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Went for a nice Sunday drive after church with the whole family. The bench seats make it easy to fit all 7 of us in there. Not ideal with the seatbelts, but we're also just cruising at about 25 mph around town and into the country. Kids had a great time, lots of heads turning as usual.

I leaned over to my wife during the drive and said "I love this. This is why we have this car". Making memories as a family in the Packard....the money and time involved are all worth it.

-Kevin

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The dimmer switch can cause issues. One push and it moves a plate to make contact between common and one terminal, another push and it moves again to make contact with the other terminal, and another push goes back to the first position. If dirty or worn the plate can hang sometimes between terminals and not make contact with either. Keep the switch in mind if the lights fail again.

Not much happening here. I did get some actual drip pans (two of them....the engine and transmission are loooong), and then moved the Panama into its new quarters.

Much more room to work in the new shop. Cleaner and warmer too. There is still much to do in the shop to get it where it needs to be, but it's far enough along for me to use it now. I should be able to get more things done on the Panama this winter. Eventually I will get a lift and it will be much easier to work under the car.

-Kevin

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Very nice digs! My shop is such a mess that it's a wonder I get anything done. If you're ever driving south when I'm at my shop, you're welcome to stop by whether in your Panama or not.

Hmmm.....it is a really nice shop but there is too much unused space. Looks like you need to fill it up with more Packards and Packard parts Kevin!!

Looking good KPack but I spot a few problems...

1) Inefficient use of space
Every Packard enthusiast knows that the only reasonable number of projects to have is the number that fit into your garage. How will you ever get motivated to work on one project if you don't have 5 other projects? To help you out, I've outlined your wasted space in the photo below.



2) Too bright
To get the proper 1954 experience you need 1954 lighting. For a shop your size, approximately two 60W lights on the ceiling should be sufficient. Ideally your work environment will look something like this.



3) Not enough parts
If you don't inadvertently become a parts dealer by the amount of parts you randomly acquire then something wrong is happening somewhere. Ideally your car parts hoard should spill into your house and take up roughly an entire bedroom and dining table.



Hope you appreciate my suggestions!

- hph

Don - I don't find myself in Oregon often, but I definitely need to come down and visit your shop at some point. It won't be in the Panama though...I've never driven it on the highway, and I'm not sure I would trust it going any sort of distance.

Paul - More Packards is part of my master plan! My wife asked the other day "So, how many Packards are you wanting to have?" I responded "I don't like to limit myself with restrictions"

HPH - Haha, those pictures were very helpful. The 1950's lighting is especially nice. I do so much enjoy not being to see, lol.

The lights I put in are great....in that pic they are at about 75% brightness, so they can get pretty blinding. It's so nice being able to easily see what I'm working on. And I love having a clean, smooth floor too. No more getting covered in dirt from laying on the ground. Eventually I'll have a lift in there and will probably have another Packard to share the space with. I like the openness though....I have to work hard to control my clutter. I still have a shelf full of parts that I need to go through and move out to the shop as well. Thankfully I've been able to keep the hoarding to a minimum so far. Maybe that means I'm not a true Packard enthusiast though....

-Kevin

Not much happening on my end. Been trying to get some vinyl samples from SMS so I can redo the door panels this winter. Several phone calls and emails, we'll see if anything comes. With any luck maybe I'll get some samples in the next two weeks.

Weather has turned, definitely Fall now. I took the Panama out for a spin to warm it up and exercise it. The heater blew only cold air, which makes me think my heater valve may not be working. Besides a little blue smoke on startup and at the first light, the rest of the drive was uneventful. Smoke cleared up as soon as the engine started to warm up.

-Kevin

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Nice subject and photography, really nice selection of backdrops.

Nice photos!

Took this one earlier today at Brady's Bend PA. River is the Allegheny.

When I was emailing SMS they took like a week to get back to me at first. They are just busy... people are pre-ordering over winter to have their stuff next spring/summer

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