Dave Mitchell
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Posts posted by Dave Mitchell
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I recently took my 34 Cad to the Cad LaSalle Club national meet and I knew going in that most of the cars would be from the 50s, 60s and newer. I was surprised that there were guys polishing up a 2009 Escalade swb. There were a lot of cars there and mostly 60s and newer. There were a few cars from the 20s and 30s and a fair number of 41s. There were only 2 V16s, and it is safe to say that almost everyone there had a much, much newer car.
All that said, I was absolutely amazed at the interest in my car. I parked it on the show field at about 8am. I was not able to get away from the car for more than 4 hours, because there was a constant stream of people asking about it and looking at it and wanting to see the interior or engine. I like the car better with the hoods closed, so I leave them down, but when someone would ask to see the engine put them up and a crowd always formed around it. There were always people taking photos of it, from people in their 80s to teenagers, men, women, all sorts of people, from all walks of life. I let little kids sit in it and saw the delight on their faces, (as well as some adults too). It was really fun to have the car there that day. I really had no idea that there would be so much interest in that car. I have to say that it is not all restored either, it is about 75 % original, so it is far from perfect. I came away with a different feeling, and I don't think that there will be a day when no one cares about these cars. To some people they will always just be old cars, but you could see that some of those kids thought it was special. Someday someone like them will grow up and own it and be it's caretaker for a new generation. I think they will love it like I do. I am 50 years old and didn't grow up around these cars and didn't get to them from muscle cars or hot rods, but to me they are special.
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BTW. Well set up power mechanical brakes work well. Most people who complain about them don't do the minor let alone major adjustments to them and don't service the power systems. My 34 V16 weighs 6985 lbs and has mechanical brakes.
Sure it is easier to drive a vintage car if you don't live in the big city, and taking a car into the city for a show is most safely done with a trailer, which limits some people from going. I was just in downtown Milwaukee and after the show saw a 1940 Buick sedan that was at the show on I 43 about an hour away. He was doing 55 or 60 (not 70 or 80 both illegal in IL or WI) and had a big smile on his face. I would say the bigger problem is not that my cars won't go highway speeds or stop well enough, or even start well enough - it is that some are hard to see out of. My 41 convertible is terrible with the top up and forget about seeing back with the V16 with blind quarters. However, in my small town I drive an old car almost every nice day and I am not the only one in town who does.
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It could be a 7 pass touring, which some people feel is less desireable. Tom Moretti did one that beat out cars some would think more desirable at lots of shows including Pebble. You just seldom see one done well. Also the earlier versions like pre 32s are a bit more out of proportion to the early phaetons than the 34 - 36s. Dave Kane also has a 36 Super which most people really like. They are rare and I think one problem is that you seldom see one that is well done. Oh well, I like sedans and town cars, so I am just a little off.
I agree, it is still a good price for an open 34 Super 8 and a nice looking car with a great history. A good story can really make owning a car more fun. Nimitz may not be a household name anymore, but at least Eisenhower is still fairly well known.
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My advice is to get first hand unbiased recommendations from someone who has had a system made before you jump on something on the net or ebay.
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Unless you have paperwork going back to new, there is really nothing that will tell you if the engine is original to the car. You can tell if it is in the correct range of engine numbers for 35 and also look at the delivery date if stamped and the number of the body and see if it falls sort of in the range that would make sense for that date. Also, no one else can tell, so even if the engine has been swapped with another of the same year, there won't be any loss of value.
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If you're talking about the glass frames themselves they're supposed to be chrome plated. As for numbers, the engine, frame, front axle, steering box, rear axle, all have a number on them with a star at the beginning and end. If they're all within several hundred of each other you probably have the original engine in there. If you don't mind me asking, what concerns you that it's not the OE engine? Also, any pics to share?
Are you sure you will find all these numbers on a 35? I have seen them on 1930, but not the 35 - 39s. I just blasted a rear axle last week and saw no number. The engine yes, and data plate, but not axles, steering box, trans or frame.
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A lower cost option is to go to the store and get the copper pot scrubbers and unroll them. Or just take out the mesh and clean it with solvent.
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I never saw any proof of this, and usually they look bad.
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Are you sure you don't have a vacume leak? Might be related to the power clutch/brake system as it happens when you come to a stop. The gasket could be bad in the siccors valve, or the flex line to the firewall from the manifold. These are both common.
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I'd be interested in the 41 Packard running board moldings. I need short and middle wheelbase sets. Thanks, Dave Mitchell packard12s@hotmail.com
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Several years ago I heard rumors of a third coupe. I think it was located in Michigan.
I talked to the owner some years ago and the car is there, but hasn't been seen for years, nor since I talked to him.
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Some Twin Six photos
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West, are you sure about the Twin Six headlights? The ones I have seen are V shaped lens Solars, similar to the 33/34 Halls. The 32 Deluxe 8s used the big lights similar to the 31s, I would agree.
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Replacing the wire is a good idea. To do it you have to take the back plate off of the ignition switch, which was never intended to come apart, and it is a little trickly, but it can be done. We do them in our shop regularly.
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I'm not sure I'd go so far as calling it a parts car. I've seen much worse brought back from the dead, as i'm sure all here have. However, unless you're doing ALL the work yourself, I think you'd be better off buying one that doesn't need any work (though you'd probably have to move up to a 1947 model... as you said, a 1946 is quite a rare bird).
In defference to what Dave said in regards to the crank, I'll have to disagree. I believe that if you don't grind the crank and have it bored straight with the engine block, you will more than likely end up with prematurely worn bearings. Better safe than sorry. On at least two of our cars, we've had to have them redone several times. Once the crank was bored straight with the block, problems solved.
That said, the car is worth a minimum $1,500-$3000 in parts. Probably $1,000 alone for the overdrive with relay.
Even doing all the work yourself, the price of paint, materials, parts, a new block, wiring, upholstery and chrome etc - without labor - will exceed the value of this car in the blink of an eye. Could it be restored, yes. Does it make any sense? No.
West, were the engines you had to have align bored 356s? Usually with a good block and original main caps, a straight, round crank won't tear up main bearings. If it is an earlier car with poured bearings, you have no choice. I know that one of the big Packard parts dealer/resellers had problems with some bearings they were selling for 356s too that weren't up to Packard original quality. My advice was based on the info that he wanted to do the job as economically as possible; looking at the car it is obvious it needs everything and undoubtedly the crank will need to be ground.
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BJM, don't feel bad you missed this one. With this car and $200,000 you could make a very nice $30,000 car. It needs a new block. Fixing this one will far exceed the price of another one.
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Thanks for posting, I hope to get to the Art Deco festival someday, it looks like fun to me.
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Can anyone here tell me why the bumper clamps on that green Packard have three different finishes? Odd that the two on the rear are not painted, yet the front ones are two different colors.
Hmmm, well in the previous post, both fronts look black, so I can only imagine that it is the photo - maybe both fronts are really red, but the photo only picks it up with the right light. Or maybe someone can't decide how they like it. Maybe they were late getting ready for the show season and didn't get the back ones painted yet. Knowing Packard, even if I don't know 29s, I would guess they should all be the same. My guess would be black, but also Packard sometimes did things differently on export cars.
Nice car though. There are some great cars in New Zealand and some very nice owners too.
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I just found this from Clovers. I've never seen it before. It bears a strong resemblance to the Brewster Buick that Noel Thompson used to own (now Bob Bahre). It's on a 1937 Eight chassis. I don't know why it has 1940-42 wheel trim rings. And, if I may be judgmental, the extra truck lights are too much.
Also making this beautiful car just a little bit funny is that it is very obvious that the Michelin radials on the road would NOT fit within the confines of the spare tire covers.
Interesting town car - interesting moreso with the two tone on a 37. The silver wheels and late center trim rings really do look odd on the otherwise formal dark car. The tires look very much like the size and series that I had on my 37 12, but they are on the narrower wheels so they stand up taller yet, and definitely wouldn't fit under the covers. They did just fit under the covers for a 12 though as I had them on all six wheels of my 12, in fact they are just a tiny bit smaller than the original 825 - 16s when mounted on the very wide 12 wheels. All in all a nice car though.
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Love Dietrich bodies and this is a beauty. I also love blackwalls but I believe this car is running 17 Michelin radials which are way too large for the car. RM will be offering it this summer.
The car does look good. I think that this is the car that Tom Moretti was looking at and it would have been given a first class restoration if he had lived to do it. The 32 Twin Sixes have a lot of small details that are different from 33/34 and the wheels are one I believe. I think some 32s came with 18 in snap ring wheels. These don't look like the standard 17 inch wheels to me, so the Michelins could be 18s and they aren't radials. They are nice tires to drive with, but I am not sure if they are still available.
The photo of the convertible victoria looks like a standard cataloged Dietrich, so more of a semi custom, but still a great looking car.
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I don't want to start a fight over what killed Packard, I am just saying that this big diesel is a very high quality, well built and well engineered, high tech powerplant, and therefore they obviously had the capability to built such a unit. They obviously decided that the market wasn't there for a car with such a high tech engine, or that the cost was too high, because it wsn't a lack of ability to build the motor that stopped them. Perhaps it was a lack of imagination that they could even build a sports car... (not to put down the 400s and Carribeans - nice cars, but not competitors to the 300SL or even early Corvettes)
I am not familiar with the Ford DOHC prewar engines. I don't think that the prewar Lincoln V12s Continentals were the products that Ford would be most proud of though, so putting some of that technology into those eninges would have helped a lot. I had a 42 Lincoln Cabriolet for a while and it was an interesting car, but not one I kept. But then again, I would have to agree that the postwar Packards aren't my favorites either I have had a 1946 2106 club sedan and 55 400 and Patrician, (and all of them were nice to drive, had good power and a nice ride) but much prefer the prewar styling, and definitely feel that there is a difference in build quality between pre and post war Packards.
What if Packard had built a lightweight DOHC inline 6, V8 or even better V12 with a small turbo on it and built a sports car around it? Oh well, all just pie in the sky now, but I think this diesel engine is a testament to what they could still build in 1952 when times weren't the best for Packard.
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I don't have enough space to have all my stuff on display, and the big engine is in storage in a spot where I can't get a good photo, but I will dig it out this summer and then post some photos. I had some but lost a lot of photos in a flood last year.
It is an interesting motor and knowing that they had the means to build a sophisticated 4 valve per cylinder overhead cam turbocharged engine makes you wonder what they could have built for passenger cars. If Packard had built a car that was a competitor to the Mercedes 300SL or Corvette would they still be around?
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Thanks for the link! Interesting. I wonder how many of these are still around? Have you seen one of the 6 cylinder ones. Mine has a reduction gearbox which seems to indicate that it was used for propulsion. It has been so long since I read the Neal book, I forgot that there were V16s.
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Who is coming to the meet in Galena, IL? I will be there with any luck - it would be fun to meet some of the forum gang. Dave
1935 Packard Window Trim Question
in Packard
Posted
There are no numbers in those locations on my 35 or my 36.