Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

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Not surprising. I'm excited to get it out to a few cruise ins as you don't see much outside of the big three in my area. People here mainly bought trucks to use for working around the farm and hunting. Even short bed pickups are a rarity here as the original buyer in this area would have wanted more bed to haul whatever they needed. If a family did have a car, it was generally driven "'til the wheels fell off" and pulled into the woods or scrapped. I definitely haven't seen any Packards at any local events I've been to lately, although I've heard of a few older restored models about 45 minutes from me.

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The previous owner said he made an abrupt stop and his well endowed wife flew forward because of the lack of seat belts and "busted" the windshield.

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That would indeed bust it!

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If states did that, I’m not sure they were supposed to as the model year designation was federally defined and mandated.

I am thinking until the strict VIN format regulations came about in the latter half of the 20th century and began to be enforced more stringently, in the days of Packard it was sort of a wild west mentality regarding auto registrations. Even though something might have been suggested or even written into law as policy it wasn't really enforced so states could do pretty much their own thing. Apparently even today states can still do a lot on their own as the licensing and inspection requirements do seem to vary quite a bit from state to state.

I've always liked soap pads for cleaning old chrome. Turns out Packard hubcaps do too! Unfortunately, the other three aren't nearly as nice. They match the rest of the car. Went with the cheapest tires the shop down the road could get in the closest modern size for now, was surprised they were WSW. Mounted, balanced, out the door for $400! I love the look of the reproduction tires but can't justify the cost at this point. Didn't even bother painting the wheels, I think they look great as they are for a driver.

This is probably not high on your priority list, but someday when you want a fun project you can redo the paint on your hubcaps and it will really spruce them up. A club member gave me some red red reflective stickers that I used, and were apparently available from some dealers back in the day, so sort of original.

Keep your eyes open for a set of tires that someone has taken off their car. I managed to get a set of 5 for $500 that were new in the wrapper from our club president who got them from another club member, but sold the car he was going to put them on. Not radials, but that's okay, easier to steer and they look original!

The PAC store shows the hex hubcap decal repros as currently available.

Just buy a Fourney paint marker in black and red, you can redo them all in no time.