tbirdman

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Guys thanks for the help and tips. Things were running smoothly until this snag. I was hoping to get apart Monday night so I could of drop the column and box of at powder coater yesterday. Restorer32 that is great if you can. I have pictures from Ken which are very helpful on reassembly of the light switch and throttle lever but I was so wound up I forgot to right down which one goes where. Do you guy know which side of the wheel each lever goes as your sitting in the car. </div></div> Left is light, right is throttle...at least on a 32. The motion on tyhe steering is a gentle rocking motion I used. I would not try to hit the back side of the wheel even with wood in fear of damaging it. Now if you were creative like Speedster, you could make your own steering wheel puller. I've seen diagrams of them where the contraption fits around the back of the steering wheel up. As you tighten down on the shaft, the puller applies even pressure on the back of the steering wheel. I think with wood you could make one fairly easy.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The wheel is being stubborn I couldn't get it off last night so I went to bed dreaming that a gorilla would go out to the garage and pull it off for me right RICK <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> </div></div> Did you get the nut off? What I did was first unloosen the nut. I soaked the area where the steering wheel joins the steering column overnight with wd-40 and penetrating oil. I then took a 20 lb hammer hand gave the center column a couple of sharp raps making sure that the nut was protecting the threaded area. Then with the nut still on, but at the end of the thread I grabbed the steering wheel at the 3 and 9 o'clock position and proceeded to alternately pull from each side. It came off real easy doing that. Keeping the nut on prevents you from hitting yourself in the face when the wheel comes off.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">For Reference the nut is 1-7/16". But wouldn't you know it I I grabbed a 3/4" drive. I don't have any 3/4" drive so it looks like I need to buy and adapter because they didn't have 1-7/16" in 1/2" drive or off to Sears or Home Depot. URggg </div></div> My car is still at the upholstery shop so I can't answer questions. See I got lucky with mine. When I removed the pitman arm on my T-Bird, I bought three sockets different sizes just to be safe. One of those also fit the steering wheel when time came to remove that nut. So Iwas planning ahead without knowing it <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Ken, I've been meaning to get in contact with someone from the club for a while. I bought a '52 200 a few months ago, and I need to get together with the local club. I live over in Hillsboro. Where is 2/27 meeting being held, and what time? Mark </div></div> McGraths Fish House Cedar hills 6 pm dinner 7 pm meeting. See you there.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">ken, Will do thanks You wouldn't happen to take any picture as you were doing it? </div></div> I did. Every time we took a bolt off, I took a picture <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I send you thos epictures by email this weekend.

Steve Mack, I consider myself one of the contrarians going for a classic Packard while all the guys my age want muscle cars. I do like muscle cars, but they are a dime a dozen. My 60s car is a 64 Thunderbird convertible which is unusual especially in the good condition I have it in, but my 32 Packard roadster draws much more attention wherever I go. Also a 36 Packard sedan is a constant best of show winner at the local cruises around here. It is mostly stock except for a root beer metal flake paint job. So here you have a 4 door mostly stock Packard beating out all of the 60s cars and the hot rodders. I also feel that the 60s cars market is over hyped with a lot of people paying exorbitant prices for ordinary cars whwere there is no real shortage of these cars. One of the announcers at the BJ auction made a funny statement last year, "I never knew there were so many rare Corvettes <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />" as the 100th one rolled over the stage. I predict a falling of the market, but who knows. But remember the Ferrari market of the 90s. I would like to add a brass car to my collection but I'm limited by garage space. Also I find it hard to maintain more than a couple cars at a time and give them the attention they need. Then you can start a whole another thread on plastic hot rods.

I heard there was a pretty good restoration shop in Dallas called Speedster's garage <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I feel overjoyed that I can answer this question. I removed mine with the help of speedster. The horn button and assembly is attached to a long tube assembly that is connected at the end of the steering box. At the end of the steering box you need to disconnect the lighting switch and also the gear assembly that works the throttle control. Both of these are connected to the tubes that extend down through the steering column. These tubes are operated by the knobs on your steering column. Then the entire assemly with these long tubes get lifted out from the steering wheel once these tubes are disconnected. It's hard to describe but once you done it, is so obvious. You may want to do a search back in the forum for speedsters intructions around Oct or Nov to me.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Unless you are determined to do it yourself you would be better off to find a painter who would guide you in doing the preparation work, which accounts for a very large percentage of the total labor, and then spray the car for you when the preparation was done to his satisfaction. You could then do the color sanding and final polishing. With the cost of paint and primer these days you could easily waste what it would cost you to have it sprayed professionally. You certainly don't want to spray any of the two stage paints without proper safety equipment, unless you have a secret death wish. </div></div> I bet you it would be hard to find a painter who would agree to paint over an amateur's preparation work.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Elsewhere I noted a bitter-sweet irony - as more and more of us older car buffs are dying off, the value of the "REAL" classics continues to flatten out or decline. Maybe someday we will be back to the way it was when I was a kid, and paid twenty five bucks for my Packard V-12 (my parents had a fit..that I'd bother with such a ugly old gas gobbler...for another ten bucks I could have gotten a nice Model A Ford...!). Maybe as the values of the "real" classics decline further, while we will see the tragedy of some of them getting butchered, we will also see some of them falling back into the hands of folks like myself, who just like them for the engineering masterpieces they were, and couldnt give a damn what they are worth. </div></div> I happened to talk to a classic car dealer at the recent PI meet. He said that the classic Packard open cars (at least 32-34s) have really risen in price in the past year about 50%. So I was surprised, but please as I do own an open 32. He's pretty knowledgeable as he's been involved in soem of these recent sales (non auction). So that goes against the thought that classics are declining in price. I had thought they were staying steady.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Nice job on the site! That is a good group with very nice people up there. Who now owns the 31 (with 32 kit) Waterhouse convertible victoria that was at the PI meet? Dave </div></div> Don't know however it was bought recently at a auction for $600K. It was a very nice car in person.

I've created a new website for the Packards of Oregon. On the web site I have a lot of photos from the PI meet this month in Orange CA. The site is brand new so it might have a few quirks.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Post some more photos of it if you can. I'd like to see a side and rear view. </div></div> OK, I found a better picture.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I don't suppose you'd want to tell him just how much nicer it'd look without those Trippe Lights, eh? </div></div> I'll pass the word on to him from you. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Well I ran into a vendor at the PI meet in Organge, CA. He said he thought he had some. Well I got them in the mail early this week and was going to send them back because they were different than the one that was in my car. I need two because on my optioned car, there were both a map light and dash light switch mounted in the dash instead of the map light and throttle control. I was really disappointed because I thought I found the right ones after talking to the vendor at the meet. Well I got to thinking tonight and pulled out the owners manual. Jimminy Crickets! The light knobs were identical to the ones in the owners manual. So it looks like the one I had in the car was wrong! I have attached a picture of the ones I received.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Appears in the pic as very tastefuly done. It's not like he chopped it. As for the V10 viper engine and the Jag interior those would definatly NOT be my choice for transplant but certainly easily enuf corrected. Based on the pic he gets at least one thumb up from me but those awful auxilary lites need to go away. </div></div> The firewall I know had to be moved back to fit the Viper engine. I don't know if he kept the original firewall. Next I see it, I'll see if there's a data plate.

Here's a picture.

The guy who did it lives about an half mle from me. He claims it's a real Darrin. The Viper engine came from Kelsey Grammers wrecked Viper. He said that the Darrin was pretty well shot. I would estimate that he has had the car finished 7 years ago. He's a nice guy. At one car cruise in he got out of the convertible class and moved into the 40s class so I would have a chance to win...this is without me asking. He's won a lot of best of shows with the car. He's done the same wth a Classic Lincoln and is doing the same to 30s Mercedes Roadster. He bought a Dodge truck with a just to get the engine to put into the Mercedes. I did hear from someone else who thought it was a replica Darrin but I have no way of knowing. I may have a picture I can post later.

Well what is done is done but a lot of good infomation was lost. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> I use the search engine quite often to research subjects. But I guess we'll survive.

Seems like that was one stupid move. It seems to me if one posts on a forum, it become public record. Now all of that good infomation that the post have accumulated, can never be seen again. That is a crying shame. Speedster, please don't request your posts be deleted on the whole forum will go up in smoke.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Is your ashtray a one piece affair or is the woodgrained insert removeable? I found one of the 2 ashtrays I have and it most definitely has a lid. I think I have a second one but at 9 degrees the garage was a bit cold for scrounging. </div></div> I have not received the ash tray and probably won't receive it for a week. I never did see the ash tray as the vendor did not have it with them. I'll post a picture when I get it.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Cuz out there on the west coast, they don't care about completing a restoration properly. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> </div></div> West, I actually overheard some Packard guys claiming at the meet this weekend (and I won't name names), that West Coast cars are done to a higher standard. I have no experience either way so I have no comment just repeating what I overhead. Probably no truth to that statement.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Their 1932 file must be a LOT smaller than their 1934 file, which I went through last year. There were about 15 files with about a thousand pictures. Granted, many of those photos were not factory photos, but there were quite a few interior shots. </div></div> Perhaps the person that did my research was not as thorough.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think the screen, screen frame, and hardware are supposed to be chrome. The Detroit Library has some excellent factory photos of interiors. You might want to try and get a hold of them. Photo repros are a bit pricey ($$), though, I think about $40 for each 8 x 10. However, if you just have them make a photocopy, I think it's only a few dimes plus postage. </div></div> I got all of their 32 Packard picture a few months ago. It was a whopping $2 for the 10 pictures and $2 for postage and handling. Also the making of Michigan web site has some pictures. The problem, is most pictures don't show the interior detail that I'm looking for.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm almost sure it has a lid. Mine is stashed away at home. Mounts in the center of the upper dash trim and is removeable for emptying. I think it is chrome with woodgrained inserts. Mine is for a 900, yours may differ. </div></div> So why do all 32s pictures I see are missing the lid? The vendor was going to use it on his 900 but decided not to. He claims it came out of a 902/903 roadster. The good thing it is chromed already and just needs woodgraing.