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Sounds like the temperatures we are having up here in northwestern Ontario this "summer?" although it is supposed to get to 86F today. I haven't seen any American tourists with skis on the roof racks this July and August though as in other years. My wife grew up in Estcourt and Pietermaritzburg Natal Province SA and it apparently gets cold enough in winter for frost to form on occasion. Now she puts up with our -40's.

Ja it does get cold here in Africa as well sometimes. Here in Johannesburg we are approx 2500 metres above sea level on the highveld savannas. It seldom goes below freezing but because our houses are not designed for cold weather we feel it worse. I see you guys install heaters in your garages...I dont even have one in my House!
A few years back we had some "snow":

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okay Berries !!!

..just saw your post..and where were you when I was at the Piston Ring club this past February..lolol Am a foreign member of the Piston Ring..

Ah you know Philip too and his 20-30 Packards..Hennie Van Jaarsfedt also has 48-50's Packard..near Roodeport.

Are you coming to Hershey..I mean my wife and i have only had 95 South Africans stay in our home over the years.lolol They come for ..you got it ..Hershey and the Henry Ford Museum and the Duesenburg museum..etc etc..lolol

When you see Godfrey Berry ed. of the Piston Ring Bulliten
tell him to dump his Hudsons and get a real car like a Packard..lol

Sandy Mitchell
Petersburg, MI

Hi Sandy!

You are the friendly Packard guy from the US that is a Piston Ring member - great to meet you! Thanks for the invite and I would definitely think about it although money is a bit tight at the moment.

I know Philip very well, in fact I bought the 1950 and the Chev truck from him. I see him regularly as it is great to visit his place and collection. We also attend the Piston Ring and sometimes drive there together. I am trying to get him to use this website, but he is not much into computers and stuff. I did upload some of his cars on the owners registry. I also have a friend down in Knysna, maybe you know him as well?? I also met Uncle Hennie and was very impresssed with his collection. Dont know if you visited him at his house? A serious collector. Saw him driving the convertible this past weekend.

I dont know Godfrey personally, but I enjoy his newsletter although I hear he wants to resign at present? Regarding the Hudsons....I nearly bought a 49 Commodore but was "persuaded" by Philip to invest in a "real" car i.e. the 50 Standard 8 Packard. HAHA! To say the least, I have not been disappointed with my purchase and also the Packard community especially here on this wonderfull forum!

Please Sandy... whenever you get to SA again please dont forget to visit me as well! Maybe we can organise for a South African Packard get together somewhere beautifull like say Cape Town? Me and Philip has been discussing this as Packards are very rarely seen at the normal car get togethers...this past Pretoria cars in the Park meeting ( one of the biggest in SA) there were not one single Packard!

Here is my e-mail address: barries@uj.ac.za
Please feel free to use it to contact me directly.

Goeie m?re( Good Morning)

Barrie..thanks for email address..will be contacting you shortly. yeah I was at Newlands, Bryanston and Walkerville my final week in the Johannesburg area. Will definately make a plan to see ya in Feb when I come down for another month..Meant to go to Phil's to chit chat but didnt have time. Was at his place a couple of times. The boys want me to go to the George show once again. Am also a member of the VVC and Hon. Life member of the QAC(Queenstown Automobile Club) Our club in Queenstown will be hosting the National Rally in 2011 Ive just been informed..I gave the commencement speech at the 2007 national rally in the Drakenburg Mountains.

Sandy

Barrie

You mentioned Capetown..Keep away for our vintage car buds in Capetown..they are 50 y/o plus party animals LOLOLOL
They WILL get you into trouble..they like their Castle and Windhoek brewski's AND whiskey's, their vintage cars, Rugby and Cricket and liberally sprinkled with pretty ladies passing by.LOLOLOLOL Although it doesnt make them all that bad..LOLOL

Sandy

I have been reading your blog and I think your paint job is coming out fantastic. I have been considering painting my car myself also. In the pictures you post, I noticed that it seems like you work in a narrow area. How much space did you have to paint your cars body? Was there a lot of overspray? Also, you put rust converter on your engine. Have you had any problems with that and the heat from the motor?

Hi 52Packard
Thankls for the heads up on the paint. It is really not as simple as it looks on tv!
The anti rust paint I used is the ones that convert to a salt - it turns rust a black color thereby neutralizing it. Thuis far it has held up very well. It also provided a good base for the high temp engine enamel I put up over it.

I had to paint outside under a carport. The more space the better therefore I removed the kombi next to the Packard to open up more space. It is necessary to be able to move freely around the car with the air house without touching it. Do the planning before the painting. Be aware of overspray on other vehicles so remove them totally from the area. i had a problem with some direct sunlight causing paint to dry unevenly on a part of the car. Be aware of this as well. Make sure the car is in the shade the whole day.

Painting is a skill that wuill only be developed with time and practice. I enjoyed it immensely although people will always find some kind of fault with it! lol!

Morning Barrie.

Looking at photo's from Franshoek museum...I am familiar with both the 40 convertible and the 1941 110 Deluxe I have driven both of those cars back in 1985 when i attended a Rally at Aliwal North. the 1940 at that time was owned by Waldie and Maynie Greyvensteyn of Bloemfontein. now desc. and the 1941 110 Deluxe was owned by my dear freind and South African Motor Journalist, Fred Schnetler also of Bloem. Freddie passed away two years ago..I recall him donating his car to the museum. Freddie said the 110 was originally owned by a dentist in SA. Both gentleman were first class and i miss them dearly..They were enthusiasts from the word go. Both have been guests in our home here in Michigan over the years.
The last time I saw Freddie was right before he passed away.
We went into his office and he said 'Sandy? I want to give to you my complete collection of Automobile Quarterlies as a token of our freindship of 25 years..That my friend was a toughy and heart wrenching..it was the complete unbroken collection to present from 1962 to present. In Feb, I fetched the books in Capetown from his widow Marie. and shipped them all to Detroit via air..cost to air ship was $ 900.(When I see ya down the road Freddie..im gonna get ya on that one..LOLOL)

I recall vividly Freddie's first trip to Hershey. He and his wife Marie stayed with us here in Petersburg for two weeks.
Anyway, we had parked behind the Hershey High School that mornng which overlooked the event. As we walked to the front of the school and gazed down there was complete silence.
finally he turned and said." Sandy? I'm a journalist and even I cannot find the words on what lies before me......"