Packards, Anyone?
 

I am really thinking about this Packard:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=140168514344&rd=1

I have always liked this body of Packard and I am very intrigued by Packard's history. A very good friend of my is a Merc-head. He has also owned Packard's and his opinion is that Packard build quality before 1955 are car equal to, if not better, than Mercedes and the pre-WWII models are some of the best built cars in the world. I know that Jay Leno speaks very highly of the Packard's. At jaylenosgarage.com there is an article (video) of Jay's 1932 Twin Six. His opinion is that the Packards built in the 1930's were of a higher standard than even Rolls Royce.
I am curious to know if there is anyone else here that is a Packard admirer and knows anything about the 'bath-tub' bodied models.
My friend that I mentioned tells me that I have two fevers that I need to address. These two 'fevers' are Packard Fever and Ponton Fever. Although after driving his 1967 250SE I believe that I also have W108 Fever. (Quite frankly I have a lot of 'fevers' that have four wheels.)

I can say that I know jack squat about them, but I do think they had some of the most beautiful lines. I have checked out out a couple wagons, one 40's and one late 50's vintage, that if I were in a different stage financially I would have jumped on.

I bet Carleton has some insight. I won't be much voice of reason, though. Jump on it ;)

They were very high quality automobiles. That 1950 model is a beauty!

I owned several of the 1955/56 models. There were many milestone changes for that series and the quality was still outstanding. The '57 Packards were just deluxe Studebakers, though...

The 1955 and 1956 models had 4-wheel TORSION BAR suspension with an electrically powered self-leveling mechanism. (Some Clipper models had traditional suspensions.) this provided an amazingle SMOOTH ride.

1955 was the fiirst year for a 12 volt electrical system. The 1955s were POSITIVE Ground systems and the 1956 models switched to negative ground.

The first year of the V8 Engine. My Caribbean Convertible had 2 4-bbls and got just over 20 MPG which was phenominal for a car so heavy.

The radios in the better models had a "Wonder Bar" that would automatically scan the available radio stations and stop on the stronger ones.

They had separate heaters for front and rear, and even windshield washers!

The Ultramatic transmission was quite efficient, but difficult to properly rebuild.

I wish I still had them, but space was the driving factor in parting with them at the time.

I owned a black 1950, 1993-95 and paid $2500.

Rust free, #7 paint and interior. Non functional radio. Strong motor and trans. Had the OD which let me cruise at 65-70 mph with ease. Took a few 300 mile trips with no drama, one in a Thanksgiving snowstorm. That was interesting... on bias-ply tires.

The str-8 is super smooth and quiet. I rebuilt the carb and had the rear brake drums resurfaced.

It turned out to be a good summer daily driver. I bought parts from "Kanter" http://www.kanter.com/ Hemmings has a lot of other resources as well.

The fuel tank needed to be cleaned, so every once in a while it was tricky to start and it did leave me stranded a few times.

I sold to a buddy for $3K. He drove it around Minneapolis and let it go to hell. I think it ended up in the scrap heap. :rolleyes:

The hardtops aren't very collectable, but certainly a good entry level Packard. Nothing complicated, easy to work on and parts aren't hard to track down.

Have fun!

i have always been partial to the bathtub packards too. The straight eights are very high quality motors too. I have never owned one but they were thought of as higher quality to caddies before the ww2.

That body style is not loved by most packard lovers so probably a good one to buy as far as a good price goes.

I think it may be more valuable in the future compared to other packards.

The woodie wagons of the era are particularly lovely...the limos too.

Tom W

Yep. The Packard was a well made car. Those motors are bullet-proof.

The woodie wags bring in big money, converts are pricey too.

Think about one of these: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1952-2-Dr-Hudson-Hornet-Coupe-100-Point-Car_W0QQitemZ280159202393QQihZ018QQcategoryZ6472QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem The later Packards are fine cars. As mentioned they are not the most desirable but never the less a very fine car. (The Super Eights and 12s are the High dollar hand assembled ones last built around 1939.)Most standard 8s are easy to get parts for at a good price. If it were me I would find one with more of an original fabric on the seats but that might just be me. In the middle 1970's my fathers everyday car was a 53 Clipper. We have always had Hudsons and a 53 clipper is nothing like a 48-54 Hudson so he sold it. The link is to an exceptional Hudson. A NICE Hudson sedan can be had for around 10K or less. Leno has a 51 Hornet and a 53 Hornet on his site if your interested.

That is a handsome hudson!

The price is impressive if real.

Does that look like a stock rear end in it? It kindof looks like the rear end in an s 10 to me.

Tom W

That Hudson is awesome.. Though not my favorite color, I would love to drive that everywhere.

1956 Packard "The 400" coupe, "Heather" and white one.
 

American's finest? Or Satan's Chariot?

In 1956 You could get a Chrysler Imperial, Lincoln Premier, Cadillac Fleetwood - or a Packard.

American luxury meant something in those days. Cadillac was "The Standard of the World"

These were the cars of plutocrats, potentates, captains of Industry, Diplomats, the Mega rich, and American cars ruled supreme, and these were the best.


"Ask the Man Who Owns One" - that was the slogan.

A "baby boomer" friend of mine had to, just had to, relive his past, which was
a 1956 Packard 400 coupe his father had bought new long ago.

He finally found an original, a San Francisco bay area, local, lifetime car, from the same family as new, that had bought it brand new from the Packard dealer in Berkeley, Webb Motors, back in 1956. It had plenty of provenance, including the original yellow and black 1956 California license plates, books, , manuals and accessory brochures, and about 90,000 miles on it.


I would have called it Satan's Chariot, though, because the complex Ultramatic transmission kept breaking over and over, and it was practically impossible to get parts for it, and it had to be shipped to Los Angeles.

At ome point they found someone in LA who said they could mate the indestructible Chrysler Torqueflite transmissiom to it, but then it wouldn't be original any more.

It had the famous self-leveling suspension that was awfully unreliable, too.

Not being a gearhead, and he would have been committing a felony if he picked up a wrench, so he was over $20,000 in repairs to it, before he knew it!

That car OWNED HIM!!! And that was before the interior, chrome, glass, and paint were even touched!!!. But it's getting there, back to its days of glory.

But talk about a tank! A huge stately dignified thing that drew gasps everywhere! Sitting inside of it made you feel you would hear the announcement of the Russian Sputnik launch from 1957 over the AM radio at any minute.

Mad you wann shout: "I like IKE!!!" Maybe screetch the tires a couple of times in honor of good American ingenuity.

He's had it for about 15 years now, and is deep into the Packard Club, and writes articles for their club newspaper and goes on tours with it.

I saw it a cople of weeks ago, along with the other cars in his stable: a 1989 Rolls Royce Silver Spur, 2003 BMW 330i and 2003 BMW 525i (and wife's Honda Accord).

He told me that one of the cars had to go, the Insurance is getting bothersome, and he tried to convince me I'd like that little cobalt blue BMW 3er.

But, he is gonna keep that Packard. What a time machine. I wish I had a link of a picture of it to post up.

But -:
It looks just like this, though it really does:
http://exotic.collectorcartrader.com/details.php?adId=adcache.exotic.collectorcartraderonline.com/ad-cache/10/exotic/3/9/86534939.htm

Stunning car. A Hudson of this vintage is part of the 'fever' list, too. I am probably leaning a little more Packard as I personally know two people who know something about them.

I am a bit leery of the 1955/56 Packards. There were some neat technologies which means a more complete car to maintain. I refer a post-war up to 1954. I have seen many pictures of the 1951-1954 models and I always thought that they were a bit smaller.....then I saw one in real life; it was a tank and a half!!!

I understand your concern for the 55/56 technology.

I never experienced a problem with the leveling system more than an occasional blown fuse, but I recall others that did. I suspect they, or their mechanics did not understand the system. It is well documented in the service manual. In most cases, the owners forgot to disable it before jacking the car to change a tire. Many mechanics were quick to jump into the leveling mechainism when it was usually only a blown fuse in a hard to find location.

The transmissions were great until they needed servicing. The torque converter contained a clutch that connected the engine directly to the tail shaft for an amazing cruising efficiency. There was something about the front pump and pressure to this torque converter clutch that only an experienced mechanic could get right. There are still experienced transmission rebuilders available through ads in Hemmings, etc.

Their engines were bullet-proof other than a failing harminic balancer. (Sounds like a recent Mercedes, no?) ...and there are lots of spare parts available.

Other than these items, there are no further quirky technologies involved.
Brakes are Bendix, Electrical items are Delco and Autilite.

Oh, and the 56 Caribbean convertible had reversible leather seat cushions. Meaning, when the top side became worn or soiled, you could simply flip them over and have new seats...

Good luck in your search. They were all grand cars in that era!

I got some backing in my search today. My Merc friend that I mentioned is very good friends with the curator of the Auburn/Cord/Duesenburg museum in Auburn, IN. As well as being curator of the museum he was once the president of a Packard club and is very familiar with the 'bath tub' Packards. HOW COOL!!! Nothing like having connections. :D

Love Packards
 

My favorites are the '34-'35 big cars (not the 120) and the 1941-42
The older cars are exactly what you want a 1930's vintage car to be and the later ones have that cool grill. I always liked Packards and wish that I could afford to get one. However the only ones I could get would be Packardbakers, and I would not get one of those -- except maybe the Hawk- it looks better than the Studie version.

As far as a $52000 Hudson -- I cannot believe these cars are going for those kind of prices. I mean Hudson Hornets are nice and sure they are fast, but 50K is Packard money!

just my dos centavos!