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

If that was my car, I'd consider repairing or replacing the running boards before spending a lot on paint.

There has been lots of good advice given here but I will add my two cents. I have rescued numerous buddies over the years and the one common mistake they all seem to make to to underestimate the time and money needed. I take the approach that completing a car in smaller tasks keeps your out of pocket manageable and your time spent wisely. Completing a car is like a puzzle with many pieces that are needed to see the whole picture. Complete some project like a fender or a door then drive it for a while then rinse and repeat. You need to see progress and have the satisfaction of seeing something completed before moving on. Dont try to put your arms around the whole car at once. Do all the mechanicals first. I doesn't matter what it looks like if it can't leave the barn.

For a Base coat clear coat repaint on a '39 4 dr. with PPG, look to probably spend $30,000.00 for a really nice job. Running boards will be about $2500.00

theres not a paint job in this world worth 30,000
just get the same paint u have , try 2 fenders ,if u have problems ,,im sure u can find a shop to do them, same time ur not tying ur car up,and dont take any parts off the car to paint them, as far as the running boards , get that truck bed liner material, walmart has a good selection of it,
basically the car isnt worth much more painted then how it sits there now, so why waist the money

As far as I know, clear coat wasn’t used in 1940 and didn’t appear for may years after. To me, it always makes a vintage car look quite odd.

Thank you all for your input.

My biggest desire is to make it look decent. This is not going to be a show car, I am going to drive it every chance I get. I have some suspension work to do to replace bushings etc. and figure out a plan for the running boards and the interior dome light switch which I can't seem to find but in the end I have been blessed with common sense.

I don't mind getting a bit underwater with the value of this car because it is not an investment it is what I love about cars. It's my passion but I understand this is the wrong car to sink a bunch of coin into, but it is really fun to drive.

I got the rims back from the sandblasting place today primed and ready to go and they look really good.

In 10 days I am getting a knee replacement so I will be on the bench for about 6 weeks plenty of time to think about the possibilites.

But I will find a path in all the advice I have been given to make this car a little more "presentable".

Thanks again.

I recommend you pull off and put a few small projects aside (heater, radio, gauges, switch cleanup, etc) as bench work hand projects while you’re recovering. You can spend as little/much time as you feel like and you won’t feel like you’re losing ground.

Enjoy. My first car I bought at age 13, 50 myears ago, was a 41 110 special sedan much like yours. With an overdrive, it drove like a champ.

Similar to DM37, my first car was a 1939 Six that was powered by a 1940 110 engine and shortly after that I bought a 1940 and switched the engine into it once it was rebuilt. It was one of my everyday cars and I even drove it from Bellevue, WA to San Jose, CA when we moved here. When I bought the 1939, I was 16 years old and that was in the mid-'60s before the car was even an antique but now we both are! By the time I was 17, I had five prewar Packards: the 1939, three 1940 110s and a 1941 Henney-Packard hearse although admittedly two of the 1940s were parts cars that I never brought home.