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Hank,

Anyone who will read my gas thoughts is OK in my book.

Getting a driver is mucho encouraged. That was the one criteria for me to get out my checkbook for a Packard, and it was harder to find a true driver than I thought.

And then it turned out to be less of a driver than I expected. Not even really roadworthy til the PB unit gets fixed! BTW, have you gone through your Crash-O-Matic system yet? This would be a great time to shop around for a rebuild or a do-it-yourself kit. If you rebuild yours yourself and document it as well as you have everything else on your '55, I might even be brave enough to give mine a try... but no, as you say, sometimes you have to look at how many miles you've got left on the ODO, and I'm a '57 model myself, blowing smoke and gas for most of the trip.

yes i plan to rebuild the BTV myself. that will be quite some time from now though.probably after all the body work and paint. so you know....100 years from now. lol.

Hank:

I got those exact plug wires and they did not fit right, so I dumped them and picked up a set of originals at a Packard meet in Williamsburg, VA. You might want to contact a local club and inquire with members about getting the right plugs.

i'm confused. the wires are are custom made by me and they seem to fit fine. the plugs are original H10s as well. what are you refering too?

Hank,

I mention the BTV 'cuz you can't make it go unless it'll stop. Well, you can, but...

I've heard that the rebuild kits are pretty reasonable, but also was warned that they're not very complete. It might be a good idea to be on the lookout on e-bay to see if something NOS comes up. Meanwhile, it'd be pretty simple to tear it down and see if it needs any of the scarce parts (little bitty valves and "blobs" of rubber that seem to be essential).

Just wanted you to be ready when that 100 years rolls around!

I'm sorry, Henry, don't mean to confuse you. I ordered plug wires from Summit and what I got did not seem to match the NOS plug wires that were on the car. Later, at the PAC National Meet I bought NOS wires. If the plug wires you have work for you, then please ignore my suggestion.

Also, I have been following your progression on the Clipper and I am in awe of the fantastic job that you are doing. Your car is going to be beautiful when you are done. My car was restored by a gentleman in Minnesota during the 1980s and I have a box full of letters and receipts from the process. I have to say that being able to shop for parts via the Internet and communication instantly by e-mail makes acquiring those goods and services a lot easier; but it still requires a lot of time and effort to accomplish the work you are doing.

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Hank:

As you no doubt already know, the original upholstery for the Custom Constellation was vinyl and cloth that matched the exterior two-tone colors. The cloth has tiny silver stars woven throughout it. Herein lies the problem -- No one I have talked to has any idea where particular fabric. I have seen it in a Clipper Constellation once, but I did not have a chance to ask the owner about it and for all I know, it may have been original. The fabric in my car is straight black and feels a bit like velvet, though it is obviously strong material.

I would like to know how to get some of that original fabric in black if that is even possible. Considering how the man who restored the car in the 1980s worked, like you he tried to keep it as authentic as possible; but his correspondence that I now have with the records indicates his frustration with this issue as well.

I can send you a fabric sample that was included in his records if you'd like along with the name of the place that he got it.

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thanks for the offer, i have seen this car prior to your ownership i believe. there are pictures of it earlier in my blog...of course i commented on the interior.

looks like i may be up the same creek though. although...i'm pretty damn hard headed and may get some original black and have my mother-in-law sew some damn stars on it, just to get it even closer to original.

no need for the sample. i'm nowhere near that stage in my restoration and i'll probably be sourching a less velvet material. i'm not a velvet fan myself. too 70s.

the guy that owned your car before looks to have done a great job with what he had to work with, and i share his frustration already for the interior, but i don't blame him for doing what he had to do.

glad to see we have the same car, its nice to see what mine will look like when i'm done. ;0)

thanks for sharing and take care!

Hank

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You might inquire at SMShttp://www.smsautofabrics.com/ Always a possibility they might have some original fabric on the shelf. If not, they offer custom manufacturing of exact reproduction cloth so if there is enough interest in that pattern, perhaps that could be an option. I believe Randy had some fabric made for his Caribbean and might be able to offer insight on that aspect.

I had SMS make the nylon brocade fabric for my 56 Caribbean. They can be annoying to deal with, they're the only show in town for this type of work and they know it, but they did ultimately come up with the goods - took about a year while enough other orders accumulated for the same material. As I recall their minimum run is about 25 yards of material. After lots of promises and shipping the wrong material once, when I finally got it, it was entirely satisfactory and a perfect match for the original.

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