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What are some of the great "missing" Classics, prewar American?


trimacar

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West, I didn’t take photos, and it has to be the same car. V-12 correct? I see so many cars, but as my memory serves me the car looks a bit diffrent now. I am NOT sure, and don’t want to put out incorrect information on any car, especially one like this. I’ll see if I can get a current photo, and then I will PM you. Ed.

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Yes. It is fitted with a V-12. It was a Packard concept car. I remember seeing a factory photo of the car, I think at the Detroit Library. I wish I would have gotten a copy of it, as it is no where to be found on the Internet. I remember seeing the car when JM showed it at the old Meadowbrook Concours... in fact, I was judging the class. It really looks like a hodge-podge, which is why I'm questioning your thought of it being a top-5 Packard design.

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My one friend remembers seeing it at a show in the 1960s in the Midwest.  The hood on it at the time had 4 inches cut off the front to make it fit.   They cut right through the “spear” moulding

 on the side of the hood and it didn’t look right.   I have pictures somewhere.   

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I really wish I had a photo of it, but JM is a friend, and I don't want to put out any incorrect information on the car. I think it evolved slowly over the years from when first built, to the final design. For me it's still tops! Any factory experimental car from the classic era is such an incredibly rare piece.

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It was hidden for quite a while, as I have had a chance to get to the far reaches of his multiple places, and hadn't seen it in multiple visits until last time. I think his collection is now my favorite.....and I have seen most of the big ones. 

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58 minutes ago, alsancle said:

 

Nice shot Ed, but you missed.

 

image.png.446956d45b525ae0da75b10946fe2dce.png

 

I had the modern photo also, but the car ended up in Pakistan, and didn’t get out till rather recently, so it was a “lost and found”, and I don’t think I would have tried to get it out myself!

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Hartmann made a lot of interesting car bodies........some of them were a case of “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.......this was at Pebble this year, lots of chatter about it before and during the show, as it was a favorite for Best of Show. It won its class. 

518EF181-0654-4992-94DE-16D31DDB63AE.png

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7 minutes ago, packard12man said:

West, attached are photos of JM's experimental Packard.  Interesting car but definitely not in my top 5!   The car was displayed at the Kirkland Concours 8 to 10 years ago.  

628x471.jpg.8a753f66b46dc025d9e7dc01ecf245c6.jpg2095600175_ScreenShot2013-11-03at11_54_25AM.png.dadaf518158e57c491a170e837932ecb.pngscan0333.thumb.jpg.3434bc739ec7f8263d1b6d1778ecb865.jpg

 

 

Yep. That's it. Stunning car upon first glance and a top-notch restoration, but kind of a mess aesthetically. One thing that CAN be said about it, is that it did INDEED lead to the most beautiful Packard ever built, the LeBaron Dual cowl phaeton.

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9 minutes ago, alsancle said:

 

A very famous missing car.  Good one!

 

It’s only missing if you don’t know where to look............😂

 

 

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The 1934 Packard Full Custom Dietrich Sport Sedan is one of the top five closed cars in the world......in my humble opinion, and certainly the most attractive four door sedan ever made. Just saying.......

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4 minutes ago, SC38DLS said:

I couldn’t afford a lugnut on any of these cars but thank goodness it doesn’t cost to look at them. Great thread. Keep them coming. 

Dave S 

 

Its interesting to see the crazy value fluctuations from a standard production car to the one off full blown custom. Both offer the same driving experience, but the price can be twenty to thirty times more for the special. Funny part of it is, 99 percent of the general population can’t tell a standard eight from a custom twelve. It’s like the Pebble Beach paint job versus a nice run of the mill paint job. Almost no non collectors can tell the difference from a twenty five thousand dollar job or the two hundred fifty thousand dollar job. It sure costs a lot of money to impress the one percent of the people!

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16 minutes ago, edinmass said:

 

Its interesting to see the crazy value fluctuations from a standard production car to the one off full blown custom. Both offer the same driving experience, but the price can be twenty to thirty times more for the special. Funny part of it is, 99 percent of the general population can’t tell a standard eight from a custom twelve. It’s like the Pebble Beach paint job versus a nice run of the mill paint job. Almost no non collectors can tell the difference from a twenty five thousand dollar job or the two hundred fifty thousand dollar job. It sure costs a lot of money to impress the one percent of the people!

 

Hey!! I'm a one-percenter!  I've arrived!

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31 minutes ago, edinmass said:

The 1934 Packard Full Custom Dietrich Sport Sedan is one of the top five closed cars in the world......in my humble opinion, and certainly the most attractive four door sedan ever made. Just saying.......

 

I'd argue that the car you showed at Pebble this year is even better.

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27 minutes ago, West Peterson said:

 

I'd argue that the car you showed at Pebble this year is even better.

 

I’ll admit that’s a fantastic car...........it was great that it was appreciated and made it to the finals. Quite an accomplishment for a four door American car. Were fortunate to have a few good closed cars. The fit and finish of the closed custom coachwork is too often overlooked, although recently I think people are appreciating them more and more. It was also interesting that all three finalists were closed cars, not sure if that has ever happened in the past. 

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2 hours ago, edinmass said:

Hartmann made a lot of interesting car bodies........some of them were a case of “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.......this was at Pebble this year, lots of chatter about it before and during the show, as it was a favorite for Best of Show. It won its class. 

518EF181-0654-4992-94DE-16D31DDB63AE.png

I cant believe that photo is not blurry, the photographer must have had the shutter at super high speed mode....:)

Thank you for posting, I am in awe of this beauty.

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Here's one I just finished, a 1936 Packard Rollston Stationary Victoria on a long wheelbase Super Eight chassis. A one off custom built for New Jersey industrialist Arthur McEwan. Mr. McEwan had never put the top down on his Rollston 845 ( 1931) Convertible Victoria, so when he went to the dealer to replace it in December of 1935 he ordered his new one with a fixed convertible top!

20181205_163826.jpg

20181205_163845.jpg

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29 minutes ago, V16 said:

Here's one I just finished, a 1936 Packard Rollston Stationary Victoria on a long wheelbase Super Eight chassis. A one off custom built for New Jersey industrialist Arthur McEwan. Mr. McEwan had never put the top down on his Rollston 845 ( 1931) Convertible Victoria, so when he went to the dealer to replace it in December of 1935 he ordered his new one with a fixed convertible top!


I almost posted a period picture of this yesterday as lost.  But had this vague recollection it wasn't.

 

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4 hours ago, John S. said:

Walt Gosden might know what happened to the Brunn bodied Franklin. 

I think the Brunn Bodies Franklin bit the dusk - I recall one late night over at Bill Bools, house in Montgomery, OH,  looking at a set of Convertible Victoria doors that were sort of an off yellow and butterscotch with both of us wondering if they were from this Franklin.   I was dropping off a NOS 8" Single Pilot Ray that evening for use on Bill's Duesenberg.  Bill use to own the 1931 Stutz DV-32 with a LeBaron Convertible Victoria body, now owned by Joseph and Margie Cassini of West Orange, New Jersey and used the doors to match the upholstery on the Stutz.   We both were at the tail end of the flu and near delirious, so doors could have been off anything.

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12 minutes ago, John_Mereness said:

Nope, it survives - in restoration it was converted to Sidemounted Spare Tires and holds a record price as well for a closed Packard.  https://www.goodingco.com/vehicle/1934-packard-twelve-1108-sport-sedan/

 

John,  it would be awesome of that was true and I thought that for a while too,  but I don't think so.  Do you know more of the story then what is out there?

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