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Corey - everyone, including myself, would applaud the idea of resurrecting this car from the grave, especially by a young person interested in what is an old man's hobby. The support you are feeling is genuine, however, I strongly feel you are disillusioned by the supportive chatter as the car is far from the proper restoration candidate, even for an experienced restorer.
I hope you will see the light, oh, wait, you can.... through the floor, trunk, doors, inner fenders, runningboards, etc. that this car would require so much serious metal work which you are far from equipped to do, that you really need to recognize this game-over situation. Once stripped, you car will be as bad as the 40-120 convertible linked to The Astronaut's project. Even with his skills as a professional metalworker, he is at the limits of restoration rationalization. Look at some of the other restoration blogs on this site. Look at the amount of time that elapses. As for money, your project is economically unfeasible, period. Even the great Fred Kanter, who we all respect for his efforts to resurrect the 52 Limo, knows that it takes a nut-case to embark on such field-car restorations. I can only speculate how your field-car '40 sedan has survived, either as a memorable form of yard art, or simply someone forgot to crush is when scrap was of value. I repeat, this is NOT the car for someone in your position to undertake.
My counsel would be to focus your energies on your education and skills, whether specific to Packarding or not. Do your homework. Get a job working around auto's where you can get paid for developing restoration skills. Really committed to this road? Check out the auto restoration program at McPherson College in Kansas. Other schools, beginning with your local high school BOCES/Vo-Tech,etc) can get you started on the basics. Meantime, as Ross said, there are plenty of affordable Packards that are far closer to being ready for when you get your drivers license.
Please Corey, reconsider the path you are considering. I am not typing this to hear myself think. Step away from the fire.
C'mon guys, help me out here....the skills, money and timing are wrong for Corey to undertake this project.

Corey - first off, a warm welcome to the Packard world. I'm 34 and typically the youngest guy at car shows or meets, so it's great to see someone else interested.

I had a similar experience to yours in college. As a freshman, I developed an interest in off-roading. I had a little bit of money and I went and found the first 4x4 I could. It was a 1953 Willys Wagon with a Chevy 265 V8. After 4 years of putting chevy parts into it, I finally just shifted all of the Chevy parts to a Chevy Blazer for offroad adventures. Had I listened to some sound advice back then, I would have spent a lot more time wheeling and a lot less time wrenching by saving up a little and buying a vehicle in better condition.

Having always being interested in old cars, I acquired a '37 Packard 115C about six years ago. Based on pictures, it was in much better condition than your starting point. See my project blog here:packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6550&start=0. I did all the mechanical work (frame restoration, new lines and brakes, rebuilt transmission and engine, etc.) I also gathered a ton of new body parts based on the condition of my body. Eventually, I ended up shopping for a better body and instead just bought a better car. I sold my 115C for about what I had in it in parts - so no pay for my labor other than the experience and no recoupment of the initial purchase price.

Your car is worse than mine was. I also am assuming money is tight; it was for me in high school! I get it - you have this car, with beautiful lines, and you see the potential. I think the advice you're getting here to run away is sound; I would always recommend buying the best project you can afford - any money you put in after the initial purchase you won't get back, and it costs more to restore than to buy restored.

If you can't be dissuaded from this project, I recommend you don't do any big projects. Don't worry about rust on the frame, yet. You can do brake lines with the body on the frame, for example. I would get it running and driving with the least amount of money possible, and start shopping/saving for a donor car. The most realistic way to restore your car is to buy one, two or three other cars of the same or similar body style and graft them into one. Not sure if you have the time or the space for such an undertaking, but that is likely the only way to bring this one back!

Since it's your money, I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide. Hopefully you can combine some of our experience and save money - I've learned it is cheaper to learn from others mistakes!

Regardless of your decision, welcome to the community and don't hesitate to ask if you need anything!

Corey,

Take a look at my project blog. I started with a $500 car, that no one wanted, because to have a shop do it, it would cost $30,000 to have a $15,000 car.

My car was basically all there. Just in very rough shape. Also to my surprise both the motor and tranny ran without rebuilding. Also, I lucked out on the interior thanks to generous folks here on the website.

My point is, while a "free" car sound enticing and being able to work on it as you have money is basically what I did, there is a point where you'll be so upside down in the project that either it will never get finished, or you grow disinterested in it, and you'll never be able to recoup anything close to the cost of it.

Both of out cars are similar in the respect that they are Junior-Sedans. So they are not very sought after in the collector market, nor do they hold any high value. But they take just as much work and money, or even more so, than a more desirable 2 door car. If I didn't get that interior for my car, the material costs alone would have been close to $3000. To have it all made up and sewn would have been over $6000.

That car is a shell of a parts cars. Almost everything of parts value has been picked clean (trim, chrome, etc). And while I hate to see any Packard get scrapped, at some point you have to say, is it worth it?

You could probably find a similar model, not running, but with almost all parts present for a few thousand, and that would be a far better place to start both in time and money. People said I was insane starting from where I did, and I had a complete car. If you want to do this as a labor of love and don't care about the expense, then fine, go forward and we will help you along the way. But, you're going to need to buy a parts car, as that is the only cost effective way of getting all the parts you are missing. And once you do that, I bet you'll find it will be easier to restore that parts car, then it would be the shell you are starting with.

I'm not trying to discourage you in any way, I am just trying to give you some guidance in making a smart decision from someone that has gone down a similar path before you get in too deep into it.

The saying "Buy the best condition car you can afford" is really true when it all washes out in the end.


Just my

Fellow Packardites,
We are all in agreement that my young Grasshopper's 110 has a body that REALLY requires a different, less rusted out replacement. Getting the body off and cleaning up the frame is his next step. This is a long term project for him and a better body may come along later. The frame looks to be alright, so perhaps getting the mechanical straight is what we should concentrate on assisting him with. We all love his enthusiasm.

Now my grandpa is teaching me how to weld I don't get to practice often but he gets flat sheets of metal from work so floor trunk and door repair shouldn't cost too much so basically I can't restore it I'll stick with the original fenders and all that it'd have that ratty look but I'm not gonna butcher it or customize it so I'd need a motor-tranny and seats right??

I do plan on saving up for another Packard project too hopefully I can find a cheap one on craigslist in the future for a better restoration project!!

Corey,
I invite you to read my '51 Packard blog, link below on my signature page. Just read the first few pages, then the last few on how it ended up. I was 18 when I bought that car. I'm 40 now.

Other makes and models of cars have passed through my hands over that time frame, but I always kept the '51 Packard until I got the '52.

So was all that time and energy wasted? Depends on who you ask. If you really like '40 Packards eventually you will buy a better one like I did. In my case I was not out any real money. The metal I got for free. Any Packard metal I bought was sold to others at my cost plus any other parts I was able to cut off my car for them. The wire harness I made went into the better car and also the better gauges and chrome. What I received from working on the '51 was a valuable education on basic auto repair and more importantly the confidence to take things apart and hopefully make them better.

Of course as your car sits you will be upside down trying to restore it. Heck it may end up as scrap down the road anyway like my car. As I see it, right now you have a free car, free metal, and someone willing to teach you. You have nothing to lose if you are smart with what you put money into.

Don't worry about mechanicals right now. That's easy. I recommend you try to fix the rust the best you can. Learn to weld and fabricate metal. That will help you decide if this project is right for you.

If you are determined to do mechanicals first and you are settled on this style of car, anything you do could be transferred to a better condition car down the road like I did. Good luck and I will be following along cheering you on!

Good for you Corey! Full speed ahead. Who knows, get as much as you can,do done and go from there. Maybe someone will need a car with the things you've done and buy it or trade you another Packard. Well meaning opinions CAN be discouraging, but I say go with what feels right for you. We ARE here and willing to help you!

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Glad we all could agree. All advice, unsolicited and otherwise, is just an attempt to teach from our experiences. The beauty of this hobby is that each of us can do whatever we want!

I'm gonna do lot's of metalwork on my car my grandpa said he can get me flat sheet metal for the floors and trunk he think's I'm gonna rat-rod it but I'm not I plan on keeping it all Packard until it comes to metal I'm gonna make my own inner fender wells the front fenders can be fixed but I might buy an extra set when I get the cash the rear fender's aren't bad surface rust but the bottom of the fender's are rotted out I can cut that off and make new bottoms the floorboards need to be sanded other than that they're in good condition the roof has surface rust I'm gonna need a new Trunk lid and hinges though but so far what I really need I'll list out
1-1940 straight 6cyl
2- 1940 3-speed manual tranny
3- 1940 rear-end
4- 1940 front door hinges
5- 1940 rear-doors
6- 1940 Radiator
7- I'm gonna need a better dash for my car eventually
For the Interior I'm gonna need front and back seats I can make my own carpeting for the car and make my own headliner If that's aloud