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Well, it has begun! I stripped the front sheetmetal off the the car so I can swap motors and clean/detail the engine compartment. It has been a big learning experience. I had no idea that the front fenders & inner fenders come off in one big chunk. That first fender took 2 hours, after learning about this little aspect, I was able to get the other off in 45 minutes. I think I swept up about a 2 gallon bucket of dirt and grit after all this. Here are some pics of my weekend fun.

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Don,

Can totally understand the dirt and grit scenario. Good luck with your motor swap and other work. Looking forward to seeing things progress.

Now you're starting to have too much fun.

Wonder how many had the Autronic eye. There was an article a few years ago in one of magazines (PAC I think). If I remember details, a long time customer insisted that he'd go buy a Cadillac because Packard didn't have anything like it. Rather than lose sale, dealer went down street to GM dealership and bought all the components to install one for him. Were there more than one?

I got to thinking about the autronic eye thing too. I threw the picture of it on here to see if anyone would comment on it. The bezel matches the other bezels on the dash so I thought it was factory. I hadn't seen another packard with one. I'll try to post some real clear pics of dash bezel and the eye unit.

hey there! i live in portland too!

Hello Drake,

Nice to find another packard-bro locally!
I guess we need to start a local packard club called the "mossy back Packard club" or maybe "Damp & Wet Packard club".

I took a look at the pics of your packard. It looks pretty nice. I sympathize with your comment on working on your project between the raindrops,hale,snowflakes and occasional Sun. I have friends in the great white north (British Columbia Canada) who can't even work on their cars without a blowtorch & an ice pick! I suddenly don't feel so terrible about cold hale going down my neck

Have you found any local wrecking yards with any packards? All american classics in Vancouver has anything you would want for any car ever EXCEPT Packards. Its frustrating.

Maybe we'll be at a show some day with our packards, look forward to seeing your car progress on your forum link.

i think i know the place you're talking about in vancouver.. right off of 4th plain? or millplain.. has the two "checkers" way in the back..

before i bought my packard.. i'd drive over there and just wander through their "project" section and dream. they seem to have pretty good prices(i think $600 for one of the checkers), but alas, no packards.

I have some pics of the '55 352 w/tranny I found locally.
You can see how complete it is. I have the fan pulley,fan blades,& starter in the cab of the truck. I've been so busy, I haven't even taken it out of the truck yet. I think this weekend I'll have it in my shop.

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I got a boost of energy and decided to rip out the carpet in the Packard. What a mess! The floors were good except right where the driver floorboard meets the rocker & the toe panel meet the floorboard. I but my screwdriver through it and kept pecking. It is a hole the size of my fist. The reason it was rotten I belive is a gap in the rubber about a 1/4 inch big near the driver corner of the windshild seal. This leaked down onto the kickpanel area, (which is rusty) and under the rug. Now I am chiseling off all the brittle sealant put on the floorboards. I need to get the seat out as well.

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