I’ve been preoccupied with several 53 Eldo restorations for a few years and haven’t indulged my two 39 Cadillac and Packard customs. Recently I found a second abandoned 39 Packard project at a local scrap yard. (Unbelievable) Its body is gone but I’ve got everything else. I’ve toyed with a hardtop coupe idea for a while but then I thought to extend the chassis 12 or 14 inches and build a 4 door conv using exactly the same formula as my 2 door conv. Obviously pantograph doors won’t work so The doors will have to hinge from the B pillar. Can someone simply stretch these photos in the middle of the door accordingly and put a vertical b pillar door seam in place? Just want to flesh out what the proportions look like. The fenders I got are 6 wheel equipped and I got all the covers. I may or may not use them. I like long flowing fenders… but let’s see…
I feel like the lovely shape of the back of the door in the convertible coupe version doesn't translate as well into a rear door, like it should be cut around the fender shape more in the rear. But here's a very rough attempt, I'm sure someone else could do it better. I love the idea overall. I did shorten up the distance from the rear door opening to the rear fender a bit, which I think helps. I'd like to see what some other photoshop people come up with.
Thankyou Squablow, I just told my girlfriend that I’m going down to the library to photocopy the pic to do a real old school cut and paste…. I don’t even have a printer or computer ( that’s how old school I am) Well done mate. That gives me enough information already to formulate the next part of the journey. I picked up another 2004 Saab Aero tub and top mech 12 months ago for $150 from a wrecker just to have spare top bits… Now it’s got a use.
Just for comparison here is a Darrin sedan conv one of 11 built. I think the more sedate rear door line following the fender is better.
Glad to help, I love the original project and I like the idea of a convertible sedan as well. The Darrin Packard convertible sedan is really pretty, and the proportions are good. If the door handles were removed, or at least, were the same height, and if the corner at the bottom of the rear door were rounded off a bit, that would be very similar to what I was thinking. Although I'm sure you'll come up with something great.
Since no one else has yet come to the Photoshop party, could I kindly ask a couple alterations? If possible could you alter the back door line to flow closely to the corner of the rear fender as you originally acknowledged…. and secondly move the b pillar back from Centre perhaps two or three inches…? The convex on the top of the doors possibly should be reduced or the dip should be lower to take some of the bulk out of the doors… the Darrin has a concave door line not convex… but the swage line is then problematic. The pantograph door is huge and I’m 6’2”… I like big front doors. I’m thinking I would incorporate a cross over support to integrate the front seat top as a body panel tying in the b pillar to the seat frame. To get proportions right I may have to extend chassis to 142 inches 16 inches extension….
I think dual cowl is “two busy” … pun intended. I’ve named the two door “Aero”. That is the theme. Smooth and streamlined.
My mate James De Arth, did a quick cleanup for me. This project is not a priority at the moment. But the seed has been planted and now I’ll just let it germinate and water it occasionally and see what happens.
. . . might even look better with a running board (or fill-in straight panel) below the doors. Kinda looks bulbous this way. The differing colors tend to accent that -- maybe "paint" it all one color?
This thread’s purpose was just to see if the concept had merit. Yeah a running board may work. I kind of like that the Darrin evolved to no running boards. I could never afford a real Darrin. I didn’t want to build a fake one. I had an ego boost when Patrick Darrin (son of Dutch) messaged me to say he loved the road I had gone and his dad would be looking down smiling, that he was still relevant 90 years later.
It’s still alive. Just immersed in half a dozen 53 Eldo restorations. Somehow I have to pay my bills and put food on the table. I did it the wrong way around… got the cool cars before I got the passive income… I’ll know what to do next Lifetime.
Here's another version with a longer front door and shorter rear than my original, with a rear door opening that follows the rear fender line, and a bit steeper angle to the door tops. Since the center post will hold the door hinges, I feel like it can't just be a single body gap, it'll have to have at least some width to it, probably even more than what I drew here, but it's a concept.
Thanks for the contributions guys. Duck Flower I used to have a 59 Biarritz on factory air suspension and I loved the flexibility of it. I actually used it more to raise it up so as not to drag $10000 of chrome on the driveway. I’m a bit more traditional with the 39, and there is a technical issue with the folding top mech well that protrudes into the wheel well precluding a savage suspension drop. I can possibly get 2 inches of drop from factory spec (max). The car is sitting high cos there is no engine and box or full fuel tank in place presently. It will come down but not to the ground. I will keep the Packard slightly nose up in relation to whatever I achieve in the rear. I made all the cowl and body innards of the Packard in Stainless. I had half a dozen big commercial kitchen splash backs lying around and put them to good use( rather than stacked up against my shed wall). If I decide to build the second 39 I already know where to get a heap more stainless sheet, at the same scrap yard the chassis and fenders and grille and bits came from. Who says building customs isn’t about recycling?
PS I can make front doors pantograph and rear doors hinge off B pillar that will be cross braced over the front seat to offer rigidity.
Wonder how a "floating" elliptical running board would look? not touching the body or the fenders, just supported from underneath.
That's an interesting idea. Might take up some of the visual suspension height too, since the car can't be lowered a ton. I'm not sure how to Photoshop that but I like the idea.
Luckily I have the full size Packard tucked away in the corner to physically look at. There’s a saying “The WHOLE is greater than the sum of it’s parts”… when you see the “whole” thing and can walk around it (Which I can’t at the moment), it takes on a “whole” integrated form. The fuselage shape is 3d not 2d. So 2d perspective creates different viewing effect. I’m confident that once viewed in 3d no one will have any doubts.
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