A. Ballard 35R

David, your comment about rebuilding a twin six engine reminds me of my father's tale about removing the blocks on twins. He had owned various twins and had used a 2nd and 3rd series for daily transportation and ended up with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd series in his collection of Packards. He said that a Packard "old timer" told him that a common way to remove the blocks on a twin was to raise one side of the car high enough so that there would be a straight upward lift for the chain hoist. The car would be lowered and the exercise would be repeated for the other side. Hard to imagine that Packard engineer Col.Jesse Vincent would have approved of this procedure. Ed is correct in that the 1st series was non-detachable heads with ports whereas the 2nd and 3rd series had detachable heads. Ed, hope to see you again at Ocala.

Great cars to drive as long as you are used to the limitations of two wheel brakes, especially on wet roads since there is so much weight upfront. Always wondered what it must have been like to be the proud chauffeur of a first model year 1916 twin when they came out. The torque and smoothness is extremely impressive with starts in 2nd no problem and a rolling start in 3rd no strain. To fully appreciate these cars it is necessary to compare them to similar cars of the period. The Twins were ahead of the competition. Interesting that these cars were considered dogs by many collectors in the early days of the hobby and were largely ignored, but now they are appreciated for the advanced cars that they were when introduced. As far as a comparison to a Pierce 66, I can't say since I have only ridden in a 66 and never driven one. The torque and the smoothness of the twin was superior to most if not all of its contemporaries. As Ed well knows, there is an inherent smoothness to a V12.

Ed, sorry you don't like an early six cylinder Pierce such as a model 66. I could always find garage space for a nice Pierce 66 !!

What does the front seat look like and are the original curtains there?

Most cars were driven to meets back then. Trailers were frequently used to haul unwanted closed cars that would be used as parts cars for the ones in your pictures.

Love those huge wind wings ! Car has had a number of owners since your dad had it.

Excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by a 6 digit "serial number" ? Where is it on the car ?

Really nice car with a great restoration. Where is the new AACA member looking for a good first antique car ? Amberly, where are you?

Of those 800, how many do you think were built in Newton, Ma. versus those made in Chambersburg, Pa. ?

The F-Head Hurricane four cylinder engine first became available in 1950.

Bob, the 5 or so Packards and owners at the time and present owners are known. Same is true with the 3 Mercers and probably the various race cars, many of which appeared to belong to George Waterman. The Mercedes people can no doubt tell about the S or SS (?) driven by Charlie Stitch with Ralph DePalma as a passenger. Also, founding VMCCA member and long time AACA member Paul Cadwell in his T. Certainly many VMCCA members could add a lot more.

Suggest that he go on one of the British car forums such as Triumph Experience or British Cars.

Wonderful film of one of the early meets. My father was at that meet driving up from Philadelphia in his 2nd series Packard twin six with George Gerenbeck, George Hughes and Ted Fiala. The 8MM black and white movies that he took are not nearly as nice as the Cam Bradley ones. I can identify a number of the cars and people based on seeing the movie many times and hearing who was in which car. The various events and contests were common at many of the events except spearing the hoops off of the stanchions. I specifically remember being told how someone fell out of the car while attempting this feat. Many great cars and wonderful people, a number of which I can still identify. The race cars are especially wonderful and I wonder who is driving Old 16, perhaps Joe Sessions since I believe he owned it at the time of this meet.

Is the yellow one the one that Les Hunsberger from Phoenixville, PA had restored by Ralph Buckley? If so, it's the car I remember from Memorial Day parades in Wayne and the Philadelphia Vintage Grand Prix.

License plate numbers appear to be 02 Z 867 but very difficult to determine state, possibly California. In lower right corner windshield looks like a C gas rationing sticker. Can't make out other stickers. Just noticed that sedan next to Stutz is a Packard which due to the cowl lights would be from the 1920's.