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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?

I personally never spent more than $10,000 on a restoration that was a high quality driver. Of course, I can do my own mechanical, body and paint work.

Also,I know of a couple of friend's V-8 Packards that were done for less than $30,000 that turned out to be awesome. They were able to do much of the work themselves, but not the body/paint.

Craig

Hi StanJo58

Welcome! The '47 Custom Super Clipper is a very desirable model, lucky choice for you.

If you will post some photos of your new acquisition, it will be helpful for the knowledgeable here to give you a better idea of restoration costs.

Steve

Congratulations on your Packard. You have one of the best ever made. I know this as a previous owner of one. You may want to acquaint yourself with an ongoing project blog on a 47 Custom Super Clipper. Howard has not posted to this site in a while, but it will give you an idea of what is involved in restoring one of these Packards. Here is the link.

packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=11626&start=0

(o{}o)

Welcome and glad to see another Custom being saved. JW is correct in that I haven't updated my blog in some time. Have been on the forum but mostly asking questions or detailing any work done to the car in the post war forum. When the current project is done I will update the blog to provide a couple of links to the more pertinent items.

The Customs are gorgeous cars when all the work is done but being a Custom, expect a bit more expense than if it were a lesser model.

Except for some additional brightwork, the general exterior body is the same as other Clipper models. The trunk rust seems to be common and I have some in mine too. Fortunately, the body structure is basic to the 22-23 series as well so there was enough demand that replacement floor panel pieces are available. None are a perfect drop in fit but the trunk piece in particular lacks a flange at the rear to make it a drop in. If that part is needed, it will have to be made by you or the body shop. The Custom interior is slightly different in design and consists of top quality material and finishes. The wool carpet, wool broadcloth fabric and the upholstery work for some of the unique features is expensive.

Mechanically, if the engine/trans is in good condition, so much the better. Being the 356, because of the counterweights needing to be removed and then reattached to crankshaft, if any machining is needed it is expensive to rebuild that engine when compared to the smaller engines. Some of the more basic mechanical items are the same as lower models but the trans and drivetrain components are more heavy duty. Most of those parts are limited to the super and custom super chassis as far as interchangeability when finding anything needed.

Hopefully you can post a few photos. There are many people here who can assist or if needed, guide you along with your project.

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!

A while back there was a nice 47 Custom Clipper Touring Sedan for sale in Florida. Seller claimed it had been "fully restored", and it looked like this may have been true. The price was $35K, a Salado acquaintance said he had been offered the car at $30K delivered.

(o{}o)

You are lucky you do not have to pay for bodywork. The rust repair will probably be the big unknown cost adder. In my recent experience I have spent the following amounts for paint and bodywork in professional shops:

1950 Packard Touring Sedan - $8000 for paint but nearly zero rust repair required

1948 Alfa Romeo coupe - $100,000 for paint and massive rust repair in hidden places

I hope your Packard is not anywhere as bad as my Alfa.

A very high quality paint job with the best materials, not necessarily of Pebble Beach or Amelia Island quality but certainly enough for the very top AACA or CCCA awards can run in the $30-40,000 range even if no or nearly no body work is required. For a Pebble or Amelia contender done by a professional restoration shop with a consistent record of producing such winners, think in terms of $300-$400,000 for total restoration. Of course one would logically only spend that kind of money on a car that would be capable of winning at least Class awards and thus it would have to be a very unique car to begin with, almost certainly custom coachwork, perhaps a one-off, or a famous personality car to boot and the car itself before restoration would probably be a very significant outlay.

A huge range of meaning to the word "restoration".

Pre 1990 Fiat and Alfa Romeo's were rusting in the sales brochures already, and the French 3 (Renault, Citroen & Peugeot) were not much better. The further north you go in Europe the better the rust resistant was.