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Thus begins my attempt at restoring my Fathers car into a driver. First thing is to get rid of all the mouse poo, nests,and especially the stink. Washed the outside to get rid of all the bat poop. Never restored a car before, think after the deep clean I will work on getting it running, fixing the brake system, then go from there

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A word of caution on the engine.
V8 Packards that have been sitting for a long time can have stuck valves that will hit the top of the piston and cause some nasty damage.
Make sure that the engine turns over freely before trying to start it.

This is bring back memories of when I cleaned the mice out of my car. Fun times.

For the smell, find someone (a detailer maybe) who has an ozone machine and let them bomb the car for a few hours and it will knock much of it down. Maybe a couple different treatments of that and the car won't be offensive to sit in.

Keep us posted on your progress! Always good to see another car being worked on.

-Kevin

Good afternoon...When you remove the valve covers to check if your valves are loose...if the area is really dirty, give it a good cleaning and then, since the valve area is dirty, assume that the pan is dirty and remove it and clean it out well, and check to see if the oil pump pick up is clear...then put her back together, give her new oil, check/clean the plugs and points, check for tight connections and use a strong battery...when she starts, check the oil pressure right away...also a good idea to put a little Marvel Mystery Oil into all the cylinders and let it soak for a couple of days before you try to turn the engine over...many an old engine was damaged by the fellow who cam along after a number of years and attempted to just drop in a battery and hit the starter...Good Luck...Ernie in Arizona

Sean,

Easier to view this way.

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Thanks all of you for the advice, very much

Thanks Mal for turning the photos.......couldn't figure that out

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Neither could I the first couple of times, but got there in the end.

By the way, you look stunning in that outfit!

well gave it a good scrub. pulled the carpet and under pad out, sprayed Febreze and the natures own pet odor spray(forget the name)

cleaned out all the valuables from the trunk:)

what is the cover supposed to look like that covers the hole in the floor? some rust, but not all the way thru thankfully. will a good wire brushing and some paint work to seal it up?

got heat in my garage now, now just need to get the car in there for the winter. will remove the fuel tank before I bring the car in( if the wife approves that the the smell is not so offensive.) and get it cleaned. better so do now than have a bunch a fumes in the garage.

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Is that hole supposed to be there on the 56's? My 54 definitely didn't have anything like that.

There are a couple of ways to take care of the rust and protect the floor. I went a little overboard and had the interior sandblasted, and sand is still showing up months later. But the guy before me had used POR-15 and it was failing, and that stuff is crazy hard to remove, so sandblasting it was.

Wire wheel (stripping disc too) and clean everything as much as possible. Then you have a few options to paint and protect. Most recommend doing something to neutralize whatever rust remains. There are various things that do this, but most are similar (acid). Ospho, Eastwood Fast Etch, POR-15 Metal Prep, etc. After that, apply whatever coating you decide on. Rustoleum, POR-15, epoxy primer, etc.

I think the "gold standard" with auto body guys is epoxy primer. I could be wrong, but that's what I was picking up from my research.

Double check the body mount areas. Pretty easy place for moisture to sit and cause problems. And maybe check to see if more seam sealer would be helpful?

-Kevin