Awesome! that's just what I needed to see. Thanks everyone! Tremendous help as always!

Did you tack the old rusted wheel well skirt to the new outer fender or just left it hanging?

The guy I had looking at welding the panels in for me said that the inner fenders rolled to the edge of the outer panels. I've cut the rusted parts off and behind there is what appears to be an inner skirt that goes part way down but it is really rusted.

Need some help. I bought the rear quarter panel patches from C2C fabrications. My question is where do I find the inner fenders for the rear quarters as well?

What a great feeling. My wife bought me this 54' Packard Cavalier that was sitting in a field since 1976. I replace the motor, brakes, brake lines, radiator, and too many other things to mention to get her up and going. I have worked through low oil pressure problems, overheating and finally brake issues and now she is up and going with great oil pressure, running around 170 F without overheating, transmission works and the brakes will put you through the windshield. Such a great feeling of satisfaction. I am not familiar with driving an ultramatic. I have never seen a transmission that did not have a drive but just a Low and a High. What is proper technique for operating this? Can I shift from H to L on the fly? Curious as to any pointers you can give. I know obviously L to go up hills and H for highway driving but other than that any advice?

I found the vacuum leak right at the canister. The hose didn't fit snugly enough. I got a smaller hose installed and and boy does she stop now. I mean barely touch it and you're about go through the windshield. I wasn't expecting that much brake! It does correspond to earlier posts I have read on here though. Thanks again for the help!

Thanks Howard. As always very useful information. I bought the rebuild from Tucson Packard. The pedal is very firm. It travels about 1 inch. I checked the suction at the canister and I wouldn't say it's strong. It has suction but it feels weak to me.

So I have replaced the BTV unit with a rebuilt unit. All new brake lines, cylinders, etc. I've adjusted the breaks as far up as I could with the adjusters. The problem is that the brakes are hard to push. It seems like I have to exert a lot of force to push the pedal down and the car doesn't seem to be stopping like it should. From studying other posts on her it looks like it should be stopping very easily by just laying my foot on the pedal. In fact some I have read say it will put you through the windshield it stops so quick. Any suggestions on what else I should check? Could it be a vacuum problem? Thanks for any help you guys can give.

thanks again. This is exactly what I was looking for.

I guess I assumed the brake pedal would have a more spongy feel like modern brake pedals. It will only depress maybe 1/4-1/2" as it is very firm. I still have some adjustments to go on the brakes but before I went any further I was making sure this was the norm. Thanks again guys.