The 1930 Packard 740 Waterfield Convertible has been in with Bridge Classic Cars recently for several jobs to be completed on the stunning prewar tourer.
Alan, one of our expert painters here at Bridge Classic Cars, has been hard at work preparing and painting the wings on the 1930 Packard
It’s always a pleasure to work on cars like the 1930 Packard 740. This particular Packard has been awaiting some specialist parts from the US
The vast, imposing and elegant figure of the 1930 Packard 740 Waterfield Convertible is now present in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. This pre-war icon
This 1930 Packard 740 Series Waterfield Convertible has been in at Bridge Classic Cars recently for a check over and service. Currently, our Workshop Manager
This is indeed a wonderful example of 1930s excess and style. Almost industrial in its engineering but so ornate in its look. It is of
It’s not every day that you get asked to service such a rare and unique piece of American pre-war history. But when the customer arms
A rare sight on either side of the Atlantic, this vast and beautiful 1930 Packard Super 8 Convertible is in with us here at Bridge
The 1930 Packard 740 Waterfield Convertible has been in with Bridge Classic Cars recently for several jobs to be completed on the stunning prewar tourer. One of those jobs was to fit a battery cut off switch to the car which is exactly what our in-house restoration experts have done.
Our technician Tamas worked on getting the killswitch into the right place where it is easily accessible but also somewhere it isn’t easily knocked or damaged. This was going to be under the dashboard between the dash and the floorboards.
Carefully, Tamas moved the carpet to get access to the firewall where the switch would be mounted. Then, using a template he carefully made a tight-fitting hole in the firewall. After firing the component through the firewall and secured in place, Tamas then began wiring up the killswitch to the battery and then onto the ignition switch. The wiring for this component is crucial, so Tamas used high-quality wire and connectors with the appropriate shielding as it came near the exhaust manifold.
Once in place, Tamas checked that the cut off switch was working correctly and all fit nicely on the inside of the car. Another level of security and safety on this icon of pre-war American engineering and design.
Alan, one of our expert painters here at Bridge Classic Cars, has been hard at work preparing and painting the wings on the 1930 Packard 740 Waterfield Convertible.
Carefully, Alan masked off the wing and began to take back the deep maroon paintwork step by step. After the piece had been taken back far enough, Alan got to work getting the panel into primer. Using our state of the art paint matching computer, Alan was able to exactly match the same tone and shade of maroon that features so prominently on this incredible pre-war car.
Once the paint had cured properly, Alan could then begin the process of cutting the paint back using a series of abrasives. Beginning with a 1500 grit wet and dry paper to remove any imperfection, he then step up to 3000 grit and then 6000 grit in order to achieve the perfect finish before it was then machine polished.
It’s always a pleasure to work on cars like the 1930 Packard 740. This particular Packard has been awaiting some specialist parts from the US but whilst we get them sorted in our workshop, the car itself is in our state of the art in-house paint booth.
Alan and Chris, our in-house paint and body experts, have been working on assessing and preparing the maroon wings of the pre-war giant. Carefully, Alan has sanded back the affected areas of the car to get them ready for primer and eventually their colour coats.
After the primer has dried, Chris and Alan will work on getting the surface level and ready for the colour. Ensuring the best finish on the paint and no imperfections in such a large panel.
The vast, imposing and elegant figure of the 1930 Packard 740 Waterfield Convertible is now present in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. This pre-war icon has been stored at our secure and private classic car storage facility, The Hangar, whilst the in-house restoration teams waiting for some specialist parts.
Now, these have arrived, the teams can begin work again on the glorious tourer.
Expect to see much more very soon on the incredible 1930 Packard 740 here on the Bridge Classic Cars news page.
This 1930 Packard 740 Series Waterfield Convertible has been in at Bridge Classic Cars recently for a check over and service.
Currently, our Workshop Manager John has been looking into an issue with the alignment of the front end. The front end of the car isn’t quite right, so some adjustment is needed on the car to make sure it tracks straight and true. Normally this can be done quite easily but with the Packard, everything is slightly different.
The steering arm located under the front axle won’t rotate enough for John to adjust the alignment on the car. For that, John tried to remove the ball joint on one side in order to unscrew one side and then adjust it out that way. Except the ball joint won’t come loose.
These pre-war cars carry a lot of weight on the front axle so their alignment is very important. John is trying several different ways to get the steering arm loose to make sure this beautiful piece of 1930s American luxury, tracks absolutely straight.
This is indeed a wonderful example of 1930s excess and style. Almost industrial in its engineering but so ornate in its look. It is of course the 1930 Packard 740 Waterfield Convertible that is in at Bridge Classic Cars to have a list of jobs completed.
Thankfully, the customer supplied us with copies of the original technical manuals for the car for our technicians to work from. Scott, our in-house restoration technician, began to work on removing and adjusting the massive rear drums.
Of course with such a rare car, extreme care needed to be taken whilst removing any component from the car. As Scott gently prised the drum faces off to gain access to the shoes underneath, he carefully and methodically laid out each component that was removed from the Waterfield Convertible. Scott had noted that the drums felt a touch loose considering the size and weight of the vehicle, refering to the manual he found they did in fact need adjustment.
Once the rear brakes had been inspected, cleaned up and adjusted, Scott meticulously worked his way back to getting the drums back on this beautiful car.
At the same time as Scott was working at the rear of the Packard, John was going through his work list at the front. Carefully checking the operation of each light and noting any changes or anything untoward. The customer had made a note of the headlights not being too bright when being used. John investigated into this
It’s not every day that you get asked to service such a rare and unique piece of American pre-war history.
But when the customer arms us with the complete checklist to carry it out, there’s no question on what needs doing. One of our most senior techniains (and workshop controller) John, took charge of working on the vast Packard. Beginning with a full inspection of components and systems while then working his way through each of the service items listed in the book.
When it comes to servicing and maintaining classic and vintage vehicles, Bridge Classic Car has a vast amount of history and knowledge in these matters. From the smallest jobs to the largest restorations, Bridge Classic Cars in Suffolk, UK can always lend a hand.
A rare sight on either side of the Atlantic, this vast and beautiful 1930 Packard Super 8 Convertible is in with us here at Bridge Classic Cars for an assessment of some work and some crucial maintenance.
As with all classic cars, routine maintenance is very important. This is even more important on cars such as the gorgeous Packard Super 8 Waterhouse Convertible.
This particular Packard has lived much of its life in the British Isles, since being imported into Ireland in 1944. The car was previously restored by a specialist in France with its previous owner but now we here at Bridge Classic Cars have the honour of caretaking such a unique piece of automotive history.
To begin with, our in-house technicians will begin work with a complete service on the 6.3 litre 8 cylinder. This will also include timing and spark plug checks as well as adjusting the valves to make sure this special machine idles with a near-silent whisper.
Keep a check on our news page for more updates on this fabulous example of pre-war American luxury here at Bridge Classic Cars.
Bridge Classic Cars are award winning Classic Car Restoration and Maintenance specialists. Your pride and joy is in safe hands with our expert Classic Car Technicians. Take a look at our awards here.
