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

I am trying to see what the original fasteners to hold firewall pad on 1940 Packard look like. Are they a large head shoulder bolt or a push pin? is there a reproduction made?

I believe they used an all metal push in fastener of various lengths. In Clippers at least, the same type fastener was used in several other places to hold cardboard backed finish panels. Various fasteners are shown in the parts book, Utility section, under group 50.600. In your conventional body if you find a number for the fastener along with the dash pad listings and it is different you can probably use the utility section to find the exact shape and specs




For the dash pad the long hooked end legs pushed thru holes in the pad surface and insulation and when going into smaller holes in the firewall the hooks squeezed in and then expanded out again so the hooked legs could grab metal at the hole edges.

I could not find anything like them long enough for the dash pad when I did my car but was able to find a modern plastic push in rivet from McMaster with a solid round serrated stem that looked the same on the interior but was not stock looking in the engine compt. Some of the modern Dorman or Auveco aftermarket automotive fasteners may also work in a similar fashion to the plastic rivets.

I seem to recall that they were rubber standoffs with a similar shape to the metal type that Howard posted. The bit that pushed through the firewall had a shoulder behind it so that it would push in only so far. It’s possible I’m remembering later models, though! In any event, I keep finding them in my shop as I did part out a couple 1940 110s.