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Hello Again,

In addition to the light bulb number sorting I was graciously helped out with earlier today, thought I'd see if you all have any ideas about the front pillar hinge seal/weatherstripping. My 49 Deluxe sedan's seal was basically small screws, pieces of tar, and bits of hardened rubber band. The replacement from Kanter is not that, but it's almost impossible to put it into the gap between the pillar and fender. Is this possible to do without loosening/removing the front fenders? I saw one other post asking about this (other than mine on another forum) but there were no replies. I haven't been able to figure out how to do it without cracking the paint on the lower rocker area, the top there's easy access to the bolt holding it to the firewall side... That being said I'd be thrilled to learn that I'm just wrong about this and there's a way to get these seals installed without removing the fender or otherwise compromising it.

Thank you!

I have not done a 48-50 but would bet it is the same as a 47 and to install the weather strip on a 47 the fenders need to be loosened and pulled away a bit. In addition to the screws on the visible part of the strip I believe the weather strip is also glued to the cowl in a few spots and the fender rests on top of it. As to protecting paint all I can suggest is the use of painters tape and care.

As to loosening the fender, in addition to the top bolt holding the fender that you can see there are bolts down the rear edge with nuts and washers inside the kickpanel space and another bolt or screw at the very bottom lower edge. That bottom one or two are probably rusted and may break as soon as you twist on them.

The ones accessed behind the kickpanel space are the real pain and if you do contemplate removing them I would start with PB Blaster now and dose several times to let them soak over a few days before trying. They are ordinary steel nuts and bolts but the bolts are sort of like carriage bolts with a wide smooth head that fits in a slot on a tab welded to the fender sheetmetal. The heads are held by a clip so they don't slide out but if the bolt turns while you are removing the nut it will probably destroy or round out the slot. If that happens there is nothing to hold the bolt from turning while you try to remove the nut nor is there any way to get a tool of any kind back there to try and hold the bolt. At that point you start using strong words and begin looking for a nut splitter.

Here is a 47 fender showing the bolts. If I remember, another poster, Tinman, who posts here periodically just did a 49 and said it is the same mounting but don't recall him mentioning the weatherstrip. He did a body off restoration and has used some non stock weatherstrip on his car. Perhaps he managed to find one that would work without moving the fender or could give more info on what is needed to install the factory piece. You might send him a PM although I don't know how often he checks in so may be awhile before he responds.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb ... flat&order=ASC&type=&mode=0&start=0

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Howard is correct as the 22 series is the same. Not a fun job, if you are not a handy kind of guy you will be. the seals are about $170 from Steele rubber. I would use a lot of B-P blaster and if the nuts don't turn, cut then off. If you force then you can distort the clip and tabs on the fender. The hardest aspect is that you are working in a hole which you will see when the kick panel is removed. The bolts are a carriage type with a low head and can be replaced by grinding down the head to make it thinner. I you would like some pictures I have no upholstery in my 48 woodie. Good luck Dell