considering it's part of my retirement money we are spending here.

I will post pictures this weekend unless the weather really gets crazy.

Oh, one more question..If I paint the care Packard Ivory even though it isn't correct for the year will I insult the Packard Gods? Hate the original Vermont green.

Thanks to everyone!

I have acquired '47 Custom Super Clipper, always wanted an old Packard and this one just kind of fell in my lap. That's the good news I suppose. The bad is that it's in pretty rough shape. The engine starts and doesn't smoke and it seems to be all there.

I can do most if not all the mechanical work myself but it has rust through issues. Even the dreaded trunk surround.

Would it be unreasonable to think $30k would get it to a good driver that one could be proud of?

Older Chevy P/U wheels are 5x5 and they are a dime a dozen around here. Would those work? These will not be used for driving except maybe around my yard assuming I can get the engine running well enough besides it has no brakes at all. First problem on the list, brakes.

The originial wheels on the car need to be cleaned up but I still need to move it around. Are there any other wheel types that will fit. Chevy, Ford. other?

The only thing left on my plate are what was stamped in but it's only the ID number. No other stampings. Guess I'm SOL.

Thank you very much for the information!

The lady was pretty sure the car came from California. Maybe or maybe not registered in OK. My Spitfire was sold in CA then spent most of it's life in NC registered every year and running.

Got it to OK and CA had added the make year '69 to the front of the commission number on the title. I go to register it and the guy can't see the 69 on the commission plate. NO GO! Had to jump the a bunch of hoops including trying to get CA to send me a letter stating that the had destroyed those old records. Which they had. Never got a letter. OK gave me a tag but still working on a title.

What's the worst that could happen? Car is titled to someone in CA who died in like 1972. We shall see.

How did you discover where and when your car was delivered?

Hmmmm....Yeah about that title thing. The woman I bought it from hadn't seen the title in 25 years as wasn't to clear if it ever had one. I did find a couple of plates in the car, one from '75 and the other from '80. If they belong to that care I have no idea. For the moment I have a bill of sale.

Going to have to tackle DMV on that one. I should tell you guys the story of trying to title my Triumph Spitfire sometime.

As Always thanks for the info.

Bump.....Just wanted to know opinions about this being the original engine that was installed in the car.

Thanks as always for educating a newbie!

You may very thankful that your primary color is NOT rust. Trust me, be happy!