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This is my first time posting in a forum as well as attempting to work on a car. I have always wanted to learn how to restore and work on a car. My father-in-law liked the idea and it became a bonding thing to try and do it togather. By God's good graces a Packard was the car that i found. the tow yard was selling it for 2500, final sale was 1250 and they even towed it the 2 hours to the house. Can't beat that.It was sitting for a very long time, and it was non-operational. it was last registered in 1990. the interior was a mess and it looked like vermin had made it a home for a while. the drivers/passengers side floor are rusted but it didn't make it to the doors or the frame. Alot of the chrome was still on as well as the hood ornament. No hubcaps, headlight ring, front bumper guards, Packard script above front wheel wells, wheel skirts, air cleaner or radio antenna. the wiring and the breaks are a mess. and the heating core valve leaks into the the inside.

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Since getting it 3 weeks ago, we have rebuilt the carburetor and aquired a new battery. We got it onto tires that hold air only to take them off and get it up on stands. We changed the fluids, and after a compresion test and freeing up the 2 valves that were stuck from sitting open for so long, she turned over and to our surprise ran like a dream. a little engine cleaner and things were looking up until we looked at the breaks and the wiring. We are tracking down new wheel cylinders as well as a new master cylinder while we are pulling out the old wiring. we pulled out the interior as well to get at the floors and the dash. thats up to now.

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Welcome to the Forum! Looks like you are already making quick progress on your bathtub Packard! I have always like that bodystyle.

M@ross--welcome to the party! good luck with your bathtub and don't be too shy to post questions. There are a lot of good minds here with a lot of experience.

Welcome aboard M@Ross - Looks like you've got a good basis to work on for the restoration. Plenty of friendly and knowledgeable Packard lovers here who can help and advise. Again - Welcome.

PS - Can you put the '48 into the Owner Registry? With a photo and any history, if knowm.

Thanks for the kind words. I'm sure to need the knowledge and helpful direction. this is looking to be a great decision as a hobby, much better than hours of video games.

P.S. I also added it to the owners register.

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M@ - Thanks for adding the '49 to the Registry. In my previous post I said '48, apologies. Interesting to read your comments and what was of known of it's history. Keep updating your Project Blog and use the Post-War Forum should you need advice. Thanks again, I'll look forward to seeing the '49 progress.

After narrowly escaping a 15 hour shopping trip with the Mrs's on black friday. My father in-law and I retreated to the garage a day earlier than planed and set to starting the rewiring job. It took all day but we got all the major engine essential parts wired in; ignition, starter, carb, generator, as well as the charge gauge and the temp gauge. The only part we didn't know if it was still functioning was the generator. We had gotten the engine to run earlier, now we had to see if the whole system was working properly from key to running.

I would like to title the remaining part of this entry as "You push on WHAT to start it?"

So we quickly realized that the key didn't have a start setting. After spending half a second looking for a button we each went our own ways. While i the novice went to the owners manual, my father went to the wire chart and and figured it out as fast as i did.

The gas pedal, huh? I think that should be in bigger letters somewhere with exclamation points. then again I am the novice.

We had been wondering what the switch and the ball bearing were in the carb. Crazy Packard people. After that Key was on and we pushed on the pedal and she turned over and started up. After starting it 6 or so times each, chuckling over how cool that is, we checked the gauges. I am happy to report a functioning generator and temp gauge and the engine system is running fine. Now to finish the wiring and get the break parts. I tried to order the brake parks last week but i just missed most of the locations and they were all down for the holidays. I'll try and get those this week.

Buick used the same starter switch system with the accelerator for a number of years as well. Some other unusual ones were Chevrolet (under the clutch pedal) and Nash (pull the gearshift forward in neutral). Perhaps the moral of the story is that it's a good idea to read the owner's manual when you buy a car you're not familiar with.

Congratulations on the wiring. As to the starter, don't know how many other cars used that particular system but I do remember sitting in a 59 Buick (being used as a loaner in the late 60's) for several minutes trying to figure it out until the mechanic came over and asked if there was a problem. Never dreamed that GM ever used anything but key. As to the cool factor, it is until the car doesn't start on first or second push. After that, pushing pedal again & again gets it flooded but good. Been there-done that. A well broken in 51 I drove during HS did it to me more than once. Have seen more than one car with a well hidden pushbutton installed under the dash apparently for that very contingency.