I've searched images, for everything I can think, that might be the original maker of those mouldings. I'd appreciate if someone would enlighten me, in my search.
I believe that the front fender trim is the only Packard part. Shortened to fit. The remaining trim is stock Mercury trim with the quarter panel piece shortened
There are always tons of work involved in a Custom,,,,,,,I’ve always respected the labor and artistic development in a Custom. Some of them are works of art ! That pic looks like an extremely nice example ,,,too bad the pic isn’t in color . Tommy
I've got all the Packard and Merc pieces stashed to do this on my own Merc, this is the same car as J.Fishbeck posted above but from a different angle. Definitely not the only custom car I've seen this trim on. Surprisingly hard to find stuff.
^^^^^^ Built with the help of Bill Ganhal. It won the custom of the year for Goodguys. Dan Olson`s was a contender.
Go to packardinfo.com and sign up for free, they have ads, someone always parting 50s Packards. Also troll the Packard pages in the AACA forums.
49-53 packards used that trim. That was a pretty popular mod back in the day. I have seen a number of 49-52 chevs use it too. good luck , here are some pics of a 49 and a 50 packard and a chevy that has that trim too
The stuff I have is definitely from a 1951 or 52 Packard 200 or 300. And on those cars, the molding ends at a point on the front door. But looking at the green '49 above, I wonder if a guy found a set of that from a 2 door model, how close it would be to fitting on a Merc as-is, like what would the door and quarter length be. Like this. It's not what the Merc I posted is running, but it would give a very similar look and could be less work depending on how close the door and quarter lengths are. Would still shorten the front fender trim but that's easy.
here is a 53 fender trim on ebay... https://www.ebay.com/itm/1257624691...+IRyaSaNZAQdt2RZGxHOk/+Lg=|tkp:Bk9SR4ig0pvKYQ
With the spear that Moriarity posted above, originally there were mild steel tabs welded to the back side that had studs on it, there's no folded over lip around the outer edge on the back side to insert a universal trim clip (like what most stainless moldings have), that example has both welded tabs missing. It's a common problem with Packard spears, and the seller isn't pointing it out, something you might not notice unless you knew to look for it. Not saying that one can't be fixed, but you'll have to weld onto stainless to make it work again, which a lot of people don't like to do. Kind of a bad design from the factory in my opinion.
That explains some things. I've found some that are $37 each, all the way to $150. Covering the backside of the weld with a plate or shielding gas is big help. I have some unusable molding's here, I need to practice with
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