My next project? 1921 Packard Coupe

11 minute(s) of a 548 minute read

Little by little I am now going through the process of ticking off the million and one jobs that tend to be put off. One of the next on the list is the quadrant and hand controls for the centre of the steering wheel, this of course includes the horn button. Before proceeding I must ask you to go all the way back to Page 7 of this thread, #151 on December 21 2010. Charles H Brown of Hong Kong I have neither forgotten or lost your Pot Lid Knobs! They have been carefully stored in a safe place awaiting this day. I just need a couple more days and one will finally reach its destination.

7-19-2012

Continuing on with my little by little policy, I have today unearthed a good 6 volt coil from my collection and fitted it to the original position on the inside of the bulkhead behind the dashboard. I have decided initially I will not connect the Fuelizer spark plug as there were some doubts about the efficiency of the original double ended 1923 coil. Then I discovered that the starter motor had dried out and stiffened up during its long rest so this has now been dismantled, lubricated, the armature cleaned up and the brushes cleaned and checked that they were not likely to stick in their holders, the whole thing re-assembled and checked for operation, all that still needs to be done is for the fresh coat of paint to dry and it can be re-installed.

7-21-2012

Hi All

I have not gone away but while I am waiting for the windscreen frame etc I have been giving my trusty daily driver a spruce up. a 1996 Peugeot 405 SRi This is the fully optioned 2 Litre (8 valve) Petrol 5 speed manual version of the French farmer's all purpose vehicle. Very quiet very smooth a delight to drive.

7-24-2012

As I had to drive across town to order the safety glass for the windscreen today I called into the Penrite factory outlet and bought the two litres of 140 gear oil for the rear axle and 90 trans oil for the gearbox. Filled the rear axle this afternoon, the two litres filling it nicely. The windscreen glass should be ready in about two weeks about the same time that the frame should be finished being nickel plated.

7-26-2012

Continuing on with my one job at a time policy the next item on the yet to be done list is the exhaust system.

During its 45-50 year life in a Custom's Bond Store the Packard was moved from time to time using a fork lift truck. This resulted with both the front, engine, pipe and the silencer being crushed. The silencer was originally made to be demountable being held together by three threaded rods running from end to end. With these removed the two end caps can be simply driven off using a small hammer and a suitable drift. The internal primary defuser is attached to the outlet end cap. The outlet pipe protrudes some six inches into the main chamber. The plan is to replace the outer tube using 6 inch diam double walled flue (stove) pipe and to repair the small rusted sections of the end caps retaining the original internals. The original (cast iron) end of the tail pipe will be sand blasted and given a coat of heat resistant black. a new front (engine) pipe and tail pipe will have to be bent up using the originals for patterns.

7-30-2012

With the original muffler internals in place and the end caps tacked into position is hardly the time to run out of acetylene but now I am waiting for another cylinder to be delivered. On the positive side the high temperature exhaust paint on the tailpipe tip has dried overnight so that is one more (small) box that can be ticked.

8-3-2012

A little more progress, collected the windscreen frame etc and the small parts for the headlight rim latches from the platers yesterday. The Glass will be ready on Monday. All I need to do now is to find where I hid the four little screws that attach the latches to the headlight rims.

Yet another small step forward, the windscreen pillars and the bottom section of the frame are now in place and awaiting the glass.

Hi Roger

After discussing this with the glass supplier I decided to go with his recommendation which was laminated.

Meanwhile I have been playing with little pieces of paper cut outs. This is the proposed top (hood) silhouette using just two bows. The actual fabric will be a fawn salt & pepper cloth, you need to go back quite some way to where I was discussing the proposed colour scheme to see the actual material. What you see here is the inside of the envelope that brought the latest issue of the Antique Automobile magazine, nothing is wasted. For those either reluctant to or unable to go back through the 50 odd pages I have attached an upclose scan of some "Salt & Pepper" cloth. Those knowledgable about these things will tell you that the warp is a black and a white thread twisted together while the weft is a single fawn (tan) colour thread.

8-4-2012

Having collected the last batch of plating I have been able to complete the assembly of the headlamps and to trial assemble the windscreen frame (no glass just yet. but before the glass went in I wanted to be sure that it all still went together OK.

8-5-2012

Hi Col

I tend to agree with you with four seat touring bodies but with this particular body which is basically a two seater I think that the slight slope on the rear of the hood works. At present what you are seeing is only a mock up literally cut and pasted. Work on the actual top (hood) is not scheduled to start until late October. One thing I do have to consider is what the next owner may prefer. As with all my project cars the Packard will be offered for sale once it is completed. That way I can move on to my next project. I am by nature a compulsive rescuer of basket cases and lost causes.

8-7-2012

Hello Heath

Glad to have another (Victorian) Aussie coming along for the ride. I have no special claim to "oldcar" It was a name chosen by an English friend Anthony Bryant when he first introduced me to the AACA Forum. I first met Anthony through Michael Worthington Williams, who runs the Finds & Discovery pages in the (UK) Automobile magazine, when I assisted him with some 1928 Plymouth spares. Just another example of how small the vintage car enthusiasts world really is if you are prepared to extend your boundaries.

Bj.

Anyone interested in seeing something of the Australian outback should visit our son Paul's website. UrbanBirder.com.au 

Paul and his partner Nicole are keen bird watchers and bird song recorders who travel the country in search of rare and unusual Australian Native birds.

Even if you are not particularly interested in birds of the feathered variety it is worth a visit but don't expect to see it all in a few minutes. When listening to the recordings turn your sound right up!

8-9-2012

While I am still waiting on the windscreen glass I have now got the carpet and can start cutting it to size and binding the edges. This afternoon I took sufficient carpet over to Tony for the outer seat backs and seat bases as the seats have now moved up in his queue of jobs. The colour of the carpet? Why, dark chocolate brown of course.

8-13-2012

What to do first??? I have just started to plan cutting the carpet and today completely out of the blue the windscreen glass is ready to be picked up.

Meanwhile I have discovered that there is sufficient of the brown linoleum left over from the front floor and running boards to cover the rear parcel shelf/seat for garden gnomes so there is another task that has just joined the waiting list.

8-16-2012

At last, after two or three days of procrastination I finally plucked up enough courage to fit the glass into the windscreen frame. Of course it went in without any of the problems that I could foresee. I have now moved on to the rear parcel shelf area. I have decided to incorporate a felt lined storage locker for the side screens across the back.

8-21-2012

While not overly exciting I have spent today sorting out how best to incorporate the side screen storage locker into the rear parcel shelf area. While some progress is being made it is hardly photogenic.

8-23-2012

Slow progress is better than no progress. I have finally sorted out the trim panels in either rear corner and a lid for the side screen storage locker. The interior of the locker is trimmed in beige felt. The luggage shelf/garden gnome seat is covered with the same brown linoleum as the front floor and running boards and now has protective domed aluminium strips in place. I still have to cut the piano hinge to size and attach it to both the lid and floor. Next step is to fit a couple of spring latches and a pull handle to the lid. My aim is to have the basics for the trim finished by the time Tony returns from his holiday in Germany.

8-25-2012

Much of today has been spent in cutting a 5 metre length of Chocolate brown carpet up into bite size pieces.

8-28-2012

Hello again

Ben just in case you are still confused about those bite sized pieces of carpet here are a photograph. I am sorry but carpet is not one of the more exciting subjects for photography. 

Please do not become alarmed flash light photography does do some dreadful things to colours in photographs.

Amazing! I have just looked back at my diary and it is just two years and five days since the Packard was first delivered to our home.