Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

When working on these older cars should we keep the old parts? Is there any value? I have a box in the back of every weatherstripping, seals, and whatever. Any reason to keep?

If you can still buy the part as a repro and the old one has no perceivable value then you might as well toss 'em.

Anything else I would (and do) hold on to.

Keep 'em if you have room. Part #s and brand names can be useful, and so can measurements. Weatherstrip profiles can be useful information. I suggest labeling stuff with a durable tag.

I agree to keep anything you can. When it comes to many parts a sample goes a long way to get a supplier to understand what you need. Items like weather stripping and such can be trimmed down so you have a sample of its cross section to illustrate what the new parts should be. By keeping the old parts in an organized way anything that wears in future can be refurbished without disassembling the car itself. Items like often replaced plugs, points, caps etc. can simply be filed by trimming the package the new one came in that has the part number on it and stapled to a sheet of paper and kept in a binder. Any old gaskets can be used for patterns to cut new ones from sheet material.
You can never have too much information on your car, and as I age, I realize it is not really my car, just mine for now, so the next owner will have this data base to work with sometime in the future.
Bob J.

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