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Possibly but I prefer authenticity so steel (or whatever they are) is preferable and here in the heart of Silicon Valley it should not be difficult to find a shop that could do it. These pieces should be easier than the side hood louvers and grill bars that I had made for my 1940!

No additional progress as of yet as I had to wait for all the XMAS stuff to go back in the attic to regain any space to work on the Clipper in the garage.

My clipper has had a saggy rear, which causes me to scrap the tailpipe coming into nearly every slated driveway if there are passengers in the back seat.
I
've had to "de-oval" my tailpipe several times. My driveway at the house always causes the tailpipe to scrap even with just me in the car.

So going to install some leaf-helpers this coming weekend that Ross recommended a while back, to correct that "lowered" look in the rear, before I have to replace the last 4" of the tail pipe.

Sure I could replace the springs or get them re-arched, but this was a $30 fix for the time being.

Also I got the NOS A/C Vent Gaskets from Joel Ray. Just need to sand, prime and paint them now. Which means getting some paint matched. Also need to get another quart of interior paint from the rear package tray vents that need to be painted.

Are these the air scoop gaskets? If so, have you thought of sending them to Steele first for measurements for possibly reproducing them? I tried to buy an NOS pair recently on eBay but for some unknown reason the seller has me blocked and attempts to reach them were also blocked. I don't know if it's the same seller but it was odd because I had bought one item from them in the past in a completely professional manner and no problems, then several years later inquired about another item and was blocked! It made no sense and I can't even reach them to ask why.

Yes, these are A/C "Scoop" Vent gaskets. Not sure Steele would be interested as the potential market for part is extremely limited vs the cost of tooling/setup.

But Howard is interested in looking at them for casting. So stay tuned.

I didn't think that Steele would necessarily be interested now but I had hoped that if he had the pattern, I might be able to talk him into it in the future as I want several sets myself. Through the years I've spoken with staff there who seem interested in patterns even if a production isn't planned for the immediate future!

Since they are symmetrical If there is an odd gasket laying around somewhere sending to Steele would be a good move.

Problem with sending any NOS item is if they go into production they still want to keep the original item for future reference. That scenario is not too bad because you can get the repros for your needs. If they don't want to do a pattern for a long time but still want to keep the original and you only have two gaskets and need two gaskets then that wouldn't work too well.

Arse-desagging complete. Put the helper spring leaf on with it mounted close to the axle. While it did help with the ride, it didn't help with the sagging that much. So I moved them rearward closer to the rear spring perch. This brought the rear up, and kept it there with a passenger sitting in the car. Car rides much nicer now and I can get in the driveway without scrapping. Take about 5 mins a side to install once the car is in the air supported by the frame with jack stands. The rear axle needs to hang.

Part number is Superior 11-1020 Leaf Helper Springs. There are adjustable from 500-1500 lbs of "help".

Prepping the car this weekend to be able to drive it to the PI Meeting in Orange, CA.

Oil filter element arrived at the parts store last night so I went and picked that up. None of part stores around here stock it, but always can get it within 24hrs (WIX 50180/NAPA 1080/FRAM CL134P).

Also last night I pulled the oil bath air cleaner out and cleaned out all the old oil and goop and filled with fresh clean oil.

Oil change on the agenda tonight since I've hit the one year mark with that oil.

Also topped off the tranny fluid since I have a small leak around the select shaft. But going to leave it for now as that transmission is getting pulled soon.

Assuming the drive goes without any issues, I should have it on display for the car show on Sat morning.

Drove the car around this Sun for a bit, and it was nice to pull out of the Driveway with Nicole in the car as well and not scrap while doing it.

We are looking at the weather in the 70s-80s this weekend, so should be nice. Looks like El Nino is taking a siesta.

We need El Nana to wake up, we are hitting 5 below and getting hit with 12". Ill have to be envious of your weather for now.

Took the Packard across the street to the Vavoline Oil Change place where I get my regular car's oil changed. Figured what the hey, let them do all the dirty work as I was tired and didn't feel like crawling under the car. It took 3 techs to do it with some gentle direction for me. This is one of those places where you sit in thr car while they change your oil, so here is some of the things I heard during the process:

"Can you pop the hood?" "How the heck does this hood open!?"

"Bill?! Have you ever seen a filter like this?"

"Wow, no power steering"

"Where the heck is the master cylinder?"

"Careful, the fan is missing the guard!"

"Every time I think I found the last grease fitting, I find two more!"

"22 fittings! I think that's a record!"

"After the oil is refilled can you roll forward a little bit so we can check the air in the rear tires? We can't reach the valve stems!"

All and all they did a very good careful job and that is the most work they probably ever did during an oil change on one car. I think they were petrified they would mess something up. But I think they enjoyed working on it.