Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

In my haste to complete my '55 400 a couple of years back, I assembled and placed the front grille medallion without doing the detail work on the coat of arms. Well today with a full day to myself, I decided to take care of a couple of things up front. Additionally, because I also got a couple of unwelcome visitors inside my driver's compartment while on drives I undertook fixing the vent tube. You see, I discovered that my mesh screen in front of the driver's side vent tube had detached and slid backwards towards the flapper, which allowed entry to big bugs!

Here a a few pics of my endeavor today. Pretty straigt-forward and easy. Hardest part was re-forming the mesh and then drilling the pilot holes into the tube so I could use sheet-metal screws to hold the new mesh.

Sorry for the quality; I used my android telephone to shoot the pics. I now have the detail up front that is representative of a truly fine automobile.

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Looks great, Kevin. You've inspired me to work on mine.

Kevin,

Beautiful work. How did you get front gold 'ring' to look that great?

Bhappy,

The gold colored ring is actually gold plated, as well as the medallion. Costs obviously getting pricey due to $1600 per ounce spot price of gold. (Plating, chroming and painting was approx. 15% of spot price) Medallions hand painted.

Bernardi........just do it; as the Nike set suggests. All worth it in the end!

What brand and kind of paint did you use?

What kind of prep did you do to help the paint stick?

Did you "clear" it after you painted it?

It looks Great!

Kevin, your bright work looks excellent. I'm currently doing all of my chroming for my 56 400 (including the gold rings) and hope they come up as good as yours. A warning to all re the perils of not having the mesh fitted to your vent tubes... The previous owner of my 56 Clipper thought that these items were superfluous and not required. Not only do they let bugs in when not fitted, but will also let curious rats into the cabin of your car. This happened to mine and a large hole was eaten in the back seat. Not happy...

Warren

Beautiful work on the medallion, Kevin. I have one that is better than what is currently on the car but nothing like the restoration you've done.

I wasn't aware that the rings are gold plated! Is that also true of the "Packard" script on the rear fenders? I've been meaning to polish the ring on my grille but now well be a bit more careful about how and what with I do that job.

I will also be checking the screens on mine. There are critters around my house that have developed a taste for automotive interiors so I'll be checking that tomorrow.

Once again, beautiful work!