1937 Packard 115 coupe

Torchie said:

Nice job.
Your cut off saw must cut a lot squarer then mine. Mine seems like the blade kicks out on the heavier metals.
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Torchie

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I try to let it cut through slowly so the blade doesn't deflect so much.

bkvail said:

Ours does too Torchie. I never use it if I want a square cut unless it's smaller stuff.

Can't wait for this build to come together. Looking great so far!

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I kept the position of the housing the same while cutting the stub off, then the discard piece so if it isn't square, they will match up squarely.

05snopro440 said:

I'd be able to do that quickly too. The difference is mine would end up in the scrap pile.

Nice work, this is going to be beautiful when it's finished.

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Thanks for the support, I'm eager to get through all the chassis fab so I can get to hacking on the body, namely the roof mods.

Nice work ZZ......I laughed at your clamping system, you must have bought it at the same place where I got mine!

One tip I find for the cutoff saw.....DON'T buy cheap wheels - the brand name ones cut better, faster and don't clog, hence you are less likely too lean on them too hard and get a wonky cut.

Rearend now in place, the Packard has now officially been upgraded to 'roller' status . I haven't welded the mounts on yet until I'm sure of the pinion angle. Spent some time sifting through the online Monroe shock fitment catalog and came up with these for a 90's Ford pickup - still have to put in a 1x2" crossmember to mount them, it will also hold mounts for the gas tank which will go in next. I need to cut out that Swiss cheese floor and do some tin work!

It's nice to get one to roller status [cl
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Yaaaa

Very good indeed [cl

Went ahead and cut out the rusty floor - gives better access to work plus it needed to be modified for clearance between the floor and the center of the housing anyway at full suspension compression. Tacked in a 1x2" crossmember and made top mounts for the shocks.

Your just flying on this built, looks great.

Made this battery box and mounted it in the frame, accessible under the passenger seat.

http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=143072&d=1534989398[/IM

Time to start on the roof chop - first I'm going to fill the center to stabilize the top. Lots of wood to take out - I'll make a form of the roof shape and head to the boneyard to find a car with the right roof shape to scalp and weld in,
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[IMG]http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=143073&d=1534989398

And let the fun begin!!!
It's coming along nicely [[cl
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zzrodder said:

Rearend now in place, the Packard has now officially been upgraded to 'roller' status

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Did the shafts slide in easy?
Sometimes when you shorten a housing without an alignment bar, they're a bit fiddly to get in. The seals generally don't last very long on those ones

wendle said:

Did the shafts slide in easy?
Sometimes when you shorten a housing without an alignment bar, they're a bit fiddly to get in. The seals generally don't last very long on those ones

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Oh yeah, they went in easy - done this before with no issues, I'm confident the end are square.

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Torchie

Somehow I thought I'd remove the roof wood intact but got schooled on prewar wood frame body construction. The wood framing in the roof was installed BEFORE the top skin was installed - no way to get the side headers over the doors out in one piece.



Part of the door frames were screwed and nailed to the wood door frame and will need to be welded back in place.



Made a couple templates to take to the boneyard and try on prospective donor cars for their roof skin - VW Beetle perhaps?? [S

zzrodder said:

Made a couple templates to take to the boneyard and try on prospective donor cars for their roof skin - VW Beetle perhaps??

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PT Cruiser? Chevy HHR?

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I'd go as old as I could find on the roof. The new steel welds like crap and is a lot thinner.
Though I suspect that ZZ won't have a problem. [ [
JMHO.
Torchie

After creeping all over the Pick n Pull yard, the best match I could come up with was this scalp from a 2002 Lincoln LS. Roof shapes 'aint what they used to be, most don't have enough crown or are to narrow, etc.

Dr Crankenstein said:

PT Cruiser? Chevy HHR?

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You'd think they would be good but PT is too flat, HHR also flat with ribs. New Beetle has too much bubble.

Torchie said:

I'd go as old as I could find on the roof. The new steel welds like crap and is a lot thinner.
Though I suspect that ZZ won't have a problem. [ [
JMHO.
Torchie

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Trouble is, there's not much old stuff around here (40's would be ideal) and it would be a shame to wreck another oldie just for a roof skin... I'll make it work [[

ZZ, i really like what your doing here, it's looking super. [
I'm glad my last chop was a little later model, a year newer Buick sedan worked great on the El Camino, but I think doing a cap is the easy way to do a roof [S

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I hear you on the old stuff ZZ Getting harder to find.
My local yard has some and most of them have been so stripped out or rusted that the roof is about the only thing left.
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Torchie

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