1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

I've had a ton of guys asking about our next build so here it is. It's a 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Coupe with tons of rust. The owner is from Connecticut and heard about us from another Packard Club member who lives near us and stops by our shop regularly. It was bought as a driver but the owner kept finding more and more wrong with it so it came apart for a full restoration. He and his wife drove down a few weeks ago to meet us and check out some of our work and he decided to have us restore it. We had only seen pictures until now... had no idea it would be this bad! We'll be doing the rust repair, metal work, bodywork, paint, upholstery, and final assembly. The owner and a friend have already done the suspension and mechanical work.


This is it as it was delivered, we have the rest of the parts in storage. The owner was a helicopter mechanic and is very detail oriented so all of the parts were boxed meticulously; each box is labeled with a list of parts and hardware inside.


http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...80703106_n.jpg

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Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Pics of the rust. There won't be much original Packard metal in the lower 8" once we're done.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...63792060_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...23115557_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...92675206_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...63421836_n.jpg



Trunk area.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...43980304_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...87818301_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...38364597_n.jpg



Bondo check... used my 3" grinder to get to bare metal around the bottom edge. Lots of filler over caved in metal, and there are gobs of brass showing around all the "patches".

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...39498081_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...37359029_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...28443308_n.jpg

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http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...46474045_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...50927579_n.jpg



Old floor "repair" with aluminum pop riveted over the original rusty floors. The rivets had fallen out long ago.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...57299736_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...86578434_n.jpg

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

I made body braces out of 1x1 tubing with turnbuckles welded in so I can adjust the door gaps before everything it welded back in. Some of the body mounts are completely rusted away so it's doubtful that the body is still sitting squarely on the frame. This will also keep the body from folding in half once it's on the rotisserie.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...27944411_n.jpg

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

I'm in, love watching your work..plus I'm learning alot. Thanks for sharing. ..

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Ouch! Definitely have your work cut out! Subscribed

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

You like a challenge and it will keep the shop busy and we get see a Packard coupe.

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Im in for another one.

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

This is gonna be good!

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Now I can feel better about your F100 project finishing! :)
Watching and learning.

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Great to see the next project. I really like the work that you do so please post a lot of pictures, and your explanations really help.

Thanks
Dwight

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Started digging into the driver side lower cowl, rocker area, and lower quarter panel. It was tough to find the rocker seams in the door jamb since they were butt-welded from the factory. I took everything apart the way it was assembled so I could use the original parts for templates. I'll leave the other side together for reference until the driver side is back together.


The cowl was pretty rough, had stress cracks all over it plus rust at the bottom. Cut it out to get to the inner layers.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...37192686_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...92236342_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...80553130_n.jpg



Made a paper template before cutting it out.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...48724199_n.jpg



Inner door post.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...23059378_n.jpg



Inner panel rust.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...54863962_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...41687935_n.jpg



Starting on the rockers. Tons of lead and filler.


http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...36752225_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...64694537_n.jpg

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Trying to find the rear rocker and quarter panel seam.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...57459168_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...81945950_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...06029031_n.jpg

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Cutting out the quarter panel.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...59586264_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...54418899_n.jpg

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http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...61448638_n.jpg

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B pillar post base.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...01792021_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...39826807_n.jpg


Removing the outer rocker.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...54905106_n.jpg

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Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Removing the inner rocker. Had to cut the inner fenderwell back.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...74439944_n.jpg


Not much left to go by on the body mount areas.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...47902081_n.jpg


Rear half of inner rocker removed.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...56947929_n.jpg


Turnbuckle added to adjust height of body.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...55592943_n.jpg


Cutting out the front pillar.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...17770392_n.jpg

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The way the inner brace and sheetmetal were layered made this hard to cut out without doing any damage.

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Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Pillar and inner brace cut out.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...12544017_n.jpg



Cutting out the toe board.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...52321145_n.jpg

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http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...29033453_n.jpg

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Front half of inner rocker removed.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...72397960_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...30899631_n.jpg



Car is now halfway rust free!! :lol: That was the easy part.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...97302578_n.jpg


Body brace/mount under the rear seat.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...83328951_n.jpg


Made a template of 1/2 of the inner rocker.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...22470757_n.jpg

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Good Lord! I thought my truck was bad!

Off to a good start though.

Steven

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

I know it's going to turn out amazing.

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Now that's peeling a onion.

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Watching this build. That's a rare piece right there.

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

IMO for a 74 year old car, that isnt "a lot" of rust but its enough to make the job a tough one! Thinking of where it came from (north East) it may be rust free!

I love seeing your work, very nice and professional!

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

I'm glad you're not scared of it. Thanks for the pics and info

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

I used to have my own custom shop till the old lungs said no more to doing it full time. It did and still does tick me off when I see a car that was "fixed" like this one so someone could make $ on an unsuspecting individual.

You have your work cut out for you and I'm in for this build.

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Thanks Steven!!




Not much left of the onion now... :lol:




Yeah, not sure exactly how many were made or still exist but they're pretty scarce.




Thanks, it's not as bad as it could have been for sure. Atleast there is a little bit left for patterns.




Welcome!




We see it a lot too. Since we're the only shop around that does glass/weatherstripping on older cars we get tons of cars that are fresh out of the paint shop. It's amazing how many are quickly patched up and painted and the owner never knows!

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Pattern made for the rear half of the inner rocker.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...40672994_n.jpg


Inner A-pillar support was straightened, repaired, and blasted.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...65077189_n.jpg


Making a new A-pillar skin.

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Making patterns for a new B-pillar bottom.

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Made the part in three pieces. It still needs two more pieces on the front half.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...06701042_n.jpg



Rear pieces welded in and smoothed.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...03266534_n.jpg

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Loving this build already. I'm definitely following along with this one. Going to be a beauty when it's done.

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Thanks!!


Got the B-pillar post done.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...94860846_n.jpg

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

You do amazing metal work ,thanks for taking us along .

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Thanks!


Made the driver side kick panel patch.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...03790754_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...86255328_n.jpg



The cowl vent was rusty so I cut it out.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...17415756_n.jpg


Blasted a spot so I could match up the mesh with new stainless mesh from McMaster Carr.

10 openings per inch.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...88953214_n.jpg


.020" wire size.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...88080743_n.jpg


.082" openings.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...75915654_n.jpg


McMaster didn't have the exact mesh size but it'll be close enough that nobody will notice.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...42319999_n.jpg

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

A concours judge will deduct .5 of a point for that.

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

What strikes me as funny about that is factories used to rig stuff to get them to ship out all the time. Even on expensive cars. So concourse judging is kind of silly because if you rigged it like it was, they would deduct points.

Steven

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

I was just kidding, John's attention to every detail is amazing.

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Oh yeah, I figured you were kidding, just pointing out how goofy the "experts" are about judging cars.

My dad's 65 had a big blotch of caulk on the floor board covering up a small hole that had to be done at the factory cause he didn't do it and it was painted over. I have never seen that on any of the other trucks I have owned or seen pictures of.

Just goes to show what can and will be done at an auto plant.

:)

Steven

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

It's been mentioned in the "Factory Correct Restoration Thread" in the 60-66 section that nobody would ever build a '60-66 truck back exactly the way there were originally. Things like seam sealer and brushed on brushed on "black-out" paint were just thrown on to get it down the line quickly. Not to mention that the quality of materials is so much nicer that what was used back then; it would be nearly impossible to replicate every little detail on a 100.00% restoration. It's always worth trying to get as close as possible though!

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

The local Packard guy that landed us the job brought a firewall section to the shop last week to use as patterns. First thing was to make toe boards.


Paper template.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...79517613_n.jpg


Pattern transferred to metal, bead rolled, and the botom edge bent to match the floor pan.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...31639085_n.jpg


Other side made, both pieces washed with PPG DX579 Metal Cleaner and DX520 Metal Conditioner.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...18803263_n.jpg

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Making the front inner rocker. Laid out the pattern on sheetmetal.


http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...52597163_n.jpg



Pre-stretched the bead rolled area in the english wheel using the smallest diameter wheel. The beads will "pull" metal inward causing the metal to distort around the beads so this combats that from the start. Much easier to pre-stretch than it is to try to get the distortion out later.

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Half round beads added. You can see that the area around the bead is flat.

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After rolling the raised area using offset dies in the bead roller. Some distortion but it's minimal and easy to work out.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...33173067_n.jpg


After about 5 minutes with a rubber mallet to flatten the panel.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...01730909_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...18965881_n.jpg


The front corner was a little sharp so I used the tip of a screw driver and tapped it a little rounder. Then ground out the marks and smoothed it with a DA sander. Not really necessary on an inner rocker that no one will ever see...

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...60292355_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...40857008_n.jpg


After bending the top edge 90* and washing with PPG DX.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...30883367_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...47144283_n.jpg

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Same process on the rear half of the inner rocker.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...64533340_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...36284604_n.jpg

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Just amazing but it's always is amazing.
Hey add my name to the list of if I ever hit the lotto my first call will be to your shop to schedule to drop off my truck.

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

I think chevyrestoguy and 67ChevyRedneck have you beat on that one. :lol:



Started on the braces that attach to or around the inner rocker. This one is the front floor/body mount brace that also goes up the inside of the kick panel. The deep recess with a curve in the middle made it a challenge. I wasn't able to stretch the center enough to make it in once piece so I used two pieces and formed the inner recess over a wooden/bondo buck. I'll make the top part from a separate piece and weld them together.

This is one of the parts that was too far gone to use for patterns. The other side was better but still not 100%.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...91566678_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...99671525_n.jpg


Ugliest wooden buck in the history of wooden bucks... :lol: This was my second attempt at this, the part came out too small the first time. The part has an offset curve to the upper half so I made the buck shaped for one side, made the part, then built the buck back up with body filler and reshaped it to make it fit the other side.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...86897018_n.jpg

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...61479161_n.jpg


Rear brace for the inner rocker. This ties the inner rocker to the fenderwell and floor.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...89396617_n.jpg


Probably the most challenging part of the whole car. ;) This brace goes inside the inner rocker under the hydraulic ram for the convertible top.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...59022095_n.jpg

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

This should give you an idea of how big this car is. The inner rocker is 2-3" longer than the running boards on the '55 International with a 8' bed.

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...18570042_n.jpg

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Wow ,I am constantly amazed at the parts you are able to make as needed .You should engineer replacement parts for for our old cars and trucks ,I bet they would fit better than the current repops .As always thanks for taking us along for the ride.

Re: 1940 Packard 120 Convertible Restoration
 

Your bringing this car back from the dead, one piece at a time. Very nice work you do :metal: