our shop restorations street rods custom work resto-mod before & after the fun page home	1935 Packard Super 8 1205 Deitrich Convertible Sedan
	Another avoidable situation-the first 'restorer' managed to lose the front bumper back spring bar. And anyone familiar with Packards knows there was not just one bumper. Folks often changed to a bumper they preferred such as from a Packard 12. We had another bar fabricated from spring steel and after final fitting and tweaking it was painted and installed.
	New wood for the convertible top is painted-the proper color of course.
	The convertible top presented a whole new challenge. Among the many problems were the 'restorer' who took it apart couldn't reassemble it. He tried and mixed up parts side to side and it would not operate. Again no notes, photos or diagrams were made and the top assembly had been thoroughly dismantled several years before. Even the factory installed solid rivets had been drilled out, the holes bushed and bolts put in. Luckily we ran into a man at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance who could help. He is an architect and took the time to make detailed drawing from a friend's convertible sedan. This was invaluable and saved many labor hours. Of course the top is now assembled correctly and the bolts replaced with solid rivets cold peined in and polished.
	New seals, weatherstrips, run channels and reveal trim throughout. We obtained new felt of the right density then dyed it blacked. It was rolled through the sheet metal former which pressed it to just the desired thickness. Here you can see the new felt going in place.
	previous / back to thumbnails / next