QuestionI have recently come across a complete 1951 Packard 200 coupe. While it is mechanically in good shape, it is a Wisconsin car, which means rusty rockers and floors. Now just making some patches in the floors and exterior rockers would not a big project for me, but the metal is completely eaten away around the rubber body mounds just ahead of the front seat and under the back seat. The rest of the frame is very sound, but the supports in these spots are just hanging out there. With such big holes , I'm not sure how much structure is missing here. Long question short, Can I fix this area by piecing it in from donor car? Do I have to pull the body off the frame. Or is this a serious structural problem I should just walk away from? Thanks for any advice, and keeping me from going in over my head.
AnswerAs I say in my intro on this site, I am not a body/paint expert - I don't really have the experience, partly because of the fact that I live in the desert southwest, where we never see rust like this. Since rust free cars are almost free out here, especially a 200 coupe, I think you'd be much wiser to come out here to this area and find a car that you can restore to your satisfaction without having to worry about structural integrity.
Having said that, I will say that Packards have a very sturdy frame, and if the rust hasn't weakened the frame (I can't quite tell from your message), the body mounts could be repaired by a skilled restoration body man to make it a safe car - if you want to tackle it yourself, you will need skill, tools and experience to do it and have it come out right. If you hire it done, you will spend way more than the car is worth before you are done.
My one experience with a car from that area is a 54 Patrician that I bought from a man in Madison, WI, because it had a factory AC which I wanted to transfer to another 54 Patrician. The car from WI looked great, but when opening the door, I saw pavement under the carpet! I ignored that and bought it anyway - when I loaded it on my trailer, everything seemed fine, but about half way home to California, passers by started honking at me - I pulled over and saw that the front seat had fallen through the floor and the car was raining rust and debris in the faces of following drivers! I harvested the running gear and AC, and had to junk the rest - and that car was a one owner, 60,000 mile car! Such a car out here would have still had shiny paint on the chassis!
My advice is to call some of the wrecking yards around Phoenix that specialize in old cars, and ask them what they have in stock that would interest you. Desert Valley Auto Parts (www.dvap.com) usually has some interesting cars in their yards. There is also "Memory Lane" in California, and I think they have a yard in Phoenix also.
I have a 51 200 Dlx. 4 door sedan myself, with 66,000 Miles on it. It has orignal paint and interior, and there is not a spec of rust anywhere on the body except a tiny spot right in front of the fender skirt on the left side - and this is a car I bought for $900. It had a burnt exhaust valve, which I fixed in a few hours, and it runs like a new car!
Good luck - these are really nice cars to drive, you'll enjoy it when it is road-ready.
Dick
