My next project? 1921 Packard Coupe

3 minute(s) of a 548 minute read

Hi Tom

Sorry about the diversion. It will be some little time before the Packard is ready to rally but It certainly will be out on the road once it is finished. Funny thing, that is why motor cars have wheels. My main club here in Victoria, Australia even runs an event specially for cars with rear wheel brakes only. All good fun!

Right now I am busy sanding all the paint off the cowl, not all that exciting. All the aluminium panels are now ready to go to Arron for some minor repairs and refitting to the frame. Next step is dismantling all the suspension and lifting the motor & gearbox out.

11-4-2010

Back to work!

The last of the paint is now off the cowl and to fill in time I started to scrape some of the gunk off the sides of the crankcase and oil pan (sump). I would really like to know where this car had lived before coming to Australia. (I hope that West can find room for my letter/short article on this subject in the next issue of the Antique Automobile). The sides of the oil pan are coated with a layer of a mixture of oil and clay up to half an inch thick and baked on with a degree of hardness that even Mr Rockwell would have difficulty measuring. I started out with a paint scraper but have had to resort to a two inch wood chisel and a light hammer. Next step a heavy hammer????

11-8-2010

I know from our visit to some parts of the eastern side of the US of A earlier this year that it sometimes can rain quite heavily but I have some difficulty relating to the gutter installed inside the luggage trunk lid on the Packard. By local standards this would have to be considered a serious storm water drain.

The gutter is 3/4 inch wide and one inch deep while the tube draining water to the underside of the car is one inch in diameter.

There should be no problem with water damaged luggage!

11-9-2010

Hopefully one of the older AACA Members may remember the car being shipped to Australia. The more I look at it the more I come to believe that the car has been off the road for at least 40 years and possibly a lot longer. How long it has been hiding in a "bond" store in Melbourne is anyone's guess. There was the famous example of three brand new 1928 Wanderers (German) that were eventually sold at a Customs sale in the late 1960s or early 70s. Still in their original packing cases! A VSCC Friend has one that still has not done 1,000 miles. (from new) He is still looking for the Dealership so he can get his FREE First Service!

Going back to the Alpine Trial. Oakland fans will be pleased to learn that John and Marg Cox in the 1926 "654" won the event outright. We followed them for quite some distance maintaining a steady 60mph. Well Done!