Yeah, I know 4 doors are considered OK in OZ, but here we go for the cleaner, less cluttered look of a 2 door body....
Now that the body is stabilized, I removed all the tube bracing, making it easier to get on with more floor installation... Bracing will go back in again before the top chop begins.
Just a shave and a haircut - 1" in front, 2" in the rear, pull the base of the rear window back without cutting the opening and lean the B pillar forward. Same as I did recently on the same body style, gives it a more flowing shape without being an obvious overchop. The way I see it, the roof on the Packard is a little too 'formal', trying to capture more of a 36 Ford or Willys shape..
Finally got the front wheels and tires, still waiting on M&H to produce the Cheater slicks for the rear....
Redid the engine mounts with a removeable center section and mocked up the blower stuff for some inspiration. Also loosely put the front sheet metal together to get a look at how things fit. The headers will need to be cut up and re***embled to fit under the fenders as I expected, probably mount the headlights near to where they are sitting, eliminating the stock tall pedestals.
I recall the early to mid '60s trend in G***ers... '40s Pontiacs, Buicks, Cad coupes. Wilbur Sut (Sut's auto wrechers, 10th St., San Jose) was the primary purveyor of Roadmaster, LaSalle and Pontiac super gearboxes. The Buick inline 8's were rulers of the cl***, Fremont Drags (later 'Baylands') This Packard is an extreme example... Just amazing.
Back to work after spending the winter in Az , installed the gas tank from Tanks Inc, mounted a Steer Clear unit to solve the steering linkage issue and got to work modifying the 567 Chev headers to fit under the fenders.
Took my vintage Moon go pedal off the wall where it's hung for years, finally giving it a home - a little divot needed in the trans tunnel. Also made mounts for the seats, early Mustang style from Jegs, just need to weld nut plates to the floor for mounting.
Top chopping day - just a shave and a haircut - 1 1/" from the A pillars and 2 1/2" from theB pillars to bring down the too tall look of the rear of the roof. Also pulled the door frame of the B pillar back to match the angle of the A pillar somewhat. Bottom edge of the rear window pulled back 1" to - all to give the roof a more flowing shape and not an obvious over chop.
Been working on the doors - they've been off this body for 50 years and being shoved around from barn to shed, etc., has surely tweaked it out of shape, plus creating the new floor, mounting it on the frame and subsequent top chopping - they just won't fit right. Had to reshape the top hinges for better alignment and vertically slice them to bring the body line up to match the quarter panel reveal - fenders next.
Starting on rear fenders, p*** side is not too bad, just need to open it up for the tires a bit, they will be 1" taller than the one posed for these pics. Drivers side needed rust repair and to put back on the 3" someone chopped of the rear of it.
Don’t do it! It would make a great boulevard cruiser as a 4dr. I just acquired this project barn find 1940 120 series and intend to go Chevrolet small block, automatic, and rear end. I’m glad this thread happened to be up today. Very timely. I look forward to your progress.
Are those the tail lights from Speedway? They look good there and way less expensive than Studebaker units. Did you have to make a flat recess for them to sit in?
Yes, they're from Speedway - I just made a 1/8" plate base and flush mounted them, it's at a fairly flat point in the fender curve, a tiny bit of filler needed around them.
Made a new valance for the grille shell to direct air to the rad, the original was pretty beat up. Also a filler piece at the top, got the rad mounted and repaired all the cracks, etc on the fenders.
The Jalopy Journal
