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TOP BOX: Gary Martin, master model maker and genius at casting met me during lunch this afternoon at the house. We removed the top apparatus and the wooden box which he will be finishing.

HOOD: It takes tons of polishing to get the stainless steel belt moulding to shine, but it looks almost as good as the decent pieces of belt moulding I still have. The top sections went together easily using two couches like a saddle.

I guess I'm not done griping about that center hood moulding from Max Merritt. Not only is the lip on the underside too thin to retain standard washers, and the shape without a crease down the center as original, and that bulbous nose on the end that reminds me of a 50s pickup, but tonight I discovered that the lip doesn't entend far enough to the end to hold the screw for the last position, the screw that discourages hood ornament collectors. I inserted a large cotter pin and epoxy puttied it to the end to create a lip, then slid the screw head underneath it.

PAINT; Other front fender and 2 rear doors ready to come home. The trunk rack parts were painted, but I'll hold them in reserve for now.

Still wondering about that triangular pita pocket rubber piece.

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HOOD BUMPERS: Mystery solved. Those large triangle pita pockets did come off the car because they were from JC Whitney (universal bumper pad) and were cut down on one side to replace the real thing. I don't know why I saved them. West mention he used the rivets that screw together and was glad because the bumpers were incorrectly installed and had to be turned around. Now I'm wondering if the rubber shows on the outside or if it should be on the backside with just the edge showing. I have my front bumper on the outside and the back bumper on the inside.

The hood trim for one side, all polished and cut to size (glad I kept my old ones...which are not as bad a shape as I imagined) look great. I need to get some new clips because some of the old ones, which I de-rusted and primed, don't hold very well. Restoration Specialties said they no longer makes the originals, so I need another source. Their number 2047J replaced Packard 306129 clips as near as I could tell.

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You've installed them correctly. The back ones look like they've shrunk slightly. I'll have to look at mine. I would put some paint on the rivet.

You might try Mr G's.mrgusa.com/fasindex.htm They may have something in stock although I believe both sources are Auveco clips so if NLA from Auveco, then ------.

Download their page 45-49 miscellaneous clips. Several of those look similar to the 2047J.

Thanks, West. That's a relief. I think it's just swung to the left a bit. I'll pick up some screw rivets today and take them to the paint shop.

Also, take a look at the cover of Jim Hollingsworth's book and you'll see those side grills with the crossbar. I think they were intended that way. Mine are a little beaded between the vertical bars. The top and bottom are like that too. If they wanted them to disappear, they could have recessed the casting between the bars. There are many items that could be improved for looks, but it's like culture. It's a context with everything woven together. It's like the beauty of returning things Under the car, the stuff no one but another mechanic might see, to the way it was engineered. It just looks right in the overall context of say 1940. I'd have to study the design more to determine if there was a rationale for making them the way they did. What other lines do they coincide with? What patterns are established into which this fits. If the cross bars vanish, it may look cool like a hot rod looks cool. It may look more 30s than40s, or more 70s. The Joe has spoken, And that is the end of the comment.

Based on the photos of original cars that I placed in posts #108 and #109, the cross bars and "whiskers" in the cat-walk grilles are NOT supposed to be painted. I think that I will paint mine, just to see what it looks like. I'll take a photo when I'm done and post it. I may just hit cross bars with a black magic marker and see if that works.

Shifted the hood to an old trunk that came around the Horn from Ireland in the early 1900s belonging to my step-father's parents. Herbert Ignatius Maguire was a SFO CPA who had never married until he met my mother, a widow, then in their late 50s. He loved big cars. He had a 57 Lincoln Premiere convertible, which he gave to my sister, and drove a black 60 Chrysler Imperial leBaron convertible. The Packard was his until he gave it to me in 1959. His mother, Hannah, a devout Catholic, blessed the Packard with Holy Water every time she asked Herb to drive her to Reno to gamble. She sent a half he winnings to help missionaries. Her name is painted on the trunk.

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Thanks, Howard.
I sent Mr G the part numbers and dimensions from the parts book for the belt moulding and the parking light trim. Plus a photo.

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VACUUM WIPER MOTOR: I had the wrong one int he car, a change made so I could continue to see to drive in Oregon. Now I have a NOS Trico SK-32 that mounts differently than the wrong one. I'm not sure if there are spacers in the screws to hold the wiper motor lower than the mounting plate (as the wrong one had, about 2 inches worth) or if it mounts directly to the plate. I think it has to be backed off at least a 1/2 inch or so. I've looked in all the books have and can't find an illustration or photo of the wiper mounting setup.Would appreciate any help with this.

Something I discovered in working under the dash which I'm sure you know already is opening the air vent and placing the work light on top of the screen. Lots of light under the dash that way. You still get nauseous, but you can see well without a bulb in your face.

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Joe
You are correct. There is supposed to be about 3/4-inch spacer on both sides of the windshield wiper mount. With everything in place, it's very hard to get a good look, let alone get a camera up there. I'll give it the Packard Try, though, if you really need a photo. There are definitely spacers, though.

We may have discussed this way back, but that heater switch you have is very desirable, and relatively rare. I was told if you could find one, you'd expect to pay $200-300 for one. I have one, too. The problem is the insulators are all cracking, which prevents me from using either "high" or "low". Have you looked at yours carefully, and/or figured out how to repair those insulators?