Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Experienced restorers: I would love you to chime in here:

What do you think is the right order of steps for restoration? I'd like specifics, maybe something akin to a bullet-pointed guide. What do you do first, second, third, etc? I do have that article by David Czirr called "Reviving a Long Dormant Car". Pretty good article for the mechanicals: I plan to follow that guide, but wondered about the bigger 'restoration' picture.

Since I never gave serious thought to it until the last MoPar I restored (when I had already done steps out of order, like doing the paint first then doing the engine rebuild), I'd like more educated thought on good process. This 48 Custom Club is important to me, so I'd really like to do it 'the right way', so I don't have to re-do work over again later.

Fortunately, I'd say this one is 99% complete with all of the club sedan-specific trim accounted for. I'd rate it's current condition as a #5: it's not running. Right now, I'm interested in restoring it to a #3 condition car. I plan on driving it to enjoy and show, but at least right now, I don't have a burning desire to win trophies for a #1 condition car (nor the budget to support that).

Thanks for your thoughts! Here's some before-and-after. Put in a bunch of elbow-grease over the holidays and man it shows. That old black lacquer paint really shines up something crazy.

BEFORE

<a href="http://s153.photobucket.com/user/coliseumltd/media/1948%20Packard%20Custom%20Eight%20Club%20Sedan/Toronto/Moving%20Day/RACars2014228_zps048da3af.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/coliseumltd/1948%20Packard%20Custom%20Eight%20Club%20Sedan/Toronto/Moving%20Day/RACars2014228_zps048da3af.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo RACars2014228_zps048da3af.jpg"/></a>

AFTER

<a href="http://s153.photobucket.com/user/coliseumltd/media/1948%20Packard%20Custom%20Eight%20Club%20Sedan/Los%20Angeles/Exterior%20Shots/IMG_0689_zps5c137b45.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/coliseumltd/1948%20Packard%20Custom%20Eight%20Club%20Sedan/Los%20Angeles/Exterior%20Shots/IMG_0689_zps5c137b45.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_0689_zps5c137b45.jpg"/></a>

BEFORE

<a href="http://s153.photobucket.com/user/coliseumltd/media/1948%20Packard%20Custom%20Eight%20Club%20Sedan/Toronto/Moving%20Day/RACars2014226_zpsf4ca2bcf.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/coliseumltd/1948%20Packard%20Custom%20Eight%20Club%20Sedan/Toronto/Moving%20Day/RACars2014226_zpsf4ca2bcf.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo RACars2014226_zpsf4ca2bcf.jpg"/></a>

AFTER

<a href="http://s153.photobucket.com/user/coliseumltd/media/1948%20Packard%20Custom%20Eight%20Club%20Sedan/Los%20Angeles/Exterior%20Shots/IMG_0687_zps07089c54.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/coliseumltd/1948%20Packard%20Custom%20Eight%20Club%20Sedan/Los%20Angeles/Exterior%20Shots/IMG_0687_zps07089c54.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_0687_zps07089c54.jpg"/></a>

I wouldn't "restore" it. I would make it a "driver" or "survivor" class.
Follow the book on getting it running, go thru the brake system compleatly and then fix what needs fixing. A restoration involves years and $$$.
It can rapidly become a financial burden and a chore with no enjoyment.
I acquired a 1948 sedan last January that had sat for 12-15 years. I had it running the next day and have worked since then to fix other issues.
Brakes, water pump, fuel pump, overdrive unit, I'm down to getting the radio and clock working. I now trust it for a couple hundred mile trip.
I'm having fun with this car! It's a lot like "Driving Miss Daisy".

Given you plan to use the car for more than fair weather only local use, the paint isn't going to protect anything and the car will slowly deteriorate into a disaster.

The plating is poor as well, but that can be stabilized using chemicals. And the interior is visibly poor.

The other day I was looking at pictures of a nice original car taken in 1952 when it was 22 years old. It was well maintained and shiny. That notwithstanding, 30 years later it was a mess.

So I think the first step is to decide whether you plan to spend a little money or a lot. If the motor is sound and needs only a valve grind then painting, plating, seat covers, and a battery disconnect is still fairly involved. However, it doesn't take long for use to wear out an original engine so plan on that as well.

Personally, if I was is your position I would get the car running, store it properly, and use it for fair weather local stuff. Anything else is a full time project costing upwards of $100 grand even when done at home.

Are there cars I would spend more than they are worth restoring? Absolutely. As Jack Nethercutt said "I make my money at Merle Norman and I spend my money on cars."

Restore to what(level over what time)? It's a "it depends" question you have to answer first. They're only original once. Best to start with a complete original condition car, if possible. Depending on how good it is will help decide how far you go.
How many times have you seen ads for "parts cars" for a few thou $ and it says "needs full restoration"?
Most won't command the post restoration value, so what's the point? It's a losing proposition(aka labor of love) mostly. Some of these "can't" be done and some parts can't be found so that means making them or having them made. {Check the rubber mat story] It takes a lot of skill and equipment that the average person doesn't possess or have access to. To get it done by others adds a good percentage to cost. I don't rule out ingenuity, but it's a bit wishful.
Everyone has their own methods. Some disassemble, blast everything, and start back. It's a time vs cash flow and manpower exercise mostly. If you tinker like most of us, you take your time. If you want Pebble Beach winner you farm it out to those shops.
The reality TV shows are distorting reality. Foose doesn't do Packards in a week!
They call it "ground up" because that basically covers it, you have to get it down to the last nut and bolt, the frame is left, get that straight, and go up from there. But there's alot of steps in there both taking apart and cataloguing, repair/replace, researching, procuring, mechanical, electrical, interior, body work, paint, assembly, etc. You have to fit and refit a few times during all that. It's project management by systems.
Reality check; your looking at ~$15K+ and a year just to do high quality chrome on that custom. The market value is not much more for a full restored car.

Read this on the Packard Club website, it hay help, may not,
http://www.packardclub.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2251

I'm only a month or so away from completing my 1950 8Deluxe sedan and when I started it on 8/8/11 I kept a "sequence list" so I could back-track in the reassembly process (which is by far the most fun part). My budget was $100 per week so I kept up with every penny spent in a spreadsheet. Had to add a few $k when the chrome plating bills started but other than that was able to stay within budget. PM me and I'll be glad to share these with you if you think they would be helpful.

Take a look at my blog. My car was in similar if not rougher shape than yours.

Get it running and safely driving, that makes everything else much easier.

Don't cheap out on the brakes. Replace everything with repro units. Lines, hoses, wheel cylinders, master, etc. Given the age, the entire system is compromised so replace it all. The parts are available from NAPA and the usual vendors as they were all originally Wanger units.

Also, drop and clean out the fuel tank and replace the fuel lines and hoses and rebuild the fuel pump with fresh material that the new gas wont eat. This will save you a multitude of problems later. Trust me. :(

Cosmetics (interior/body/paint/chrome )are the most expensive. So you can work on that over time.

I didn't rechome anything on my car. I polished all the stainless myself and buffered out the chrome with 000 steel wool to remove rust and oxidation.

Your paint shined up pretty well, so run with it for now. If you need to, touch up some of the bare areas with a little rattle can paint to ward off rust for a bit. I bet you could feather in some flat/semi-gloss rattle can paint to the point no one would really notice. My car was tri-colored when I got it. Old original paint, rust and primer with rust being the predominant color. So I had no choice but to take it to bare metal. But I still drove it that way.

Projects that are not drivable turn into forgotten projects eventually. If you can drive it around you are more likely to keep working on it. Also people like seeing cars in progress at local car shows. I took my clipper to a couple of local cruise nights when in was in just bare metal with rusted out doglegs. People loved it as you never see cars driving around in that condition.

Congratulations, you have one of the rarest post-war body styles. Few were made and only a handful survive. This and the convertibles seem, to me, to be the best design for this style. It deserves to preserved and enjoyed.

(o{}o)

What a great car!! Good luck with it, my advice is to get it roadworthy and drive it. Too many get a car and then start to take it apart, then, they lose interest and it just becomes a pile of parts. Please post more pictures.

Thanks for the all the replies. Appreciate the link to the other blogs, and personal experiences: those are very helpful and useful to read. Some of them I hadn't seen before. To those who offered additional thoughts via PM's, I'll reach out to you.

Right now I'm working on polishing out some easy-to-access chrome in an effort to improve the appearance further. I don't know about anyone else, but catching a glimpse of the end result makes me much happier than staring at an unfinished rusty pile 'o metal with no light at the end of the tunnel.

So getting it running/driving is step 1. On that note, easy engine side-access while the front fenders are on is pretty limited. Wondering whether many of you remove the whole front clip to gain easier access?

I need to: get the engine running again. Yank the rad to get it flow-tested and for leaks. Repair/replace the brakes. Seems like maybe a good enough reason to start disassembling the front....