Put in a full day yesterday. Focussed on door gaps and alignment of door. Welded in inner lower sill and it had the added bonus of pulling it all into alignment. Door closes like a bank vault now. I also added a little more sweep to the dash/armrest corner . Just about ready to turn her round and start on other door.
It really is “one piece at a time”. Made a stainless transition from firewall to cowl side. This will be bolted in place , not welded. Other side is mirror image.
@CadMad, let me just say that it’s high time you and Gene Winfield sat down and had a very long talk about customs. Just sayin. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Just read and was blown away by 14 pages of fantastic body forming, you are certainly a master craftsman at you trade. I too like working with metal, mostly rust repair unfortunately, but If I opened my garage door each day and was greeted with the Strone about tools and debris that you seem to be able to work in and turn out the quality you do, well I would just close the door and go back to the sofa because I need some semblance of order to get any thing done. That said I am still in awe of your skills and am waiting to see and read more pages. Ralphie
Thanks Ralphie. I think. I work in a big team. Me and my multiple personalities. What appears as total chaos to everyone else seems to work as organised chaos (at least in my mind.) I’ve worked in a few immaculate work environments and I nearly went “crazier” achieving little more than cleaning up each day and polishing the tools and workshop floor. My brother came over a few weeks ago and we did a big cleanup .... and I’m still looking for bits that have been put somewhere by him. I do an 11 hour day most days. I figure that if I can live with it then that extra hour a day ordinarily spent cleaning up is better spent making something. It is getting better as each new bit goes onto the cars. But the Packard is my afterhours escape . I’m making unobtainable 53 Eldorado bits for half a dozen cars by work day. I’ve got a big workshop overhaul approaching and a mezzanine going in to give me extra storage . I nervously can see that soaking up a precious week of work time. Even got 18 ventilator bases done for one of my dad’s jobs over the weekend ( he’s 82 and still chases the odd job). So a lot of work is realised each week.
Here’s what that valuable hour afforded me this arvo. Got the top piece of the firewall folded up. Still got to trim the top and put nutcerts in to hold it all together, but that is another day
Ok. Been busy on other stuff... but it’s time to build the other front fender. This was the good one. The other was twice as bad . I made a wire form template jig off the other side and then flipped it all over. First job is to add the 4 inch extension at the cut. Then the tapered rear. Then fill in the missing gaps. Easy!!! Very little of the original fender will be used.
That's a Packard "Feathered Bail" radiator cap that heralds the early days. The variant before that one (still a feathered bail) was similar with a more rounded base. The early caps through about 28-29 operated by flipping the bail and tilting the cap open. The coachbuilders at LeBaron thought enough of it to use it on the iconic LeBaron Speesters of 1934. Quite elgant and less obtrusive than others, the bail adding another dimension of style to it. My personal favorite. Here's one on a 34: The spear on the side, nice touch adding the "hook" to the rear of that molding. A little trivia there too, in 1929 one of the coachbuilders (Brewster I think) noted a special town car by Hibbard and Darrin. May have been a Rolls Royce. They asked to borrow the spear design for a hood element on a Packard, but inverted, pointing down vs up on the Hibbard and Darrin car. It was a hit and became a design element for almost all Packard models through 1952 or 53. Seeing those design cues used without excess is the very essense of work like this. Good stuff mate.
You nailed it Highlander. Yes, I’ve looked at all the elements individually and as a whole. As each new piece “becomes one” it is sometimes even a shock to me. It’s one thing to dream it and imagine it, but to see it in the metal is what motivates me. I’m glad you are enjoying the ride without turning a wheel.
Anyone else notice how much concrete is showing today? Wish my shop had that much uncluttered floor, haha.
Hahaha. Yes. My mate Pete came over yesterday and nearly had a fit and grabbed a broom. We found the lost ark of the covenant , the holy grail and my virginity. Still looking for my 1/2 inch ratchet spanner though.
Just welding in the nose makes a huge difference. What was a big floppy pile of shit is now a rigid form. Still gotta make the inner panel but it’s a huge psychological boost.
I’m so excited.... so I’ll keep posting daily updates. Till you all get sick of it. I couldn’t resist the chance before work to modify the other 39 Buick headlight so I could see it’s face for the first time.
Feel free to post twice a day, or more,,,think no one would get sick of it. And the face looks very good.
I have really been enjoying this build, its truly amazing to watch the progress, and the speed and accuracy of the progress is stunning! There are many metal masters out there in the world, so far the builds of Cody Wall's are simply amazing, but I have to confess, this particular build with its complexity, and the rapid updates, are a daily dose of "GOOD" that really makes my day ! I would love to see Cody Walls and CadMad, square off at some neutral point on the planet, and have a competition, that is a say a 5 day event, to see what they could accomplish in the realm of automotive creativity with some exotic materials and something that is challenging to them both! I will let your imaginations run wild, as to what the metal forming task would be, and of course, it should all be on YouTube for everybody to watch and enjoy and learn something!
The Jalopy Journal
