For Sale BAT Reserve Not Met 1939 Packard Twelve Series 1707 Convertible Victoria - Pasadena, CA

[classiclines]

Not Mine --- bunch of small projects required --- high bid $105,000 but reserve not met

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1939-packard-twelve-victoria-5-passenger-model-1707-1227/

This 1939 Packard Series 1707 Twelve is a model 1227 Convertible Victoria, one of 446 Packards equipped with a 473.3ci V12 for the final model year it was offered,  The car is finished in yellow over red leather upholstery, and features include a column-shifted three-speed manual transmission, a black soft top, dual side-mount spare wheels, a fold-down luggage rack, driving lamps, a cormorant hood ornament, and a heater. New tires were installed in 2021 and the steering wheel, horn button, and shift knob were refinished, while service performed in 2022 included the installation of replacement cast iron cylinder heads and a redying of the upholstery. This Seventeenth Series Packard is now offered with literature, correspondence from previous ownership, reproduction radio button escutcheons and running board mats, a car cover, and a clean California title in the seller’s name.

 

Edited September 22, 2022 by classiclines
update (see edit history)

[alsancle]

39 has the higher windshield,  the column shift and is the end of the pecking order for 12 cylinder Packards.   BAT sometimes amazes with the prices it brings.

[kingrudy]

Stunning automobile, looks like a moving piece of art. I would be afraid to drive it. 

[edinmass]

An open V-12 Packard with no provenance prior the mid 90’s? 🤔

 

My general rule #1 applies.

Edited September 21, 2022 by edinmass (see edit history)

[BucketofBolts]

Cant understand why Packard with such style (like the one on this thread) and history with the high-end customer base fell apart after WW2 and failed to design models of their vehicles that could compete with GM? Was it the superior R&D and tech of the competition that killed off Packard?  

[m-mman]

14 minutes ago, BucketofBolts said:

Cant understand why Packard with such style (like the one on this thread) and history with the high-end customer base fell apart after WW2 and failed to design models of their vehicles that could compete with GM? Was it the superior R&D and tech of the competition that killed off Packard?  

They were a failing company before WWII.  

Get a copy of “The fall of the Packard Motor car company” by James Ward.  
A well researched book. The cars were just a small part of the corporate collapse.  

Edited September 21, 2022 by m-mman (see edit history)

[Steve_Mack_CT]

As m-mman notes lots of reasons but independents were not going to win the technology race. 

 

Quality issues postwar starting with body dies stored outside during war years, and persisting through subsequent design styles, various management moves, a questionable design in '48, the evaporation of the custom and semi custom market thus making flagship models or limited production top line cars less distinctive are all factors well before merger. 

 

Also, the Jr. Models it can be argued, saved and hurt the company.  My contention is if well played, that line should have paved the way for Packard to apply mass production techniques in a better manner but it still would have been a tough technology war to win.  

 

They outlasted all higher end independents and most indepenents in general, so that is something..

 

This one looks like our car's big sister.  I would clean up the front end in the same way we did.  Maybe keep the grille guard. Open mid 30s to 42 Packards look great in cream/yellow imo.

[bryankazmer]

As said, Packard was the only US luxury car maker to survive the Depression without corporate life support.  The 120 was a bigger success than LaSalle.  I think the 110 should have had a different name and altered front end.

 

The Clipper was still a completely competitive design in 46.  Packard should have pushed the luxury market over the mid-lux. The much-maligned bathtub sold well initially but hung around too long.  The rejected early merger of Packard-Hudson-Nash-Studebaker was probably the only long-term hope.  The GM-engineered screw job on defense contracts sure didn't help.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Bryan, agree with everything but 110 nose job!!  TY Werner Gubitz!! 😉😁

[classiclines]

FYI - Different animal posted under Packard - Buy/Sell - four door...

 

 

[95Cardinal]

Does anyone know this car?

What's the story behind the re-stamped firewall plate? 

Has this car been re-bodied?

[trimacar]

36 minutes ago, 95Cardinal said:

Does anyone know this car?

What's the story behind the re-stamped firewall plate? 

Has this car been re-bodied?

Probably not a rebody, as such, but a Super Eight transformed to a V-12.  I have a 1938 Packard Super Eight convertible coupe, at one point I was offered a nice V-12 chassis to put body on….basically doubles value.  Not sure that’s the story on this car but, as Ed says, when car history starts in modern times it’s always a crap shoot as to originality…

[Steve_Mack_CT]

21 minutes to go and holding steady at $100k.  Anyone stepping up? 😁

[classiclines]

High bid $105,000 - reserve not met - price had held steady at $100,000 for a long time when the engine stamp question could not be answered - I'm sure the car will pop up for sale somewhere else

[60s GM Fan]

High end classics might not grab as much in the next few months.  Stock Market has been taking a hit so I'm sure those with the extra coin have reeled in their finances.