Dave Mitchell
-
Posts
1,207 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Forums
Gallery
Events
Posts posted by Dave Mitchell
-
-
These won't be really easy to find, but it is possible. I have V12 hoods, you could possibly cut the tops down, but the sides are different. I think I have one of the chrome louvers, not sure if I have a pair.
-
I'll look it up, but I think that is the 1937 - 39 bulb. The L may be 37 only.
The 1933/34 three filament bulb is a 32/32/32 cp Mazda 3003. I still have a couple originals left.
-
I have one also, but yours is only the third one that I have heard of. If the bulbs are still in your kit, you can look up what the headlight bulb fits and it will narrow it down. I think they had them until at least 1939. They are mentioned in the service letters I think.
-
I do object to restoring something so that it looks old or even gives a hint that it might be original. Fine now when people know, but what about in a generation or two when people don't remember, and someone who thinks it is an "asset" jumps to the conclusion that it is all original? With restorations like that I am not sure how much is recreation and how much is heroic restoration. There is a fine line there - is it historic or just interesting? I don't know enough about this car to say. Too often paying big money at an auction amounts to showing off more than the value of the item. We have seen a lot of that with cars.
-
Am I a heretic if I say I don't get it?
I looked this over the last time it sold - 2007 at Gooding Pebble Beach and watched the movie etc. I don't get it either. I wonder how much is original and no matter what, it isn't that charming. I guess it is just an ego booster to have it for bragging rights.
-
I will sell you NOS cheaper. packard12s@hotmail.com
-
I can share with you how I did it on my 41. packard12s@hotmail.com
-
So who was the underbidder?
-
I might have one. Will take a look.
-
I might have one. packard12s@hotmail.com
-
I might be able to help you. Dave packard12s@hotmail.com
-
1986 was Universal City, CA. Bill was president 84/85.
-
Well, if you limit any Standard 8 sedan to 50K, not a single one would ever be restored. I like sedans myself, and although the 34 is not my favorite, but most people like the 34s the best, so if a sedan is worth restoring, it would surely be a 34 club sedan. It is a good looking car and surely a pretty nice car to drive. If another one sold for about the same money, doesn't that validate the price somewhat?
-
Looks like some very interesting planes there. Thanks for posting
-
Any 34 is an expensive car to restore and the 32 - 34s are in general the more valuable cars. It probably cost more than that to restore it, if it was professionally done it cost a good deal more. Just the plating alone could run $50K, interior 25K, engine 15 - 20, chassis, trans, brakes etc, not to mention paint and body. Just buying the materials for a good paint job on a body off restoration will probably be around 8 - 10K. Things like glass and channel, window regulators, wood graining, gauges etc all add up. Without seeing photos of the car and knowing who restored it and what they did, it is hard to say if that is the right price. And, it is true, color and correct upholstery make a huge difference in value. A lot of time, I can look at a few photos of a car and tell if someone who knew what they are doing restored it. A look under the hood can tell you a lot.
That all said, 77K isn't what I would call cheap for a Std 8 closed car, so you should have someone who knows them look at it with you. Dave packard12s@hotmail.com
-
Thanks for posting the P 51. Have you been to the air museum in the south of NZ?
-
At the risk of irritating someone, I would say we amazingly good - so good that our enemies were stunned by our output. We provided equipment to every one of our allies in large numbers, not just our own forces. We were also able to turn out engines like the Packard redesign of the Merlin which produced more power with fewer parts and less production time and resources. I didn't mean to say that the Sherman was a bad tank or had bad engines, but just pointing out one problem area that he mentioned. I thought those were Chrysler, but not knowing for sure didn't say. To me, it is an intriguing design and amazing that it worked at all. The Porsche designed German tanks certainly had their flaws too, although they had their advantages also. Anyway I was by no means trying to disparage the war effort and the incredible solutions they came up with in a short time for big problems. My grandmother was one of those war production workers and my dad was flying P 47s - powered by the awesome Pratt and Whitney R2800 with water injection and turbos. We could and did build great engines in those years. The Packard minesweeper engine seems like a very good engine to me and I just find it interesting that more of the technology didn't end up in automobiles.
-
A new, or nearly new minesweeper engine is currently on exhibit at the Packard Proving Grounds on Van Dyke, near Utica, MI.
Thanks for the tip, I will have to check that out the next time I am in Detroit.
There was a man who used to stop by our shop who was a mechanic in the Army in WWII - both in Europe and was sent to the Pacific - he didn't like the Sherman at all. I know he didn't like the Fords, but I can't remember exactly why and he is no longer with us. I do remember that the other engine which was built something like five inline six cylinder engines arranged radially around a common center had a problem he was amazed that they hadn't designed out. The bottom engine would fill with oil and lock, stopping everything. I think his trick was to pull the spark plugs on that engine and just let it drain and hope it hadn't done more damage, but sometimes he had to replace that bottom engine. He said they were pretty good otherwise. I know he thought both were bad in the winter from the stories he told of trying to keep them running during the Battle of the Bulge.
-
I think the original was 10. I always put it back the way it was. The horns take a lot of power and you want them to sound good.
-
The lifters are solid and not hard to adjust, a bit hard to get in there, but pretty standard set up. If they are making noise, you should adjust them. Thin valve adjusting wrenches will help.
Probaby use a 30 or 40 weight oil. Hopefully it has a spin on filter inside the original L8 filter. Pull the inspection plate on the pan and you can clean the fine screen on the pick up at the same time.
I don't think there is a rope type seal on the trans, but the old felt seal may be leaking. You might be able to pull the rear drive flange and just drive the seal in a little tighter and expand the inner felt and then clean up the sealing surface on the flange and reinstall it.
The rear main seal of the engine may be leaking. There isn't much of a seal there and some Packard rear mains have string driven in to the sides. You can put in new string and coat it with a good sealer and tamp it in slowly, carefully and solidly.
-
I think that one snaps on, but I can check for sure
-
If the metal trim around the side window and the vent window divider were to be brushed stainless steel on a 1935 Packard 1201 Standard 8 Convertible Coupe, would this be after market trim or an option from Packard? The trim is squared off versus rounded if you look at the cross section of the trim that goes all the way around the edge of the side window.
Thanks.
Can you post some photos of it? I would guess that someone scuffed the chrome thinking it was dull stainless, or maybe thinking they would paint it. If it is stainless, then you would be able to polish it. While it is possible that it was made in stainless, I have never seen that, and I think what you have is just steel that needs to be plated. It isn't that bad to do the plating and I bet the improvement in how the doors look will be well worth it. I have an extra set of the vent windows on the shelf and I will take a look at them today.
-
The other thing is that the 120s still aren't exactly cheap to restore and it is easy to have a lot of money in one, more than people would have thought they were worth not that long ago. However the market has come to appreciate not just the style, - which I completely agree with West when he points out the very sporty with the clean lines and very low windshield (hot rods copy that look), combined with the Packard lines and engineering make these great cars - but also it is recognized that a first class restoration has to be paid for and is worth doing and guys will finally step up for a junior.
I can't really see the values meeting in the middle for a 120 and a 12 however. I have yet to see a really good 12 coupe roadster go for close to the same money a really good 120 will bring. I think we have seen the money for very nice junior go way up, and we have seen the prices of average or below average 12s drop, but really good 12s are either being held by their owners until the market improves or aren't for sale, or sell quietly for more money. I watched a couple of V12s sell (one didn't make reserve) recently at auction and both needed at least $50K of work to be decent cars, let alone show cars. Good cars are a lot more money than these topped out at.
-
I don't remember if it was a club coupe or business coupe. Steve is in L.A., and I think the car went up to the N.W.
If you ever have any questions as you're working on the project, I know '41s pretty well, as does Dave Mitchell, who has done the best resto of a '41 I've ever seen.
Thanks for the kind words West! Coming from you that is high praise as you have seen a lot of Packards. That 41 took a long time and a lot of research to do that car, and I used up a huge number of NOS parts. I looked at and photographed lots of 40 - 42 cars as reference and bought a original standard sedan to cross check with. It is a wonderful car to drive and it was fun to show it because of the great story. I have owned up 5 41s at once and have to say that I do like them a lot, even though they were not my favorites to begin with. I drive my 160 convertible almost everyday that the weather allows and will do so today. It is a great road car with plenty of power.
I would be happy to help anyone with info or parts on a 41. I am most familiar with the 35 - 41 cars, juniors and seniors. I recently got a form letter about continuing as the Packard tech advisor for CCCA and it struck me that most of the tech questions I get are now by email rather than phone or letter, but I still get those too.
I would agree that the 37 115/120s are really good looking cars and I have owned those too - a 120CD sedan, all original with low miles and a 115 coupe roadster - really fun and terrific lines. I have owned a Six since 1985 and have put over 50,000 miles on it and they are great cars. That said, they just can't compare to a 160 or a Twelve when it comes to power. The 160s with overdrive are very nice and the V12 just makes you smile when you start it. As much as I like the 160, there is still a considerable difference in the presence of a V12. They are big, elegant cars, with real wood appointments and much nicer interiors, and there is a difference in build quality.
When I go to a show, I like to hear the engines of the various cars - there is something about a well designed engine or a performance engine that really is different from the basic utillity power units that are in some vintage cars. The Duesenbergs 8s, the Packard 8s and 12s, Cad 8s, 12s & 16s, Supercharged Mercedes, all sound good to me (in different ways!) and some cars don't give me that feeling.
Dave
Packard Approved Accessories
in Packard
Posted
I think the bulb for 35 12 is also a 32 - 32. Not sure about the L suffix. Does your dad have a 35 12owner's manual?