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Kevin, your handle retainer appears to not only be sticking out too far but also it appears to be bent over where it sticks out. As already pointed out, it is either not the proper one or it's not installed all the way in. If the latter, you'll have to first remove it in order to straighten the bend to allow it to go in all the way. In case you need to replace it, I am at my shop and have one that I brought from home but not sure which door it's for.

Kev and Don, I think you are right. I didn't have much time but did take a quick glance at the retainers on both doors (did not take the trim off yet). The driver's side has the tab broken off, and both appear to be sticking too far out. I'll pull the trim and see what they look like inside. They were removed in the past when the previous owner had the car painted.

I did get some time last night to finish getting the starter back together. The old brushes were completely shot:



Unfortunately the bushing I got from Max Merritt was not correct at all. The existing bushings in my starter have grooves and have a larger diameter than what I received. I'll contact them and get it changed out.






The contacts inside of the solenoid looked okay as far as I could tell. Some pitting for sure, but I don't know that it's bad enough to worry about.






Got everything cleaned up nicely, repainted the housing and reassembled. I may still replace the bushing. Not in a huge rush to reinstall the starter because I can't drive until I get the seats back.

Some but not all solenoids can be given added life just like new by removing the stud contacts to rotate them 180 before putting them back in. On some the pitted copper disc can also be removed and reinstalled so the unused side is making contact. If yours cannot be taken apart, there are also rebuild kits for many solenoids. If solenoid was also used on a GM product there is a good chance there was a kit but whether they are still around and plentiful is another matter.

If it turns out it does need future work, you might see if you can find the actual solenoid number and check with Napa or maybe a rebuilder. For example the 55-6 solenoid rebuild kit is the Echlin STK2. That kit consists of an entire new moving contact assy with copper plate, hardware, and a new bakelite back with the molded in terminals.

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Thanks Howard. I didn't see a way to disassemble the solenoid further without unsoldering wires and such. I decided against it. Rotating the studs would be rather simple, I may do that. The solenoid does have a number stamped on it, which I'll need to look at and record when I get home. It's likely that it was used on other makes and models.

Regardless, I think most of my issues were due to the brushes being completely worn out. I don't think they were making much contact with the commutator. That and the wiring to and from the starter was ugly. But I will probably rotate those studs for good measure before I put the starter back in. No harm in that.

Seats are getting close to being done. The upholstery shop finished the rear seat, so my wife picked it up while she was in that town and brought it back. I took a quick look at them. Overall they look great. Maybe a couple of adjustments needed.

They stripped down to the springs and frames, sandblasted and powdercoated



New burlap, cotton and some foam. We did not replicate the burlap sacks around the rear springs. The back two rows of springs on the rear seat are the only springs that had burlap surrounding them originally.



I think I would like to see more padding on the upper corners of the rear backrest. It should be a bit puffier than what it is now. But the stitching overall looks great.



Tuck and roll pleats, as original. We were able to save the original stainless trim and reuse it



Rear backrest. Might be a little too much padding on top edge. Looks square instead of rounded.



This angle shows it best



I quickly threw them in the car to see how they look, which then made me late for work. But work can wait.



I sat in them for a short minute and they definitely feel stiffer than original. Some of that is going to be the new padding (not sure what thickness of foam they used, but they did put cotton no the outer layer), and some of it is going to be new fabric that isn't falling apart.



I may talk to them about taking a bit of the padding off the upper edge of the backrest, and adding more to each upper corner of the backrest. Not a deal breaker, but I do think it would help look a bit nicer.

-Kevin

Having just taken out and disassembling all the seats from my 1956 Clipper Custom, I found no burlap sacks around any of the springs except for those in the rear center arm rest which your Panama doesn't have. Mine needs the rear seat springs replaced and I had hoped that a rear seat cushion from my 1954 Patrician would work as both use the same formed foam pad but the hump over the axle shaft is noticeably smaller on my 1954. Curiously yours looks much like the one in the '56 but, of course, it's otherwise totally different due to being in a 2-door car. I wonder why the difference in the hump for two cars the same year no matter the body type as I would expect the hump to be the same.

As I wrote the last sentence, I think I know the answer. My 1954 is 5" longer, pushing the rear seat 5" farther back where the hump is tapering away! I should just delete this and give up but someone somewhere sometime might find it helpful.

I noticed a comparable thing where the transmission tunnel cutout in the rear seat changed between 53 and 55 even though pretty much the whole rear end was a copy-paste. I suspect it was to make space under the car for the torsion level motor but IDK.

Your project is coming along nicely

Looks awesome! (and comfortable)

It looks great!