Packard Forum Index » Project Blogs

I don't know how all this works???
First restoration in a very very long time

1938 Packard Six is listed now in the Registry and trying to find out what all the codes are. anyone please look it over and advise

Seats are now out, all of the trim, upholstery, headliner.

Fenders, Bumpers, Nose, Hood and Trunk have now been removed

G'day Henry,

Looking forward to following the restoration of your '38 Six 4 Door Touring Sedan as it progresses.

In regard to your questions about the codes for your '38 Six, for that year only the ID was a decal on the firewall which has usually degraded and disappeared over time.

The decal did not contain paint or trim codes anyway so, unless you have some original documentation for the car, it's probably going to mean tracing and contacting prior owners. Or some forensic sleuthing looking for traces of original paint colour under resprays or in hard to get corners and pieces of original upholstery fabric and carpet underneath replacement fabrics and carpets.

Oh....and please post plenty of pictures to illustrate your restoration as it progresses.

And, if there are any questions, there are knowledgeable, experienced and friendly Packard people here who are willing to advise.

Hello folks! I'm another new guy to the forum, and I have Henry's car in my shop for the big make over. I'm sure most of you know how big of an undertaking these projects are and all the man hours that can be involved in such a project. We have been dismantling, marking, bagging, boxing and taking pictures as we tear down the vehicle in preparation for repairs.
I am pleasantly suprised at the condition of the floor and shell for the most part as it seems to be in pretty solid condition. Sure there is some metal to be repaired and replaced, but over all for 83 years old and from our area that is prone to having weather that can destroy an automobile in several years, this packard has faired very well. I have pictures to download to my computer then I will post them here and continue to do so as the project progresses through it's makeover.
As Oz said, in 1938 the Packard Co. used a decal in place of the metal tag normally used for the ID tag of each vehicle. This decal is decayed to much to be legible, but the car seems to be black in color everywhere inside and out. Now my question is, in 1938 in the color chips for paint options, they did not list a black of the 14 colors listed, so is black a standard color and all these colors listed in the chip book optional besides the standard black color?
Also somewhere from Henry's documents the was a trim code 5 that I have written in my notes. Does or can anyone tell us what the trim code 5 was? The seats has broad cloth on them. I will get busy with the pictures soon, but is the a maximum number of photo's aloud in a post or blog? Thank you for any and all answers in advance.
Greg

There really was no such thing as a (single) "standard" color, but of course there were standard colors. Black was usually paint code "X" and many paint charts don't bother to list it, perhaps assuming that black was black and didn't need futher description?

In Packard's internal written records (build slips, vehicle unit record cards, etc, mostly all gone now) the paint code letter was for many years displayed between the two portions of the vehicle number, for example 1288-X-2XXX. But that convention was not carried over the to the vehicle number as displayed on the patent plate or decal inthe case of 1938. It wasn't until sometime into the run of the 22nd series cars that the paint and trim codes were identified on the patent plate (vehicle # plate).

Hope this proves helpful.

Greg,
to PackardInfo. Can't help much with your questions, but I'll throw these thoughts in.

"......the car seems to be black in color everywhere inside and out. Now my question is, in 1938 in the color chips for paint options, they did not list a black of the 14 colors listed, so is black a standard color and all these colors listed in the chip book optional besides the standard black color?" - Checked the various manuals available here on PackardInfo and couldn't find anything to help. Others with more intimate experience with '38's may be better placed to comment.

"Also somewhere from Henry's documents the was a trim code 5 that I have written in my notes. Does or can anyone tell us what the trim code 5 was? The seats has broad cloth on them." - Checked the various manuals available here on PackardInfo and also couldn't find anything to help. Maybe one of the upholstery vendors might have this information?

"I will get busy with the pictures soon, but is the a maximum number of photo's aloud in a post or blog?" - Don't think there a maximum number of pic's allowed. The limiting factors are the size of pic and type of file permitted. So, the more pic's the merrier. Looking forward to seeing them.

Not trying to hijack the thread but I'm including a pic of the '38 Eight I owned a couple of years ago. The guy who owned it before me restored it about 20 years prior painting it a Mercedes colour most like "Packard Blue", it's aubergine but looks almost black depending on the light. While the upholstery was done in a tan/brown Bedford Cord material.

Attach file:

---

  (66.84 KB)

Greg -

I'm certainly no expert on ANY prewar vehicle, but having spent a good number of years in the industry in more recent decades, I may be able to point you in the right direction. Have you explored this site's Literature and Manuals archive?

While paint and trim references are usually found in the front matter of Packard parts books of later years, the 1935-1941 Master Parts List contains that information in the first of two Body sections. It may not be enough to fully answer your questions, but should help move you further along in your journey to discovery.

Body 1182 was built on the 1600 (Six) chassis. A Paint and Trim Data Chart in the Body section of the parts book lists 14 available Paint Schemes for the 16th Series (1938). Assuming Scheme "X" is black, that chart shows a Paint number of "L 105", a Stripe number of "L 501S" and a range of Trim Set numbers of "3-5" for that car. On the following page, a Paint and Trim Data Reference Chart shows:

L 105 = Black
L 501S = Ivory White
5 = Tan Bedford Cord Cloth.

It appears that we don't yet have supplier paint chips sets, here, for 1938, but I know of a couple of online references that we can check.

Auto Color Library has a Ditzler (PPG) set for 1938, but it doesn't show a Black chip, product number, or formula.

The only other reference I found to Black (Code X) for prewar Packards was at PaintRef.com. While there was nothing shown for Code X in 1838, they showed it for 1940 and 1941 as Ditzler 9000. However, that may not necessarily be the same for Code X in all years. For example, this site shows that, in 1941, Code X is Ditzler 9001, but in 1949 it changes, again, to Ditzler 9100.

Perhaps others with more experience can enlighten us further.

Brian,
for that. I looked in my home copy of the 35-41 Parts List but, because it has many missing pages and parts of sections are out of order, I missed the relevant details which you picked up on. Went back and had another look, found the section and now posting a pic for info. BTW - Have another complete copy of the Parts List, but it lives down at the workshop for hands on day-to-day referencing.

Attach file:

---

  (14.95 KB)

There is a DuPont paint chip set for 1938 on The Packard Club's website, under "Reference". Paint code "X" (black) is not shown. It was still listed thru 1934, and the next time I see it listed on DuPOnt charts is 1947 as part of a two-tone scheme.

http://www.packardclub.org/

[IMG]http://i870.photobucket.com/albums/ab262/gregandvon/1938PackardSixModel1182001.jpg[/IMG]
Sorry guys I'm having a hard time trying to figure out posting pics on here, I don't usually have these problems. I can't download the Image resizer BigKev has on here.Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

If your photos are less than 2048K they will come across but will be slow for those on dialup. Anything larger, if using windows, the file Kev has made or the free image program Irfanview or others will resize them. If a Mac, then iPhoto or Preview will work. Make sure the format is supported and extension is .jpg NOT .jpeg--- or use .gif or any any of the others. .jpg and .gif will show in the forum, others will have to be downloaded and opened.

Use the "browse" button and find your photo, click "attach file" and after a few seconds the name of your photo will appear in the space below the browse and attach buttons. Do this for each photo for as many as you wish to post. After all of them have their names showing, and if your message is complete, click submit and it should go. Just make sure there is no 15 minute time out or all will be lost and have to start again.

Here is the one you tried above or if anyone else wants to download it, use the URL leaving out the [IMG] at each end. If all the ones you want to post are like this, there should be no problem with the size so no need for a resize program.

Attach file:

---

  (50.44 KB)