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Winter projects
#1
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Dads 56
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Hello all. I recently brought home my 1956 executive. As I have yet to rid the car of the smell of mouse and bat poo, the wife will not allow it in the garage. I am looking for suggestions for what I may be able to restore / rebuild during the winter months. Already going to get the washer bottle fixed, thankfully the car has sat inside for 50 years. I am mechanically inclined and the intent is to get the car mechanically safe to drive. This will be my first project of this nature. What can come off the car easily & go into the garage and be cleaned up, be repaired, have seals replaced? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Oh, any tips on removing the smells? Have washed the car outside! Vacuumed and wash down the interior, removing mouse nests and droppings as I went. Should the carpet come out? Needs to be replaced anyways?

Thank you

Posted on: 2020/10/4 9:38
1956 Packard Executive 2 door hard top (5677A)
1956 Clipper Deluxe Touring Sedan (5622)(parts car)
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Re: Winter projects
#2
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HH56
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I would say the carpet and padding is definitely a place where odors could linger so it would help to remove it. Headliner is another reservoir but it would be best to leave it alone unless it will also be replaced. It is a difficult piece to remove and if it is fabric as used in most sedans instead of vinyl based as used in some hardtops, if you tried removal the fabric would probably be so rotten the thing would self destruct and be unusable afterwards. Even with the vinyl material the bow pockets may be rotten and split open. In many cases those could be repaired though.

One option might be to visit a few car detailing supply sites such as this onehttps://psdetailproducts.com and look into one of the deodorant products that claims to encapsulate the odor molecules. Canada probably has a few sites and the products may even be sold locally thru a detailer.

The fact that a detailer can process a car suffering from years of cigarette smoke or other assorted odors and deliver it smelling like a new car speaks volumes for some of the formulations.

Something fairly easy and worth doing if they are in typical shape is the rubber edges on the flaps that shut off the air in the large ducts. By now most of the rubber forming the seal has hardened or some possibly cracked off and may not be completely closing the duct when the flaps are in the off position. In summer it may not be too noticeable but if you drive when it gets colder you will feel the draft when you do not want it. The flaps are relatively easy to remove and repair. The metal plates are stapled together and will need to come apart to replace the rubber but pop rivets or small screws can replace the staples. Steele sells die cut rubber pieces but as long as you follow the edge shape so it forms to the sides of the duct they are not too hard to make yourself out of 1/16" or so sheet rubber.

Posted on: 2020/10/4 10:51
Howard
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Re: Winter projects
#3
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Leeedy
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Quote:

Dads 56 wrote:
Hello all. I recently brought home my 1956 executive. As I have yet to rid the car of the smell of mouse and bat poo, the wife will not allow it in the garage. I am looking for suggestions for what I may be able to restore / rebuild during the winter months. Already going to get the washer bottle fixed, thankfully the car has sat inside for 50 years. I am mechanically inclined and the intent is to get the car mechanically safe to drive. This will be my first project of this nature. What can come off the car easily & go into the garage and be cleaned up, be repaired, have seals replaced? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Oh, any tips on removing the smells? Have washed the car outside! Vacuumed and wash down the interior, removing mouse nests and droppings as I went. Should the carpet come out? Needs to be replaced anyways?

Thank you


EEeeeeek! Mouse poo and bat guano under the hood? Great for fertilizer, but bad stuff for human health. Get the engine compartment steam cleaned. No other way. Better for the car. Better for you.

Also remember with rodent poo and bat guano, it is not merely the smell that is objectionable... it's the nasty diseases and virus that stuff can carry. So you want to deal with more than mere odor. Start with buying a can of spray Lysol.

? Also check your fresh air vent ducts for more droppings and replace the flexible couplings (house clothes dryer vent hose will do until you can find the exact original replacements).

? Remove, check, clean fresh air ventilator motor housing.

? Remove your heater housing on the firewall. Clean it and check for signs of mouse intrusions into the HVAC interior ducting. Shop vacs, Lysol and Clorox work wonders.

? Remove carpet and padding. IF VERY savable, thoroughly deep shampoo carpet out in open air and on a flat, hard surface (like concrete driveway). Then let dry in the sun. Replace padding. Otherwise, toss everything and get new.

? If there is critter poo and pee on the carpets, then it will likewise be on seat fabrics-even if you can't see it. IF savable, you know what to do. Pull the front and rear seats ... shampoo with appropriate cleaner out in open air. Then let air dry in sun. Otherwise, you also know what to do.

? You'll want to find appropriate flat rubber to replace vent flaps in the fresh air system and HVAC. This will improve operation and combat critter intrusions.


Posted on: 2020/10/4 12:48
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Re: Winter projects
#4
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Dads 56
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All good suggestions, thank you very much! Starting to have a plan😀

Posted on: 2020/10/4 19:58
1956 Packard Executive 2 door hard top (5677A)
1956 Clipper Deluxe Touring Sedan (5622)(parts car)
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Re: Winter projects
#5
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JWL
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The interior in my 55 Super Clipper was badly contaminated with tobacco smoke residue from years of smoking in the car. I removed the seats and carpeting and padding. Cleaned the seats with Resolve carpet cleaner. Replaced the carpeting and padding. The most difficult job was to clean the headliner without damaging it. I carefully cleaned it with the Resolve and many Terry cloth towels one small section at a time. Application of the Resolve and a careful wiping lifted off the brown residue. I repeated until the towel was came back clean. The seats were not worn and after cleaning looked quite nice. New carpeting and padding finished off the job. Overall the cleaning job came out well and the interior looked much better. Thankfully, there were no signs of rodent infestation as the previous owner placed cakes of Irish Spring soap throughout the interior.

Leeedy's warning about virus contamination in the rodent residue should be taken seriously and proper precautions taken to avoid infection. Big Kev had to deal with your same problem when he first started working on his 54 Clipper.

Addendum: Here are some photos of what I was talking about. The Resolve product, a towel after cleaning the headliner, the headliner before and the headliner after.

Attach file:



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565_5f7b696060c3e.jpeg 640X480 px

Posted on: 2020/10/5 11:14
We move toward
And make happen
What occupies our mind... (W. Scherer)
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Re: Winter projects
#6
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Dads 56
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Awesome, thanks so much,
We are taking precautions, but boy, our try to find and N95 mask and disposable coveralls during this covid thing. And when you do their damned expensive. Finally found some though.

Posted on: 2020/10/5 19:35
1956 Packard Executive 2 door hard top (5677A)
1956 Clipper Deluxe Touring Sedan (5622)(parts car)
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Re: Winter projects
#7
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Marty or Marston
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I know that when it comes to getting rid of dog and cat excrement smells, that the go to product on my list is "Nature's Miracle Stain and Odor Remover for Dogs, Enzymatic Formula Dog Stain & Odor Remover". I recommended it to a friend whose dogs refuse to go outside to piss and crap and it got rid of the smell. I also provided them with tips on how to break their 3 medium size dogs from using the house as a toilet.

Nature's Miracle is available in quart and gallon sizes. It took about 5 days to break their dog's bad habit and the better part of a day for them the clean the carpets with it.

Posted on: 2020/10/16 4:08
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Re: Winter projects
#8
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Dads 56
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I will look for that . Thank you!

Posted on: 2020/10/16 15:34
1956 Packard Executive 2 door hard top (5677A)
1956 Clipper Deluxe Touring Sedan (5622)(parts car)
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