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Will do! Thanks for that! Didn't even think of such a simple solution.

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If you have pics, that would be great! Are all 51-54 Packards supposed to have the bumper filler panel? I bought the ones that came with the trunk piece from a '54. I don't understand why my car would not have the holes.

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Thanks, I did do that out of necessity. The burn through is because the metal is so rusted, especially on the passenger side mount. When I practiced on better metal, I had no burn though. Actually, I had trouble with full penetration even though the first 3 practice welds had great penetration. Kind of strange since I had not changed any settings.

I'm confused -- which is nothing unusual. Are we talking the two holes circled in red in the photos labeled mystery holes --approx 3/8 or so which go down into the slotted brackets. If so, I don't believe those are for the splasher. Doesn't the splasher use the 8 or 9 large holes closer to the edge inside the trough? The V8 uses the same arrangement and the mystery bolts are reinforcments for the gas tank T bolt saddles (slotted brackets). Those brackets are only spot welded to the trunk floor and without the larger bolts would be a little flimsy to carry that much weight.

Yes Howard, I was talking about the red circled holes. Your explanation makes sense. Was this added to later year cars? My trunk did not have holes or reinforcements on the gas tank slotted bolt mounts. Any other '51 owners have these in their trunk?

According to the parts manual 51-4 floors were all the same but it could have been an early running change.

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4-21-13

Today I ground down the spot welds and removed the pieces of the t-bolt mount from my new trunk panel.

I started this threadpackardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=11679&forum=4 in the General section, hoping to generate some discussion on whether abnormalities should be preserved or if no one cares. Not much discussion so I guess they do not matter to most. I'm leaning toward filling in the holes for putting bolts on the gas tank support straps and making it look like how my old trunk floor looked. I'll just put some more welds on the straps to secure them better.

I bought a large washer at the hardware store as Ross had suggested, and welded it to the inner tube of the body mount. I then worked the washer's edges down to give it a rounded shape. There was still a large hole on the side of the mount so I cut a scrap piece of metal and welded it on, covering the hole.

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There is probably no one in the world who likes 51-52 200s as much as I do (probably a rare genetic flaw), but I will have to tell you to be prepared for complete indifference to your car at shows, and in particular Packard shows. All but a few folk will walk right by on their way to examine the tapered door gaps on the Caribbeans. You will have to enjoy your car's many virtues in relative isolation. My own 51 just completed a 340 mile circuit through PA yesterday finishing with a 75 mph dash across the Turnpike scattering Priuses and hydrocarbons left and right. A very satisfying car.

I totally understand Ross. I don't think I would enter any of my cars in shows anyway. The local cruise in at McDonalds is probably the right speed for me. When I do go to car shows, I notice all the 50's and back cars that are not Chevy getting passed over for the muscle cars. I always hang around the "normal" cars and walk right past the muscle cars. I have nothing against them and appreciate the work that goes into them, but there are just too many out there at the car shows.

Obviously I am over thinking the details on my car, but I am enjoying discovering these abnormalities that others may not have noticed.

I'm building this car because I like it, to learn new skills and to drive it. That's it. If I get a few thumbs up on the road, all the better!

4-22-13

Mixed results today. Concentrated on roughing in the trunk panel which mostly consisted of trimming out the existing trunk floor to match the new panel. I was going to try to put a flange in it in case my measurements were not too good, but it would be too difficult with the stiffening beads that are embossed in it.

After I got pretty close on the floor, I trimmed out around the horizontal and vertical channel joints that hold the rubber seal. I thought the car was OK until I noticed that the bottom of the passenger side was not even with the bottom of the fender cut out. There was some poor bondo repair there that threw me off. So I ended up cutting too much off the channel! Hopefully I can weld a section in from the previous cutout to fix it.

On a positive note, if you can call it that, I discovered something. It seems that the large gap that forms between the trunk lid and fender on the passenger side is because the rear fender has drooped down. I put some blocks on my jack and pumped up on the floor section. This drew up the fender up pretty close to the bottom of the repair panel.

The repair panel is up against the existing ends of the gas tank T bolt mounts, but that seems to keep the panel out too far. The trunk would not close over the bottom weatherstrip channel. After forcing it down, I was able to see that the gap on the passenger side had improved. That's a good sign. I guess I will try to bend the T bolt mounts a little so move the panel in more. There is also a gap at the bottom of the drivers side that will need some adjustment. It's nice to see what the panel is going to eventually look like!

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4-25-13

Just did a little more trimming on the trunk floor trying to get a better fit on the replacement panel. Trunk lid still hits the bottom lip. I have a little play available by loosening the hinge bolts and moving it forward, but I think the lip still needs to sit back further. Part of the problem was the panel was getting hung up under the spare tire well. I cleaned that up and some on the patch panel, which gave a little more room.

Lots of variables to consider. The gap on the drivers side concerns me because that is actually the side that is solid. With the passenger side, I can move the rear fender around. I also do not know if my trunk lid was pushed in a little at some point. Looks straight with a straight edge, but entire bottom could be moved in and I would not know.

I have the old weather stripping in the channel around the trunk too. Maybe I should remove that while fitting the parts together. The drivers side weather strip is not shrunk down like the passenger side.

I'll just keep playing with it and if I get bored, I'll go back to patching the trunk floor for a while.