Hi all So I've been thinking of hot rodding my beloved Packard or just plain restore it minus new paint ( the old paint has aged very well, noting beats "original paint") While I wish I had the deluxe coupe trim with those slick roofline, I love my 4 door but the roof can be chopped off a bit, thus where my rodding wants to go What do you all think, leave the old brute the way it is or chop the roof down a bit
It's a beautiful style body, a custom by the factory - Leave it as it is, no butchering. The only customizing that might improve the appearance could be shaving the side trim & scripts. BUT The paint has NOT aged beautifully. There are scratches and RUST. Repair the sheet metal and paint it over. I've seen beautiful patina, but that's something achieved by years of care; washing, waxing and indoors kept. The old paint gets thin on corners & places frequently touched. Rust is not patina, it's cancer. The best part of the car is the engine. Mighty straight eight by the best engine builders of the era (40's) - Be proud of it. Congratulations!
Thank you sir I really I'm proud of this one, I have a collection of 12 cars from various makes but there is something about a Packard straight 8 that sets it's apart for me, it's smoothness Plus it's got the ultramatic trans too Sent from my BLU R1 HD using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I'd clean it up, take the rusty spots to bare metal and primer them and split the manifold for dual exhaust. I'd drop it down with cut coils and lowering blocks. At least that was the plan for my old 49. Mine turned out to have a slew of stuck valves and no title. Sold it. My buddy, Al has a nice tudor sedan. When the motor blew up he replaced it with a 460 ford/automatic.
Beauty, no customizing needed. They already have a lot of the "touches" like rounded hood and trunk corners and almost frenched headlights. Most people don't know what they look like anyway, so all your work customizing one will go unappreciated!
I'll be the Devil's advocate. Chop it, lose that bubble in the back roof.[emoji6] Sent from my LG-TP450 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
If you're asking for opinions, I'll throw one in, and it's only my opinion. Worth nothing. I think it's a really cool looking car, I like Rocky's suggestions. I dig it without a chop and I like old f-ed up paint. I would clean up the heavily rusted areas, blend them in and fix everything mechanically, try to keep it OEM and bomb down the road like Mad Max. That's not going to be a popular view here, it's the equivalent of bringing your aspca adopted dog whom you really love to the Westminster Dog show and trying to get the people there to accept him as much as the Bichon Frise that someone painstakingly bred for tens of generations, thousands of hours of time and a million dollars. To me, the whole idea of building a "custom" is to be super anal and frivolous. You kinda have to get every detail like chrome, paint, mods and bodywork super slick, or it defies the whole purpose. (waaaaay to much work for me. I'm a lazy sod. I like muts. Customs and shiny street rods are like Bichons to me. I will always go for the lovable mut.) Oh by the way, looks like you have some cool vans there Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I can see my reflection from those chrome grilles, that's how shiny they look Sweet car, the first thing I noticed missing was either the "goddess of speed" or "the swan" hood ornament
Hey there, I've a couple packards.... I have the hood ornament I think you need. There was a show where a guy cut the roof, removed the hump, straightened the windshield a bit , left it a 4door, n it looked hot! Nice car, you have. I'd swap ya 4 a 51 4 door. But I know what I would do to that body style. If you never seen a true 2 door of that body style you got ta look it up..... best reguards. If I can be of help , txt me or msg me. An expert I'm not, but a fan of old heavy steel packards I am. 7177439089. Brent
I hear ya there, but one has the odd ornament that I've rarely seen, my origional 51 has it , my parts car is the other ornament that'll look nice on your hood.
amistydj...... you haven't posted on this thread in about a year and a half...what say you? Packard chopped?
I vote to leave the body unchopped but two tone it in such a way as to give a longer lower impression. I leave it to the artists in the crowd how to do this. I will only say rich dark colors look best on a car like that.
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