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1932 Packard 902 5-passenger (Victoria) Coupe


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My car (the car in question) was originally from New York City, spent most of its life in Connecticut, received a cosmetic restoration in the late 1970's, was acquired by me in about 2003 and I gave it a mechanical restoration.  So it is yet a third example of this body style around upstate New York.

 

I am a little surprised at the almost total lack of interest in the car, even with an ad in Hemmings.  Yes, a few tire kickers but no one serious.  I don't think the price is crazy, for all the reasons stated. And actually, I am growing more attached to it now that I had thoughts of finding a new owner.  So maybe this experiment worked out for the best after all.

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Before and after photos of the same car.

Amazing what an appropriate  color scheme can do !

The darker color is the authentic, original color scheme tastefully done by the previous owner in Connecticut. 

The light electric blue with marshmallows-for-wheels was something a misguided or mentally ill owner sprayed on over the original.  What were they thinking. . . . ??

When Frank got it.jpg

IMG_0701.JPG

Edited by scott12180 (see edit history)
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The '60s and '70s did a lot of damage to a lot of old cars. People cared less about "correct" and more about "I like what I like." To us today, with the benefit of hindsight, it looks dreadful, but I can clearly recall going to car shows in the '70s where you'd see row after row of brightly-colored garish old cars. Hell, how many suffered through the brown/tan with orange wheels and shiny brown vinyl upholstery phase? I bet 20% of all old cars were that particular combination at one point or another.

 

Scott, if you don't need to sell it, I vote for continuing to enjoy it. Keep it for sale in a casual way and let people know it's available. Eventually someone will see it in use and that will be your buyer. Get out on some tours and let people see how well the car works. I think that is how you will have the most success moving this car and if not, at least you're enjoying it yourself. That matters, too! 

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6 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

Hell, how many suffered through the brown/tan with orange wheels and shiny brown vinyl upholstery phase? I bet 20% of all old cars were that particular combination at one point or another.

 

I plead GUILTY to that on a 31 Model A Coupe.  (Tan/Brown)  Had a 289 Ford V8, C6 Automatic, Jaguar suspenstion  and 35 Ford wire wheel centers in 15" rims.(Orange)

However the interior was Mustang II (Tan with orange highlights)

Only saving grace was that I never took it to antique car shows, only street to Street Rod  gatherings where everything else looked like jelly beans.

 

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Some interesting and maybe not so nice about mine. In the left sail panel of the top there was an outward dent. Inside on the headliner side panel was a small hole. Well, it was a .38 caliber hole. A friend who was a cop at the time was as curious as I was. With it having some history in Colorado I just thought accidental discharge from a hunter or maybe an off duty officer of some sort. He brought over a special ultraviolet light a cpl days later so we could satisfy our mutual curiosity, lo and behold there were remnants of blood on the left of the rear seat cushion. I adjusted my thoughts to an accident, but the car was left in a Colorado garage for decades and had 22,000 original miles. That yellow glass in the picture was obviously original and I couldn't bear to remove it. 

 

So, was it a "hit"? An accident? Suicide? Who knows, but in my tenure with the car I left it all as-was. Such things are little more than interesting conversation, and I don't know how fruitful Denver was for typical gangster activity. Then again I prefer to consider most Packard models not in the radar of those types back then. Some dealers would discourage underworld types from buying from them as well. What do you guys n gals think? Somewhere in the massive picture collection I have some close ups, finding them would be the challenge.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/9/2018 at 4:23 PM, Matt Harwood said:

 

Do you just show up to whine and complain about car values and tell other people that they're not real hobbyists because they're not buying and selling cheap cars? Have you ever contributed anything to this forum that wasn't a complaint about "investors" and "not proper" hobbyists paying more than you can afford for a car? It is increasingly tiresome to see your comments about how investors are ruining "your" hobby and your snide cheap shots at sellers for asking market-correct prices. Some people can afford to pay more than you can for a car and some cars are more valuable. That doesn't make the people who buy and sell them less of a hobbyist than you. Do you begrudge the man who can afford a Duesenberg? Or is he just an investor wrecking it for all the honest folk, who would otherwise be able to purchase Duesenbergs for $5500 just like they could in 1958? I have a client who owns five or six Duesenbergs, two of which he bought so that he could put three cars right--one had the engine from the other, while the other had the body from the second. He is going to spend astronomical sums of money to make three "bitsa" Duesenbergs into three totally correct Duesenbergs, complete with their original engines and coachwork. Is he less of a hobbyist than you because he can afford to do such things and finds joy in it? What's your great achievement in the hobby, Daniel?

 

This Packard is priced appropriately for what it is. Just because it's out of your range doesn't mean it's not properly priced. Things of value get more valuable over time. That's a real thing that happens. If you think you're still going to find a Model A in a farmer's barn for $15, you're in for a big surprise.  This appears to be a very good car with an unusual and attractive body style that has been properly kept and restored. '32 Packards are some of the most desirable of all '30s cars and anything with fewer than four doors will rightfully rise to the top. This is the market in action, not someone scamming the poor, vulnerable fools with more money than brains.

 

Matt, ... Thank you; you saved me some composition time.

 Never carry on a battle of wits with an unarmed man” Ric

 

 

Edited by Ric Dean
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  • 2 months later...

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