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So I finally decided to start my build blog after many headache of just trying to get the title in my name.

So here's where my story begins. I had been dating my current girlfriend for 6 months when her grandpa comes to town. We begin talking and we got on the subject of how much I love working on cars. He then goes on to tell me he has a 1953 Packard sitting in my bosses barn! What a coincidence I know, but unfortunately I can't go on to tell you why as that is confidential, but I can tell you that they were long time friends and my ex-boss has 3 airplane hangers and one of which housed the Packard. Grandpa then goes on to tell me he bought it at an auction and drove it straight to storage in the 80's. Some weeks after this discussion he calls and asks if I'd be interested in restoring / having that Packard for free! I said hell yes! Some of you may not know this but I'm 21 and have a car that is 50 years older than I am, but I truly plan to restore it to original, with very slight modifications.

Well I finally get my ex-boss to pull it out of the airplane hanger and finally get her moved to where I can work on her. Attached are pictures of when I first went to see the Packard.

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This is after the Packard was moved outside and cleaned off and being prepared to move.

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Nice Score!

Here's some more pictures of when I first got the Packard, mainly interior shots and a couple pictures of the engine before I cleaned it off.

Headliner and rear set are both original, I didn't take pictures of the front seat, but its a little worn.

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Plans for build:
I plan to restore to mostly original.
Redo the black paint.
Maybe give it air ride suspension I haven't decided yet.
I definitely want the Packard wire wheels!
Light tented windows.
Possibly 12 volt conversion.
Possibly give it HID bulbs (if possible), it would be a first!
Rebuild engine.
I haven't decided if I want to keep the original interior color, i'm thinking about white leather, or red interior.
Open flow pipes (lake pipes probably)
If I convert to 12 volt I'll be putting a hide-away radio system.

Mainly I actually want to drive the Packard and not just have it be a trailer queen, I wanna show her off!

More to come stay tuned!

So here were are 7 months after I first got her, she's moved 3 times now. So roughly 600 bucks just in moving expenses! I'm finally making headway with my girlfriends grandfather and the title. He's signing the documents to get a new title and the Packard should be in my name within a month!

Also for anyone thats wondering, not a single corner, nook, or cranny that I have found is rusted through. I even hit known spots with a hammer!!! This is unbelievable, my 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST has 10 times the amount of rust this has!!!!

Motor turns and I'm hoping (weather permitting) to try and use carb and choke cleaner to get her to at least fire over to make sure everything in the engine is okay.

I may also take a look at the gas lines and tank and see how bad they are.

All the wiring got chewed up by mice so that will probably get tackled this weekend as well. Anyone know what size gauge of wire to use for the 6 volt just to basic wires (not the starter)?

Congratulations also. The interior you've shown in some of the shots looks to be in really nice shape. I hope you might reconsider your thoughts on changing it.

I was slightly younger than you when I "inherited" my fathers old (to me) 51 to drive thru high school. Being an "old man's car", and all my friends driving Fords or Chevy's, one of my first projects and one I still regret to this day was to tear out a decent interior so I could put in vinyl like stuff. That was what was in keeping with the style of the day.

If you are going to try and restore to mostly original anyway, the correct interior would add so much more value to the car.

Download the wiring diagrams. It has colors and gauges listed.https://www.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/wirediagrams/1953%2026th%20Series.pdf

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I'm highly considering it. I didn't take any pictures of the front seat or the front flooring but they're not that pretty I'll take some of those tonight.

Before trying to get it to fire, make sure you go through the engine first. You should drop the oil pan and get the crud out of it. Also check the fuel system before get a bunch of nasty stuff in the filter and possibly the carb. You can bypass the gas tank and run it off a gas can if the tank is bad.

Great looking car to start with. I would keep it original, but that's just my opinion. Look forward to seeing your progress!

Hope you downloaded the service manual from this site. It will be very helpful.