Packard Forum Index » Project Blogs

Quote:

It could be but they kept the compressor on the right in conventional body cars. I believe there is actually more room under a Clipper hood for air flow and cooling than there is on a conventional body so if heat were the big concern I would have thought they would have moved those too.

Haven't wanted to do much physical labor so not a lot to report for the last few weeks. Weather has been decent but the inclination to work hasn't been there. Only minor jobs and projects got any attention.

Decided against keeping the non factory flow thru ventilation feature so fixed the rusted out area below the trunk lid. With my lack of welding skills and definitely not being a threat to any body shop guys figured the worst -- but it turned out much better than I had expected and is fairly presentable. Matches the rest of car so won't win any concours. Still had to use a little body filler but amazingly it did not take the usual gallon and a half per square foot I have come to expect with any body work I do.

Was talking headlight relays with another poster so decided to go ahead and do the ones for this car. Made a small module to hold the relays similar to the way I did the 56. That job is now out of the way.

Went ahead and made the opening to access the sender from the trunk as another poster wanted to do with his 23rd series. Can't speak for any other models but this car had a raised spot in trunk floor somewhat over the sender. It is actually offset slightly so the terminal portion is in the bulge not the entire sender. Using a hole saw, a 3 1/2" hole was cut so the hole edge was exactly at the edge of bulge toward the front where it flattens to meet the floor. That put the center of hole just over 1" behind the center of bulge. Perfect centering front to back and as the photo shows right to left is good if I would slide the tank slightly. The edge of hole was depressed using a flanger and cover was made out of heavy sheet metal using a 4 1/4 hole saw. That diameter fits the flange and cover lies flat. The sender is well below the trunk floor but with another poster reporting weight had shorted his sender, used a boot and also added rubber to the bottom of cover. Also used a rubber well nut in the center of cover so the floor can't deflect far enough to hit the terminal before the well nut stops it.

Even after cleaning, found that the original gas sender was temperamental. Since it is the old obsolete 100 - 0 ohm range it needs to be sent in for repair. I had experimented with an aftermarket GM unit but the 0-90 ohms just didn't quite cut it and gauge never read less than 1/8 full. Not good when you want the accurate readings to be when you are nearing fumes. Until I actually get the original repaired decided to make one to fill the hole. Used a wire wound potentiometer of sufficient range so that the length and partial arc of float could be manipulated to give me the 100 ohms empty and 0 full the gauge needs. I soaked potentiometer in gasoline for a couple of weeks with no ill effects but encapsulated the assy in tank sealer anyway since I don't know the long term effects of gasoline on the component. Seems to be working but is just experimental and probably won't be used long term.

Am fairly sure based on scraps of adhesive and old flock found all over the interior that the entire trunk including floor was flocked originally. Customs also had the carpeted interior in addition to flocking. To finish off the trunk I went ahead and flocked the entire trunk since I had ordered plenty of material and had to use it somewhere. At least it presents a somewhat finished look. Definitely needs a mat and or carpet for longevity though.

Attach file:

---

  (96.21 KB)


  (105.58 KB)


  (68.14 KB)

like that sender idea,

Looks good Howard, nice progress.

Have done very little work. Just piddle around with the car lately. The schedule of 20 minutes thinking about working followed by 24 hours recuperation after all that thinking leaves little time for actual work.

Did get the headliner in. Considering everything, it went OK and looks reasonably decent. The extra AC vents in front IMO, look reasonably decent too. They actually put out a fair amount of air--not like a front unit but perfectly adequate. Believe I mentioned earlier the headliner was ordered but not checked thoroughly at the time of arrival. It turned out to be not the correct one for the car. Found that out when I first went to install it. I was able to make two more pairs of headliner bow brackets and attach them front and rear. Moved two bows to use the new brackets plus made a complete new bow for the extra center support needed. The remaining bows were either used or placed in their normal position unused so if I or the next owner wants to replace the headliner at some point with a correct one all original pieces will be present.

The rear AC vent I made was installed and then rear seat installed. That vent also turned out reasonably decent and works quite well. I decided since it was not original anyway to not use the Packard finish of the brown paint on the vent but rather dress it up a bit.

The trunk lock presented a bit of an issue. The original retaining clip was bent so it would not grab the ears tightly on both sides. Having had experience trying to straighten other types of hardened and brittle pieces only to have them break, I decided to use a shaft collar on the lock cylinder instead. A standard 13/16 shaft size with notches filed to clear the ears on the cylinder for the retaining clip worked and was not too difficult to install. Since no one apparently makes the thin rubber gaskets between the cylinders and sheetmetal I used water resistant fiber electrical insulating washers on all the cylinders. Those are gray but so little sticks past the cylinder they blend in with the chrome and are barely noticeable.

Attach file:

---

  (113.29 KB)


  (90.58 KB)


  (91.04 KB)

thanks for the update. I like the vents at the front!

Great job!

Not much to report. Made new backing pieces for the rear door panels and transferred the upholstery over. Upholstery was on a sub surface made of the asphalt-felt thin cardboard like material Packard was fond of. That was glued to the old masonite board with the chrome trim thru both so was a project removing it without damage. The old boards were warped and falling apart with half the attachment clip holes torn out so had to be changed.

Once upholstery was on the new board I re-dyed the fabric before installing the chrome strips.. I have bought new fabric and plan on having the upholstery on the panels changed but the upholsterer wants the whole car to do the panels. Just not in the mood to get it ready to leave the garage yet. Decided to hold off for now and see what fabric dye would do since the upholstery was in very good condition -- just faded. I am reasonably pleased with the outcome and new is still possible down the road.

I can't vouch for longevity and other colors but the fabric dye I used was Simply Spray sold by Spray it New. It went on easily and based on some unfaded portions of the panel the Navy Blue was a beautiful match for what was there originally and also for my new material.

One thing I am curious about is if anyone knows whether Packard used any water shield between the panels and door steel. They had the small panels covering the large square openings on the 51 and later cars but I don't see any evidence they did something on this car. Based on the amount of warping of the old panels it seems unlikely. I had some stuff on hand so added a sheet of the water resistant paper used behind stucco finishes to the door.

Next will be the garnish moldings. I am seriously considering whether to do the Grain It treatment on those or try Hanks Rvinyl material. As nice as Hanks dash turned out and as much work as the grain it procedure is for those of us with limited artistic talent it should be an easy decision but would like to hear opinions. One thing that is concerning is whether the vinyl would wrap around the curves smoothly. I don't have a good unpainted molding to go by but looking at various photos am thinking the Honey shade of burl and their walnut straight grain would be an appropriate color combination to match the original and what I did on the dash.

Howard, I think trying the vinyl would be worth doing. It is inexpensive, and if it doesn't work you can still do it the old fashioned way. I like the way your AC vents and headliner look. Also, you could easily place some moisture barrier in the doors. Now would be the time to do it. Any photos of the redyed panels?

(o[]o)