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Looks good! Drive it and enjoy it. All cars all only new once, and keeping a car original is not easy.
Wes

Nice photos, Ken. Northern NY State = Beautiful.

Pat

PS: in case you haven't chosen seatbelts yet, SeatBeltsPlus.com offers registered belts at very good prices. The website is very informative and easy to use with many color options. I chose the aircraft latch style for the 39 and purchased the Grade 8 bolt/nut/washer installation kit as well for each belt. The items of the hardware kit are easily purchased from hardware stores, but not at the great price offered. I can share photos of the installation on my 39 if you like.

Pat - photos of install (i.e. mounting points) would be great. I'm a little bit of a wuss about drilling holes in a floorboard I don't intend on re-surfacing and re-painting later, so I have been hemming and hawing a little bit.

Do you remember how long your belts are?

great looking car!

Ken,
I'll get some photos as soon as I can. I purchased the 72" total belt length. They are longer than necessary for me, but I went conservatively. The best way to judge this is to first identify the anchor location, then route a rope from there, around your waist and back to the other anchor point. Measure and add some for either your future heavier self or others who are larger than you. This works also for child seats (my 39 has three child seats across the back seat).

pm

Pat, thanks. I settled on 72" as well - car seats planned for rear seat install, and I thought it would be better to be too long than too short.

I had to go in to work for a few hours today, so I took advantage of the warm, dry fall (40F - last year at this time I already had used the snowblower a few times!) to take the Packard for a spin. Life has been very hectic, so I haven't driven the car in about a month. She started just like always, and I found out the heater works! The valve was already on, which explains why the floor got so hot this summer. It does have a few oddities that I am hoping for some help with.

1. The ammeter always shows a slight discharge. -2-3 at idle, -1 at higher rpm, -4-5 with lights on and idling. I know the generator is charging, because it always starts well. Is there a way to calibrate or adjust ammeters?

2. It takes forever to start when it has been sitting, and I have to pump the pedal or even start it like it is hot. (gas pedal in). No, I am not flooding it! Is it likely just a leaky needle and seat?

Thanks, as always.

Edit: I looked closely, and the intake manifold shows signs of leakage from under the carb. I will check for tightness, gasket, etc.

I don't know of any way you could safely calibrate the ammeter at home without having the proper tools and expertise. They are delicate mechanisms and can be damaged easily so really needs to be done at an instrument shop. I would ask a question though. What does it do when the engine is off and radio or headlights are on. If it still reads discharge then ammeter has an issue but if it now reads to the charge side then the wires connecting to the ammeter are reversed on the two terminals. Reversing wires is done when the polarity is changed. Is yours still a positive ground?

Went and checked- with the key off, turning the lights on reads -15 Amps. Is John Wolfe the best guy for this sort of work?

Also, anyone have a NOS heater valve (flackmaster?). I went to check that mine was on, and it is not plumbed with a valve - just the tube off of the water pump. Heater worked nice though, and the light on the switch even worked!

It is still a positive ground car.

Hi Ken,

From the data you've given I'm not convinced the ammeter is the problem, your data is very consistent with a non-charging situation and suggest confirming with a voltmeter that charging system is functioning. More than 50 years of working on old cars and have never encountered an ammeter needing calibration.