My '35 Packard in 1951

[1935Packard]

As I think I have mentioned before, my '35 Packard was bought used by my grandfather in 1942. He kept it for 63 years, and I bought it from his widow (his 4th wife) after he died.

Until recently, though, I didn't have an early photograph of the car. I finally tracked one down about a year ago through an old family friend now living in England. The photo is a real gem, I think. I thought you all might enjoy seeing it.

The picture was taken in the summer of 1951 (note the 1951 New York front license plate). My grandfather is behind the wheel, and my grandmother is in the front passenger seat. There are three girls in the rumble seat: The one in the center is my aunt, and the one on the right with her hand on the fender is my mother.

A few fun things about the photo:

1) Look at all the dings and dents -- hard to imagine today, but this was a 16-year old used car back then.

2) The hood ornament is wrong. I'm not sure what it is, but it isn't a '35 cormorant.

3) The tires in the picture are Goodyears, and the pattern is an exact match with the tire still stored in the driver's side sidemount (the spare still in the sidemount has a manufacture date of 1946).

4) I once posted about the trunk that came with the car, in an effort to identify it; it's the same trunk in the 1951 picture.

5) I also once posted about the spotlight, as I was trying to figure out if the car originally had a spotlight on it. Now I know that it had one by 1951, at least.

Edited January 9, 2010 by 1935Packard (see edit history)

[Guest fordv840]

Great picture! Those are priceless to have. It looks like a house I know in Plymouth Mass.

[1935Packard]

Thanks, fordv840! Oh, and by contrast, here are some photos of the car I took this afternoon.

[Guest fordv840]

Looks better now!

[keiser31]

Have you given your mom a ride in it since it was restored?

[Guest 40series]

Rolling Art! Well Done

[1935Packard]

Keiser,

Yup, many times.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

1935Packard, thanks for posting - great pictures then and now. Hope to see the real thing in Gettysburg in July? What was the original color? Assume this is what got you into the hobby, right?

[1935Packard]

Steve,

Yes, I'll be at Gettysburg. Already made my hotel reservation.

The original color of the car is beige. You can still see the original color in several places, such as the door jams and in a few places where the 1970s silver/black repaint has chipped off. Eventually I plan to have it repainted the original exterior color, but these things are so expensive when done right that I'm not in a hurry.

Here's a '37 that appears to have the same color as mine was originally.

Edited January 9, 2010 by 1935Packard (see edit history)

[keiser31]

Man, that is one classy ride. You are a lucky man.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

1935Packard, I would agree. Very classy. I think you have discussed the 70s paint job before - and you are wise to live with the colors and older paint until you decide to committ the time and money to change it properly. I think the car would look outstanding in the original beige. Looks a lot like mine "Havanna Beige" - but I think the earlier years had a different name although the color on the car you posted looks really close.

So the question is, does this one or your "new" Packard get painted first? What color is that one?

[1935Packard]

Steve,

My tentative plan is to have the '41 painted first, as new paint and a new top is all it needs and "decent" is good enough. Right now it's Saratoga Beige and I'll probably paint it Crescent Blue with some red pinstriping. You can see these colors here. I think the Crescent Blue with the existing red interior will look terrific.

As for the '35, it is somewhere around 5 years away from needing its engine rebuilt (right now it's 75 years old and has 60,000 believed actual miles without a rebuild), and it also needs new upholstery to replace the 70s cheapo naughahyde. I'll probably wait a few years and save up to have the paint, upholstery, and engine done right all around the same time (finances permitting, always a big caveat). At this point I'm pretty sure that I'll repaint it the original beige. The open question is what to do with the interior: It was originally a dark brown leather that in my view just doesn't look very good with the beige. I'm thinking I might go with red, as I currently have in the '41, so that it looks pretty much like this color scheme. But as this is pretty far in the future, there's lots of time to daydream about that. Maybe you can offer me your recommendation when we meet at Gettysburg this summer....

Edited January 13, 2010 by 1935Packard (see edit history)