Packard Question

[MemoryLane]

Can anyone assist with identifying what model Packard I have here and a good shop for interior restoration in the NJ/PA area? Little info available beyond pics attached, estate sale.

 

Thanks and Happy New Year

[K8096]

My guess would be a 1931 Packard 833 5 passenger sedan.   This was Packard's entry level car.      

Edited December 31, 2017 by K8096 (see edit history)

[Joe Cocuzza]

Try Dave's Interiors in Emmaus, Pa  610-965-2172

Tell him Joe Cocuzza referred you.

He does excellent work.

Joe

[zipdang]

1 hour ago, K8096 said:

My guess would be a 1931 Packard 733 5 passenger sedan.   This was Packard's entry level car.      

 

 

I look at older "entry level" cars and am just amazed how grand they were.

[C Carl]

How bad (or good) is the interior , if original ? If original , is some of it presentable ?   - Carl

[Xander Wildeisen]

Any Packard is a good Packard. When looking at the price difference between some of them, I understand the "entry level" comment.

[MemoryLane]

Interior is in nice condition, perhaps I should have said a freshening. Thanks everyone this is not my area of expertise.

[MemoryLane]

So I know its a difficult question, but......assuming this car runs and all is good, what kind of a valuation am I looking at? Range of high/low is fine based on condition, history, paperwork, etc, just looking for a ballpark.

 

Thanks

 

[alsancle]

Around 15-20k, unless it needs 10k worth of interior work.  Then less.

[edinmass]

Nice car, not much demand, would have brought much more fifteen years ago. If the tires and tubes are old and need replacing figure four grand all in on just tires. New battery, clean the fuel system correctly, tune up, sort it out, etc. You can get underwater real fast. It sure looks like it would be a fun car.

Edited December 31, 2017 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Owen_Dyneto]

It might be too "high end" for you but a premium shop for work on Packards is right in Lebanon, NJ.  Automotive Restorations, Route 22 West.  

[Xander Wildeisen]

49 minutes ago, edinmass said:

 You can get underwater real fast. It sure looks like it would be a fun car.

We are all certified in automotive scuba diving.

[John_S_in_Penna]

The New York inspection sticker shown in the picture

expired in 2005.  So, it's likely that the car hasn't been out,

hasn't been driven, since 2004 or 2005.  

 

Whatever price you pay needs to allow for getting the

car back in service after perhaps 12 years of sitting idle.

Do the heirs think they have a gold mine of value in

this car, or are their expectations fairly reasonable?

[auburnseeker]

If you decide to pass.  I have a Father that might be interested in it if the price isn't too crazy.  He does his own work so the reviving part wouldn't be as expensive for him as for a guy who just writes Checks.  We are in Upstate NY. 

[Restorer32]

The numbers on the data plate on the firewall will tell us exactly what you have. Most folks on these forums jump to the immediate conclusion that your only interest in this car in monetary and do their best to dissuade you from a purchase.

 

[Friartuck]

An interior trim shop with a good history is Everlast Auto Interiors on St Georges Avenue, Linden, NJ. PM me for additional info and referral.

[alsancle]

Speaking for myself only,  I try to give an accurate semi-attainable price when people ask.    I guess my bias would be to see people buy the cars vs not, but worry when I see questions like this that the original poster doesn't realize what they are getting in to. 

 

Then again,  I seem to never realize what I'm getting in to either and have done it more than a few times.

[edinmass]

11 hours ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

We are all certified in automotive scuba diving.

 

 

Underwater? I own the Titanic! And about half the missing things in the Burmada Triangle! 

 

My best thoughts and memories to friend and fellow fellow collector Richard Winer who recently passed. He was the New York Times best selling author who put “The Devils Triangle” into common knowledge. 

 

[Xander Wildeisen]

27 minutes ago, edinmass said:

 

 

Underwater? I own the Titanic! And about half the missing things in the Burmada Triangle! 

 

 

That is one of the funniest things I have read on this forum, made me laugh. 

[60FlatTop]

15 hours ago, edinmass said:

Nice car, not much demand, would have brought much more fifteen years ago.

 

I like that, figure they'd be somewhere between 95 and 105 about now?

 

I like the Deere.

Bernie

[edinmass]

See the Deere, does the Deere have a little doe? Yes, two bucks! Yuck! Yuck, Yuck! Curly Howard........?

[Marty Roth]

5 hours ago, Friartuck said:

An interior trim shop with a good history is Everlast Auto Interiors on St Georges Avenue, Linden, NJ. PM me for additional info and referral.

 

This is a good shop with an outstanding history - including my personal history from my 1950s High School years in Linden, NJ, helping with my first car, a 1932 Chevy 5-window coupe (which was later hot-rodded, again with their touch), and in 1959 with my 1949 Pontiac convertible's interior, 1954 Mercury convertible, and '56 Bel-air and '58 Impala convertibles . 

[MemoryLane]

Thanks everyone for the insights and humor. We are all underwater Auto Specialists at some point, the love of the hobby is what keeps us going and that cannot be measured in mere dollars and cents.

 

 

I know the shop in Lebanon well, right down the street from me and Linden is not far from where i grew up. Emaus PA is not too far either.

 

Thanks everyone and a few more pics that I obtained today for your viewing pleasure.

 

Happy New Year!!!!!!!

 

 

[alsancle]

It looks like a decent car.  I think with the correct (and non white wall) tires it will look pretty good.  Reproduction data plate?  If so it is not big deal.   Entry to any CCCA event for  under 20k.

[C Carl]

Where to start continuing ? Well , I guess , from the meager evidence so far , I will state emphatically : AT THIS POINT DO NOT SPEND A NANOSECOND FURTHER THINKING ABOUT MEDDLING WITH THAT INTERIOR ! , or as the incomparable Ed would say : "Now read this again ! "

 

See , you just might have an (almost ?) ,100% complete , totally original , reference standard , unrestored interior. Unmolested and eminently presentable and useable , an interior like this can be worth more than an expensive replacement. To do so would to a greater rather than lesser degree , take the life , the patina of many decades of history , out of the car , and make it an easel upon which was hung cloth without soul. Of course , I am talking PATINA here. There is a tendency these days to justify highly damaged , near junk , as "patina". At a certain level , patina transitions to lamentable damage. Look : it is not my intention to rain on anyone's parade by ranting on. It is just that REAL patina imparts a certain charm to the "it's only original once" school of thought which has been accelerating in popularity over perhaps the last , maybe 35-40 years or so. 

 

I am am pretty sure you "catch my drift" , if not having been swept away in the current of my tutorial. Let me give you an example which is closer than apples to oranges , both being fruit. Lemons to limes , both being citrus and close as they are , might be better , although there is a connotational perjorative here. Maybe 8-10 years ago I was at a very high end meet in the Seattle area. The rare kind of gathering which brings out the toys of the local (and some relatively distant) , B'aires. 2017 B.O.S. 'Beach Bruce (an old h.s. drinking pal of mine who made good) , always honors us with a couple or three from his collection , to give you an idea. Anyway , this gathering featured Multicylinders. There were a brace of mid '30s OHV 16 cyl Cadillac coupes , one an absolutely flawless restoration , the other , the best preserved original pre-war Cadillac I have ever see. Doing an A/B comparison from several paces back , it was really difficult to tell one from another. I mean it ! Seriously ! Until you got close to them. One had that perfect aroma. That feedback loop was totally restored out of the other.

 

If you want a truely unambiguous analysis , leading to a meaningful , accurate valuation , you MUST post at a very MINIMUM , two dozen well chosen , HIGH res pics. And that assumes each one tells an in depth story. In your case I suggest you do so , and be prepared to post a couple dozen more.You will not wear out your welcome here. We will need to see every aspect of that interior. Headliner , with close ups , IN FOCUS , of any damage. Ditto seats , wood trim , instrument panel , carpets (is that clear plastic protecting the original carpet ? - I like to use high quality period remnants , from hand made orientals , tribals , or high end machine mades like Karastan or Bigelow as mats). Exterior ? Looks like a repaint , but I can not tell how much. Re-plating ? I dunno. Let's get pics from all angles. Several good engine shots. Undercarriage too. Can that Packard be certified "Original Car" by CCCA ? Dunno. 

 

At the risk of boring many of the guys here who have seen it too many times , for your benefit since you are not too familiar with cars of this vintage , let me show you a mere dozen pics of a CCCA "Original Car". I include an example of close ups of damage.. Another mid priced sedan , my 1927 Cadillac.  - Carl 

 

.                                                   SUPER SAFE , HAPPY HEALTHY NEW YEAR , ALL !!!!!

 

 

Edited January 1, 2018 by C Carl
Additional clarification (see edit history)

[alsancle]

I forgot about the interior question.  Maybe missing from the photos but what sort of interior work does the car need?  I would be looking to spend as little as possible to get it going,   tires, mechanical stuff.  If the interior is serviceable do not touch it.

[60FlatTop]

Isn't Memory Lane a collector car dealership somewhere. I seem to remember that. Wouldn't those be known considerations prior to the purchase?

 

Either that or a nickname for Lois' smarter sister.

 

 

Bernie

[MemoryLane]

Thanks again folks for the comments. So I am getting the feeling the original window shades in the rear and some real "Patina" is more desirable as long as it is presentable and usable as is. Any thoughts on ways to clean seats, door panels including the headliner which is 100% in tact just discolored?

 

Paul

[C Carl]

VERY GENTLE vacuuming with a soft brush attachment for the headliner. From what I have seen , just vacuum the door panels well with a firm brush attachment. Remove the seat bottoms , and vacuum extremely well out of doors. Vacuum , slap thoroughly with your hands , repeat several times until no more dust billows out. Since removing the seat backs may not be practical , take the car outside , open all doors , and with a fan blowing away from you , vacuum as per the seat bottoms. Remove what carpet comes out without major surgery , and get professionally cleaned. Go to the highest end oriental rug dealer you can conveniently find , and use their recommendation for a cleaner. Specify DO NOT ROLL for pick up. You want them hanging , or lying flat. The car should be properly prepared for starting and running. If the tires hold air , and are not seriously cracking , let the purchaser replace as desired. The whitewall  vs. blackwall choice has emphatic advocates on both sides. I am a blackwall guy , and would be sorry to see someone had just put a new set of whites on. It would be a waste of money , and a needless PITA for many.

 

                                     More pics , please. HAPPY , HEALTHY , PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR !     - Carl