'38 Dodge Mel Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Was able to get this ‘29 Packard 6-33 seven passenger from a storage lot. Tarp was blown off over the years, hasn’t been started in over a decade (but was running when parked), but after a wash and a bit of wax, at least the paint came up nicely. The mechanical will be my winter project. 28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenie Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Very nice. We recently saw a ‘29 Packard Phaeton at the Tip Museum in Canfield, Ohio. Good luck with the mechanicals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Location, location, location. Here in the east cars with tarps blown off do not look that good! Great looking car!👍 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 THANK YOU! I really like it when people take the time to photograph cars with great backgrounds! Makes people want to know where you live and learn some history of the landscape. The Packard cleaned up really well, I saw the earlier photos, glad it has a proper caretaker now. Bob 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63RedBrier Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Sad that the previous owners let such a nice Packard languish under a tarp... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercub Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Good find, it looks amazing. Hopefully you can get it running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 (edited) Fantastic car.......exactly what Packard was building in large numbers.....and it doesn't have a bunch of tacky junk bolted all over it. The thing has great eyeball.........just one small detail that kills me........swap out the Phillip head screws that are rusty for some nice stainless slotted jobs............Phillip head screws on early cars drive me nuts............look forward to some under hood photos. Congratulations on a great car. Edited May 10, 2022 by edinmass (see edit history) 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 It's May, why wait until winter to get it running? Get busy and have fun! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryLime Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Ed is right , no Phillips.AND no Trippe lights ! Best Wishes............. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalef62 Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Looking good!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kar3516 Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 What a great looking car! In Texas it would now be a powdered charcoal color if outside for an extended period of time with or without a tarp.... the paint and chrome look great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoringicons Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Great looking car. Understated elegance at its finest. Congratulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Boudway Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 No Robertson, either, unless the car was built in Canada. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Man Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Beautiful Packard, hope you get it running soon, they look best on the road. In my experience brakes have been a bigger job then getting them running (all my Graham cars have hydraulic brakes). Either way remove the plugs and put a couple teaspoons of marvel mystery oil down each spark plug hole to loosen the valves, rings and pistons. I would do this every few weeks till you start it, it will smoke a lot when you start it, but frees up lots of possible problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63RedBrier Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Not seeing Trippe lights on THIS black Packard... What is a "Robertson?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwells Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 A type of screw, used most famously on early Fords produced in Canada. Robertson screw A Robertson screw, also known as a square screw or Scrulox, is a type of screw with a square-shaped socket in the screw head and a corresponding square protrusion on the tool. Both the tool and socket have a slight taper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63RedBrier Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Thanks, GW! Hey, those are my initials too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Man Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Square head drive wood screw, they are still available and work great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Great looking car, that was not in the storage lot for very long! The blackwalls are perfect. Lets see inside and under the hood... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1935Packard Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Love this. Looks just like it would have in period, nothing fancied up, and the kind of Packard you were most likely to see. Bravo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 3 hours ago, Graham Man said: Square head drive wood screw, they are still available and work great Much less scarring on the fingertips as well. Way to go Canada. 🇨🇦 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Robertson screws are so very much better than Phillips screws! If you haven't used them, you just don't know! I cannot figure out why this country ever embraced the Phillips screw as the common standard. They are inconsistent. They are junk! The fit is completely hit and miss between the screw and the driver. They strip and wear out quickly (because the fit is never right!). Trying to hold the driver and screw together to get them started and fighting the lousy (lack of) alignment causes pain and suffering and stains your walls and floors with blood. I cannot imagine that Robertson screws could cost that much more to manufacture than does the Phillips? The driver and screw have a natural "set" that holds together in alignment (they are slightly tapered squares), and nearly eliminates ALL my complaints about Phillips screws! I have greatly disliked Phillips screws since before I was ten! When I was introduced to the Robertson screws a few years later, I loved them! I even had to make a screw driver to fit Robertson screws one time when I ran into some. It was easy and I still have it. When I was working with cutting edge new technologies for communications systems, we used some equipment that had Robertson screws, and bought a set of drivers for them. Four driver sizes, one of which would fit perfectly every Robertson screw we ever ran into after we got them. Shall I go on? No, I want to see and hear more about this wonderful Packard! Congratulations on a great find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobinVirginia Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 That’s really a super sharp car. Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 (edited) The Robertson screws were not adopted here in the US because Henry Ford did not want to pay the royalties as Robertson was Canadian, plus it would add a few more cents to the price of the car. This is what I have been told by a number of persons. As for cross slotted or Phillips screws there is a reason that they were adopted in the US car business. When the screw get tight, the screw driver will "cam out" so it will not generally speaking over tighten and/ or strip out. This is not the case with the Robertson screws. The Robertson screws are still used quite extensively by the RV industry in travel trailers, etc.. The modern equivalent to Robertson screws are Torx screws or otherwise called multi lobed screws. Edited May 11, 2022 by Larry Schramm (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flivver guy Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 Beautiful car! Enjoy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRA Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 Phillips screws were invented in 1935, and adopted in cars in 1936/1937 by GM. In every 1920s car I have, I did a detailed search of Phillips screws intruders, and after over 90 years of maintenance, they are there! So it is one additional item to our to-do-list during restoring work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 Slightly OT but what the hey. There has always been a legend that maintains that on 16 cyl Cadillacs from the early 1930s all the slotted screws were installed with all the slots lined up. I was skeptical but...Last year we had a 1931 16 cyl Cad Limo come into the shop. An untouched original with 9000 miles and sure enough even the screws in the door hinges were lined up perfectly. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 It’s called “clocking” the screw heads, as you may know, and it was very common by early craftsmen. I doubt it happened on Fords, but bet it was standard practice on most high end cars. During my stint as a trimmer at White Post, I did that, as others did. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63RedBrier Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 I "clock" all the switch plate and outlet covers in my house! Is that the same? 😁 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 3 minutes ago, 63RedBrier said: I "clock" all the switch plate and outlet covers in my house! Is that the same? 😁 Same here! Good to see that I am not the only one with that mental illness. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 2 hours ago, zepher said: Same here! Good to see that I am not the only one with that mental illness. Me three! Been doing it in every house we’ve owned. dave s 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAH Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 Lovely looking Sedan! I did notice the 'Diamond Electric Signal Co.' turn signal lamps on the rear fenders. They are rare. I presume the cowl lights are used for turn signals on front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 5 hours ago, 63RedBrier said: I "clock" all the switch plate and outlet covers in my house! Is that the same? 😁 5 hours ago, zepher said: Same here! Good to see that I am not the only one with that mental illness. 2 hours ago, SC38dls said: Me three! Been doing it in every house we’ve owned. dave s I have always been torn by a touch of OCD that wants to clock them all? And the engineer in me that truly believes that the proper torque and leveling are far more important! Each and EVERY screw forever and ever, stress, indecision! No wonder I went crazy! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intimeold Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 Very nice project, anyone would be happy to find one like that. intimeold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAH Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Just curious but what in the world does all this extraneous fuss about mounting hardware and 'clocking" have to do with that '29 Packard??? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Basically nothing. Drift happens. Some of us here have rather short at OH look a squirrel! What were we talking about? Oh yeah. Great looking Packard! I sure am glad that someone has rescued it and is cleaning it up right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Man Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chief5 Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 what a beauty 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'38 Dodge Mel Posted May 16, 2022 Author Share Posted May 16, 2022 Thanks for the great discussion. A couple of points: 1) I am in Canada, and know about Robertson screws very well. However I will use them on wood only - never never on a car. Cars get a Phillips or a straight slot only. 2) the car was built and sold in the USA. 3) the car was in the outdoor storage facility for at least 8 years, and was covered in moss and green growth when we got it. My wife is a detailing and cleaning nut, so she spent two days washing and cleaning it. Then gave it a quick wax. 4) why wait until winter?? Because I am finishing off a restoration on a ‘38 Dodge Business Coupe that has been in the works for a couple years and I want to get it road worthy for summer driving, but a few parts and headliner material are holding me up. I trust the Dodge will be finished in the next month or two and I will need a winter project - otherwise my wife will get too annoyed with me and probably kill me (figuratively only, not literally 🤣). 5) thanks for the tip on the marvel mystery oil. I was told this before but forgot the name, and will certainly do that. Awesome suggestion. One issue is there are NO KEYS. They are gone, vamoose, nada. Sigh. Not a big problem for the ignition, but a problem for the spare wheels who are both locked. Humph. In the meantime here here are a few more pics of the car. 👍👍 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'38 Dodge Mel Posted May 16, 2022 Author Share Posted May 16, 2022 Ps. I have covers on the car because the neighbours cat likes to come over to visit me in the shop and insists on climbing up on the vehicles. I don’t want claw marks. 🤣🤣 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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