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Mal, Your memory is spot-on. A friend of mine from Paris gave it the name "Fleurette", but I can tell you recently I have used other names which are not so nice! Rgds, Noel

Wednesday 7th September 2011

No workshop reports this week, reason being Wade and Gina headed to Melbourne yesterday to attend the funeral of the Regional Director of the Victoria Region of the Packard Automobile Club of Australia, Bill Brien. Bill died last week after a long illness and, because of the distances involved, I was only fortunate enough to meet him on the two National Packard Rallies I have attended. Wade, Gina, Mat(packard34) and many other Packard people are attending the funeral where there should be a good roll up of Packards as part of the tribute to Bill and the role/s he played in the club over many years as well as just being a good bloke. Our thoughts are with Pam and family at this time.

I did mention in this thread that I'd expand somewhat on the two Packards I saw on Sunday and Monday. The easiest way to do this, from my perspective, is to plagerise the article I'm penning for our club magazine and include it here in two parts, one for the '38, the other for the '36. Below is the '38, the '36 should follow tomorrow because I'm waiting for further info from it's owner who wasn't with the car when I saw it.

"Arriving at Terry's there was his '38 Super Eight 7 Passenger Limousine, looking resplendent in the afternoon Spring sun. Terry let me take many pictures, answered many questions and volunteered information freely about the Limo which began its life in Australia being owned by Edmund Resch's, of Resch's brewery fame. That also explains the name Terry has bestowed upon the Limo of........Edmund! Terry bought Edmund at auction in Sydney in 1982 out of the Green's Motor Museum collection. But it wasn't until 2002 that restoration began in earnest and necessitated the "financial assistance" of his bank manager to ensure it was completed in a manner befitting a Packard! One feature, which don't often survive on '38's, is the one year only ID decal on the firewall and, although it's unreadable, Terry ensured it was preserved during the restoration. Edmund, since then, has won numerous trophies and awards and was the featured Salon Car in the Fall 2007 issue of the Packards International magazine. Edmund was delivered new by Ira Berk of William Street, Sydney, and was always known as the "Blue Mountains Car" as it was used to travel from The Swift's, a 50 room mansion on Sydney harbour, to the Resch's holiday retreat in the Blue Mountains, and was always chauffeur driven under their ownership. An interesting update is that in more recent times The Swift's mansion had Nicole Kidman as a neighbour as well as a $27M price tag in 2007. Terry's stories didn't just centre on Edmund, they also encompassed his former Packard, a '37 120 known as Belinda, purchased in 1972 from Eric Lang and previously owned by Newmans Bus Company, but subsequently sold to help finance the '38. Terry is also the founder, and has been it's one and only President for over 16 years, of the Automobile Restorers Association Gold Coast Inc, his local car club."

And after viewing the pic's I took, Terry provided this interesting snippet concerning the '34 Rolls Royce I'd seen earlier in the day "....the Rolls at the Sheraton used to sit bang smack in the middle of their nightclub, when it was operating that is, the club was appropriately called Rolls, and people used to sip champagne inside." Now it appears to be just eye candy at the entrance to the resort.

Link to album of pic's of Gold Coast trip.

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Thursday 8th September 2011

Briefly called into the workshop today where John informed me that he's going to dismantle the hoist, which Wade's volunteered to mind, on Sunday and it will be on the trailer in the workshop that afternoon/evening. I would have volunteered to help but we're having a Packard run on Sunday to the Norman Lindsay Gallery at Faulconbridge in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Norman Lindsay and his house, which is now the Gallery, are depicted in the Aussie movie Sirens which is quite "saucy"!

And here's the second Packard story promised from last weekend.

"The reason I visited this Packard is that Wade was asked to rebuild a water pump for a '36 120B in Queensland resulting in my curiosity being tweaked about the car it came off. Looked in PACA's Register of Members and found an entry for Frank and GloriaG as the owners of a Blue '36 120B. The water pump had been posted down to Wade by a Hot Rod shop, Ozrods at Meadowbrook, which isn't that far away so I presumed that was the car it came off. But in the note from Ozrods, which accompanied the pump, the owner was given as StephenG with a mobile number for contact purposes. Subsequently the pump was rebuilt and posted back to Ozrods and to organise a visit to see the '36 I rang Stephen's mobile only to discover he was at Bellambi in NSW near Wollongong! Was I confused? Yes, but that's more or less my normal state anyway. But was less so after Stephen explained the car is Frank's, his Dad, and Frank couldn't work on the car anymore, and Stephen was getting it finished for road use, hence it's presence at Ozrods. Initially it looked like I'd be able to see the '36 at Frank and Gloria's as the work on it was expected to be finished by the time I made my visit. But it turned out the '36 was still at Ozrods so that's where I caught up with it. The '36 has some updates for modern driving including power assisted brakes, an alternator and conversion to 12 volts. One thing that caught my attention is that it still has a bail hood ornament, not a common sight nowadays with Cormorants usually preferred, and I like it!"

That's my part of the story, what follows is StephenG's.

"Fr Tom Sherran was a Catholic priest in south-west Queensland in the 1970/80s. Apart from teaching kids how to box (he was a Commonwealth Games referee), he kept a close eye on abandoned cars around the Cunnamulla/Charleville region. Frank Guest owned a sawmill in Mitchell (a few hundred Ks east of Cunnamulla) and they eventually met when Tom was transferred to Mitchell as the Parish priest in the late 70s.

Frank had a passion for Vintages and Classics before Tom arrived and had secured a 1925 Hupmobile and a 519, 1923 Fiat. Tom was keen to have a go himself and liked the look of Frank's Hupmobile. He knew lead-foot Frank didn't care much for slow cars so Tom offered him a deal - the altar rails out of the church and the whereabouts of a straight-eight Packard near Wyandra (about 100 KM) south of Charleville for the Hupmobile. So in September 1980, with Frank's daughter, Charmaine, the trio headed west in an old Bedford. And there it was - lonely but pretty-much intact with only a mud flat for company. They drank a few beers, took a few pictures and bought it back to Mitchell. And that's pretty much all that happened to the Packard for the next 20 years as Frank worked on the Fiat and other vehicles (including an SVI, 1962 Valiant). Then, in 2004, when Frank and his wife, Gloria, moved to Brisbane to live with their second daughter, Tracey, the Packard came with them.

In the meantime, Tom had restored a few more Hupmobiles (he now has 9 cars) and had become the Bishop's right-hand man in Toowoomba. For the next three years Frank worked on the Packard (Tom did the upholstery) and a week before Christmas in 2010 it was registered. A lot of work is still being done (a big thanks to Peter Packard, Big Bad Barry and Wade) and when it's all finished, Frank, Tom and Charmaine intend to drive the car back to the mudflat in Wyandra. What does Frank's wife, Gloria, say about it. 'Bloody old cars. I'm sick of them. They should have left it on the mudflat'."

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Mal, Enjoying your postings, please keep them coming. I recently changed the "Goddess of Speed" radiator ornament for a "Bail" ornament on my 115C. I think the "Bail" styling goes better with the Junior cars. I keep the "Goddess" as a paperweight in my office.

(o{}o)

Saturday 10th September 2011

Dropped into the workshop to pick up a NORS radiator cap to send off to Terry, the guy with the '38 I visited last Sunday. Also returning the Fall 2007 issue of the PI magazine Terry lent me which has his '38 on front and rear covers and a 10 page spread inside.

But back-tracking to yesterday, I visited with Sam Irwin a member of our Packard Club in the afternoon. Sam had lent me a couple of old issues of our club magazine, The Packardian, a few weeks ago and I needed to return them. Also a chance to have a talk with Sam and see his cars. Did I say "have a talk with Sam"? I really meant listen to what Sam had to tell me! Arranged to be at Sam's at 2:00pm thinking I'd be there for about an hour. Well I left at 5:00pm with Sam still going. I did say a number of times I had to get going but then I'd see something else and ask Sam a question, so it wasn't really one-way traffic. My questions kept Sam going and even on the footpath when I said I had to get going for the umpteenth time Sam said "well who's keeping you from going?". Trouble is Sam's life, not just his involvement with cars and Packards in particular, is so interesting I have trouble tearing myself away. I mentioned to Sam he should write a book about his life and experiences and he said his family was urging him to do so. Hope he does, otherwise it'll be lost to posterity, in fact I might even offer to become his biographer! I am returning to see Sam again but, as I said to Sam I'll have to devote a lot more time the next time. I might even get to look in the garage which is 24' x 48' which I didn't see yesterday and only perused fleetingly two of the large photo albums where about half these pic's came from. So Sam, when you read this, after you give me your wife June's email address so you can, please don't be offended by my words, they are just part of the tale I'm telling. In fact a working title for a biography could be Sam Irwin - Tall Tales but True!

Have a look at this Picasa Album of the pic's I took. Sorry about the flashbacks on the pictures in the photo album but I was in a hurry. The pic's are all captioned and there are some stories in there as well. I think people like Wade, Peter Packard, Pepepackard, DavidM, Harvey and interestingly Snapey will find some things of particular interest.

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G'day all, especially Mal, Here is a 2001 pic of the 1970's 1938 Super Eight formal (with Eric MacRae at the wheel), in your Picassa Album. It is on a 1603 chassis and not the normal 1604 chassis. It has 90,000 miles from original and is still drives nicely. There is some conjecture that a number of surplus 1603 chassis were fitted with formal bodywork to shift surplus 1938 Seniors. It is an original RHD chassis and would have been very saleable in the Antipodes. Some very interesting snaps. Best Regards Peter Toet

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Monday 12th September 2011

Back in the workshop today after yesterdays Packard run to The Norman Lindsay Gallery in the Blue Mountains. Here's a link to the pic's I took yesterday.

Also yesterday, Wade who returned on Saturday from Bill Briens funeral in Melbourne, John and a couple of other guys had dismantled and transported to the workshop the two post hoist that Wade is going to "mind". First thing I saw this morning was Wade lovingly cleaning the posts. There being a hydraulic oil leak that needs to be addressed during the re-assembly of the hoist and it's components. Put in a long solid afternoon erecting the posts, placing the cross bar in place, running the lift/lowering cables, running the hydraulic line and control wires and anchoring the footplates to the workshop floor. Lifting the posts into position entailed transporting them, with the footplate end supported by an engine crane and the other end by a trolley jack. Wade operated the engine crane end and drove the arrangement while I brought up the rear with the jack. Individually maneuvered into position, the final lift was by means of John operating the forklift with one tine lifting the upper end of the post. Once almost upright, the workshop ceiling preventing a vertical lift, the remaining few inches needed for elevation were accomplished by muscle power alone. Then each post was "walked" into it's approximate position, a surprisingly easy operation. How do you put in position the upper cross bar that runs between the two posts and wherein the lifting/lowering cables, hydraulic hose and control cable run and the safety stop resides? Why, by borrowing the forklift from the business next door and using it in tandem with the shops forklift, that's how! The cross bar isn't that heavy but getting it high enough and holding it in place safely was. Each forklift had a wooden pallet on it's tines and the cross bar was loaded across both pallets, along with Wade and Mal and the nuts and bolts to secure it to the posts. Now I know the normal meaning of dual controls, but John was able to demonstrate a whole new meaning by operating both lifts simultaneously. Then we manually lifted the cross bar into position and, while I maintained it's position, Wade bolted together the first nut and bolt at his post. Then I did likewise at my post followed again by Wade at his post. John passed up a socket and spanner and the eight bolts, four a side/post, were tightened down. Lifting/lowering cables run through their pulleys and the hydraulic line and control wires run through their brackets. John then lowered me and my pallet to the floor and returned next doors forklift. Wade finished his side, although he'll be returning aloft again tomorrow to finish off. Back on the ground the longest and hardest part faced us, getting the posts vertical and aligned, then drilling 6" into reinforced concrete for the anchoring bolts. There was quite a supply of different thickness shims for this part of the procedure and Wade had purchased a box of Hilti bolts for the anchoring. Preliminary sightings with a builders level indicated shimming was very necessary and although there were a lot of shims by the time we finished there weren't many remaining. Still need to drill one anchoring hole, because there's a "bracket" on one side that interferes with getting the drill vertical while the lift is down. So once the hydraulics and controls are operational tomorrow, enabling reasonable access, the final anchoring hole can be drilled and finished. The Hilti anchoring bolts are something I hadn't seen before. Similar to other expanding anchoring system bolts but with a removable threaded choke piece at the internal end while the head of the bolt has a "shear off" outer head that snaps off and locks the bolt in place. I'll post some pic's tomorrow.

While we working on the hoist received the sad news that Helen Hood, wife of Max Hood, had passed away today. Helen and Max are very long time members of PACA, and are very well known in Australia's Packard community. The funeral is being held next week and Wade, I and other PACA members will be attending, in Packards if we can. Wade tells me Max and Helen were former owners of Eleanor or, as it's known in these pages, "The Fossil".

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Sad news about Helen - too many funerals lately...

As for the Aussie 6 Speedster pics, thank you Mal - these are pretty important snaps of a car I am not familiar with and the series of photos tell such a wonderful story. With your permision might I post them on some other web sites asking for more information? Also I think it would be wonderful if you would be able to get some high quality scans of these photos. To much history has already been lost by such information being discarded by later generations that may not fully appreciate it's importance in years to come.

Matt,

Certainly post the pic's. I will endeavour to borrow the album from Sam so I can scan them, there were a few more Speedster pic's too IIRC. I'll also obtain from Sam the contact details of the guy whose album it was before he moved to the South Coast a few years ago and gave Sam the album. Apparently the guy is still around so may know the story behind them.

Tuesday 13th September 2011

Work today was on finishing the hoist setup and getting it working. New 415V wall socket installed and new plug for the hoists power lead connected and plugged in. Then the hydraulic hose connections at the base of each post were cleaned, pink thread tape applied and re-installed and the hydraulic oil reservoir filled with oil. Then the big test. Rather, it turned out to be the big disappointment, nothing happening, motor running, but no movement. Much time was then spent checking connections and suchforth in the control box as well as changing the phasing connections. Then success! The hoist went up! Far enough that the remaining post anchoring hole could be drilled and the final Hilti anchoring bolt could be installed. After this the hoist was lowered and there it stayed! After reference to John's old hoist, which is the same model as the one Wade has and after many and various suggestions and much trouble shooting finally the hoist was in business. However it went up too far this time causing an oil leak because the rams were too far extended. Adjustment of the lower limit switch has now fixed that. This also allowed the swinging arms to operate effectively, previously the hoist hadn't lowered sufficiently to allow the locks holding the arms in place to release. Some fine tuning tomorrow so the arms at each side are level, check one of the hydraulic fittings because of a "weep" and refill the hydraulic oil reservoir. Then Emily can be moved out, she's sitting behind the hoist at the moment, and Fleurette can be moved in, lifted skywards and the trans and OD re-installed.

During the course of the hoist saga TonyW, Noel's mate, called in to drop off the cabinet for the radio for Fleurette he'd painted. Tony also picked up and measured the front seat top he's going to modify to fit Big Red.

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