Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

My friend has a 1922 touring single six. It's in a shed on dirt. The tires are there but have come off the wheels. The wheels have wood spokes with metal rims and look in pretty good shape.

This car has not been moved in years. It looks complete except for the shift knob.
She wants to pull it out of the shed. Could she do this without hurting the rims and spokes? any tips on moving it?

Thanks,
Don

Attach file:

---

  IMG_4150.JPEG (300.33 KB)

I've never done this but offer these thoughts.

1) The tyres look like they've reached the end of their useful life some time ago so I wouldn't be concerned about further damaging them whatever you do.

2) Can it be determined if the drive train is "locked up"? Does the clutch work? Is the engine seized?

3) Are the brakes "locked on" after sitting for many years? I think these only have rear brakes but I could easily be wrong.

4) I see it has wooden wheels. Are these in "good" condition? Not rotten or suffering from little critters using them for their lunch.

5) Condition of the steel rims, good or otherwise? Are they still securely mounted to the wooden wheels?

6) Depending on the answers you get, if it can be determined it'll roll relatively freely I'd give pulling it out of the shed a go.

7) If possible lay down some lengths of timber for the wheels to roll on. Should help minimise possible rim damage.

As I said, I've never done this, so it might be best if you treat my thoughts with a grain of salt. I hope someone comes along who has hands on experience with this type of situation.

I'd recommend moving the car from the building by jacking it up and putting dollies under the rims.

I'd clear out the junk, jack the car up, put plywood down (or OSB) under each wheel track, lower each wheel on to a dolly, and slowly ease the car out of the building. The (much more?) difficult task will be to get it loaded up on a trailer.

Ive also seen guys "build" new "wheels" out of multiple layers of plywood, remove the wooded spoked wheels to prevent them from collapsing, and install the plywood. Then bolt the front "wheels" to a 2x8, and set THAT on the dollies.

Wow! All I can say is this is an incredible barn find. Please post additional photos after you extricate the car from the shed.

It appears from the photos that the wooden spokes on right front wheel have become partially detached from the steel rim. With 100-year-old wood, the spokes could be quite fragile, and they could easily come apart while the car is being moved. Owen-Dyneto's recommendation to put the car on dollies is a good one. Wooden spoked wheels of this vintage are built up from several sections and the sections can break apart because the wood is probably very dried out from so many years of storage. In any event, the sections of the wheels are probably loose. An old trick to tighten up wood wheels is to remove them from the car and soak them in a tank of water overnight. I saw this once on an old car restoration TV show where a brass era car was being removed from a museum after many decades of being on display. This will cause the wood to swell. But if the wood is badly rotted, new wheels will the only solution. Unfortunately, this will be an expensive proposition. What is your friend's plan for the car?

If the wheels-n-spokes are $hite, then the laminated plywood circles make sense. I'd use .75" if it were mine. Also, dirt floor. Dollies, like as not, are intended to roll on concrete/pavement and would likely be swallowed in dirt, so the idea also of lifting the car and putting plywood/OSB under it solves that dilemma.


Should the wheels have died or otherwise migrated beyond use, if there is an Amish community near you, if they cannot rebuild/replace the spokes, then I'd wager they know who can, and likely for considerably less than what a "restoration" shop would want/gouge you for.

I'd call a flatbed tow truck and tell them to bring proper towing wheel dollys with them.

May cost a couple of hundred dollars, but some things are better left to folks with the proper equipment.

Thank you all for your input. I think I'll recommend putting planks or plywood under the car and having a roll-back tow truck move it.

I'm not sure what my friend wants to do with it. It's about 25 miles SE of Fresno California, which is pretty hot. I'm sure the wood wheels are thoroughly dried out. The car was last licensed in 1952 and probably hasn't been driven in 50 years. My research on www.caaarguide.com shows it's worth about $13,100 - $13,600 depending on its wheelbase. Does this sound reasonable?

Also, can anyone tell me what the leather flaps at the top center of the doors are for?

Quote:Don,
My guess is that these were to protect the paint on the top of the doors. Based on seeing a lot of roadsters with that feature as part of the rumble seat area, with leather flaps to protect the paint on the rear mudguads(fenders) where passangers arms would otherwise rest on the body. I'm often wrong, and if I am, I'm sure somebody will correct me!

Those flaps cover pockets in the doors, this is a 1922 Sport 126. there will be minor differences between the different 1922 models

Attach file:

---

  DSC_0068 e.JPG (211.11 KB)