37 packard hot rod build

[oldschoolobee]

This thing is bad ass!!!! Any progress? I'm curious to see the rear treatment when you're finished.

 

[rustywrench]

the ladder bars came in today. i'm going to use leaf springs mounted alongside the frame rails with the tail sticking out the back with the rear axle hanging from them. i'm also trying to figure out how to mount the shocks so theyre kinda hidden. the idea is to have no frame above the rear at all. just the rear sticking out the back all by itself.

 

[rustywrench]

heres my mock up seat, lol. turns out its just the right height.

 

[Gastrick]

Hey rustywrench, what about fabbing up some shock mounts that attach to the ladder bars. That way the shocks would be in front of the QC.

 

[HotRodCadillac]

Hey Wrench, Sweet ride. Is that an Olds motor or a Caddy? My eyes arent what they used to be!!!!

 

[rustywrench]

gastrick, i did some mockin and measurin today and i think i have the shock thing figured out. it;ll be next week before i have a chance to find out though. i just bought a 79 el camino with v6 and 3 speed stick on the floor, factory. tomorrow i'm going to put a 350 and muncie 4 speed in it. i have all the parts laying around. i'm hoping to send it out for dual exhaust and 4:11 gears by mid week. then i can get back on the packard. hotrodcaddy, its an olds motor. its a 71 w-30 motor actually. the original heads are gone but i have big valve C heads on it. i'm a sucker for big block oldsmobile motors. i actually race with them.

 

[rustywrench]

man i'm seeing all these cool truck projects on here. i'm seriously thinking of putting a truck cab on this thing. i have a 41 chevy and a 51 ford. the question is should i keep going with the packard or do a truck.

 

[Gastrick]

I think you should stay with the Packard and save the truck cabs for another build.

 

[BruceR&C]

I think you should stay with the Packard and save the truck cabs for another build.

I second that,,,,Packards are so different.

 

[rustywrench]

hey, i got to work on the packard today........woohoo. my business has gotten so busy i hadn,t had time lately. i got the ladder bars welded to the rear. i also got the wheels for the back. they are 14 inches wide and these tires are so big the wheels are actually a little narrow for them, lol.

 

[rustywrench]

i put the ladder bar crossmember in too. i need to order the tabs tomorrow to complete the installation. at 8 bucks for the set i see no reason to build them.

 

[rustywrench]

here is how i mounted the springs. i need to get the u-bolts and shackles to finish it up.

 

[rustywrench]

ben (440shorty) calls it my suicide rear suspension, lol. it goes with my suicide rear doors. maybe i'll put a suicide knob on the steering wheel too, and just maybe suicide front axle one day....ok i'm going off on a tangent here. heres my progress as of today.

 

[Bonehead]

You could even bolt a plate and lock the springs to the frame. I like the quarter elptical approach. And the back tires rock.

 

[roddguy]

ben (440shorty) calls it my suicide rear suspension, lol. it goes with my suicide rear doors. maybe i'll put a suicide knob on the steering wheel too, and just maybe suicide front axle one day....ok i'm going off on a tangent here. heres my progress as of today.

If you get to changing your front end to a suicid style, why not try something like this. This is my 51 F1 which has the same axle you have. If you would like more details I'd me happy to fill you in further on what I did.

 

[440shorty]

rear suspension

That rear suspension looks so cool. We have some Mopar rear axle plates with rubber inserts we were thinking of using to bolt the center of the spring to the frame. I was wondering if there was a way to put the shocks horizontally and use a lever or bell crank to connect them to the axle?

440shorty

 

[rustywrench]

rodguy what disc brake kit did you use? horizontal shocks, hmmmmmmmm.

 

[rustywrench]

ben (440shorty) came up with the idea to put the radiator in the rear. we were discussing the rad location in his s-10 and my packard came up. this pic shows theres a ton of room to put it. i'll mount it on an angle just under the rear window.

 

[sakustoms]

If you get to changing your front end to a suicid style, why not try something like this. This is my 51 F1 which has the same axle you have. If you would like more details I'd me happy to fill you in further on what I did.

that is what I want to do to my chevy. was that a leaf front end originally?

 

[roddguy]

rodguy what disc brake kit did you use? horizontal shocks, hmmmmmmmm.

That's not a kit. It's actually a set up that my dad and I put together. Still needs a little bit of work to make it just right though. I can give you the details of how we did it so far it you want to know.

What do you mean...... horizontal shocks?? Are you seeing something I'm not.