1934 Packard 1100

[TexRiv_63]

After I sold my Pierce and Cadillac I focused on finding a truly original and unrestored car in useable condition. In 2012 I found one of my all time favorite cars, a 1934 Packard. This was an entry level model 1100 Eight short wheelbase 5 passenger sedan in rather remarkable unrestored shape. The mechanicals, chrome, entire interior, and all the paint except three of the fenders were as factory built other than normal maintenance items. It was faded but looked, ran and drove well in the dealer's photos and videos. The first thing that sold me was a video of all four doors being closed with one finger pressure, no wood framing problems or rust issues. The second thing was a large envelope packed with all original paperwork back to the first purchase including a very rare factory invoice. Here are photos from the day I received it, I will share more later.

[TexRiv_63]

More on my 34 Packard. It was an early production car, ordered in July 1933 by the Packard Motor co. of Pittsburgh, PA. For a base model car it was fairly loaded with options: Dual sidemounts with metal covers, trunk rack, spare tire mirrors, wheel trim rings, Goddess of Speed mascot, rare AM radio, Startix, high compression head, and 4.69 axle ratio for hill climbing. It was used as a demonstrator then sold to it's first owner, T.E. Frey, on November 27, 1933 with 5,160 miles on it. He kept the car for 54 years then sold it to his friend and mechanic Frank Humble for the princely sum of $1.00. Frank kept it for 10 years and there are now 4 other owners since then. The truly amazing part is that this car was heavily used in a winter climate by multiple owners but must have been very well taken care of to have remained in such good condition. Here are some of the options and the rest of the original paperwork.

[V16]

Hi Tex, I love your car and hope you never succumb to the temptation of "restoring" it. It is a wonderful living piece of history and the documents that came with it  are priceless. They are only original once. No question as to the originality, example, the red oxide primer used by Packard was as far as I know a unique product with a distinct salmon color to it. It is the identical color to the primer on my 32 Twin Six R/S Coupe that remains a completely untouched original. I know this because the back sides of the side mount covers were never finish painted but left in primer. A Packard parts number is stamped in black ink on to the face plates. I would love to see a more detail photo of your Startex installation. I could not see it in the shot of the engine compartment but I am assuming you have one because of the Startex direction manual you have.

[TexRiv_63]

17 hours ago, V16 said:

Hi Tex, I love your car and hope you never succumb to the temptation of "restoring" it. It is a wonderful living piece of history and the documents that came with it  are priceless. They are only original once. No question as to the originality, example, the red oxide primer used by Packard was as far as I know a unique product with a distinct salmon color to it. It is the identical color to the primer on my 32 Twin Six R/S Coupe that remains a completely untouched original. I know this because the back sides of the side mount covers were never finish painted but left in primer. A Packard parts number is stamped in black ink on to the face plates. I would love to see a more detail photo of your Startex installation. I could not see it in the shot of the engine compartment but I am assuming you have one because of the Startex direction manual you have.

 

The Startix was a factory option but had been totally disconnected. All of the wiring was in the parts box sent to the new owner.

[TexRiv_63]

The part of my 34 Packard that amazed me the most regarding originality was its interior. With 73,000 miles of use over 80 some years (at the time I owned it) it remained 100% original and in mostly excellent condition. With the exception of some heavy wear to the driver's seat and front carpet the mohair upholstery was lovely, the extensive woodgraining hardly worn and the plated metal parts bright. I believe the first two owners must have taken remarkable care of this and never allowed dirt or moisture to accumulate. When I first received the car there was a box of spare parts on the rear floor next to a big open box of mothballs from which the smell was unmistakable. I assumed this may have been part of the magic so I left it in place during my ownership.

[drhach]

That Packard looks great. Did you do anything special regarding the care of the interior? Did you use it much? I'm curious what precautions need to be taken with fabric that old. 

[Dandy Dave]

19 hours ago, TexRiv_63 said:

The Startix was a factory option but had been totally disconnected. All of the wiring was in the parts box sent to the new owner.

I worked on a few PA's with a Startix. Ed knows the cars. When these work, they work well. When they don't, it is a problem to either repair or find parts for other than minor adjustments.

Edited February 9 by Dandy Dave (see edit history)

[alsancle]

The Startix was also used on the 810/812 Cord and the 851/852 Auburn.  An unnecessary accessory but my experience with them has been good.

[TexRiv_63]

21 hours ago, drhach said:

That Packard looks great. Did you do anything special regarding the care of the interior? Did you use it much? I'm curious what precautions need to be taken with fabric that old. 

Other than a good vacuuming the only thing I did was cover the front seat with old towels except when I showed the car. I put about 850 miles on it in my two years of ownership. It was a tribute to the quality of the mohair material that even the worn areas were not threadbare or weak. The rear seat appeared to have been hardly used and was still firm and supportive. 

[60FlatTop]

6 hours ago, alsancle said:

An unnecessary accessory but my experience with them has been good.

The Startix is an option for the little lady to drive easier. Starts right up if her dainty foot slips off the clutch and she stalls it.

 

Couldn't advertise that today.

[58L-Y8]

We still have a modern version of Startix today: cars that 'stall' themselves at stop lights, then restart automatically when accelerator pressure is sensed.

[TexRiv_63]

Last post about my 34 Packard 1100. It was painted code FF blue at the factory and all of the body still had that paint except the fenders. They had sustained minor damage over the years and had been repaired and painted many close but different shades of blue. When I got the car the paint was faded and slightly chalky, a good wash helped but no a lot. I wanted to shine it up but agonized over how to do it for quite some time. I also had a 63 Olds Starfire at this time with driver quality black urethane paint that had never been buffed out properly. I bought a Dewalt slow speed buffer, foam pads, compound and liquid wax and got to it, it really improved that finish and gave me confidence in the process. I decided to buff the Packard, but with wax only and only one time. Needless to say it took some old paint off but not drastically and the improvement was amazing. To my surprise I found the blue lacquer was iridescent or "Poly" which I did not know was a possibility in the 1930s. Combined with a detail chrome polish job the old girl ended up looking really nice for 80 some years old.

[TexRiv_63]

Thanks Peter for giving this car its own thread. There is actually another thread here about the car from 2013-15 if anyone is interested. To share a bit more detail, the engine and undercarriage were also totally original, meaning they were dirty and crusty. Some surface rust underneath but no rust-out anywhere. When I owned the car I was also posting on the Packard Club forum and the first thing they told me there was to get rid of the aftermarket oil filter. It was a tiny thing with small 5/16" tubing that only filtered a small percentage of the oil where the original was full pressure filtration. I immediately ordered a reproduction of the Purolater L-6 from Burr Ripley and put it back to stock. It had the original Northeast dual point / dual coil ignition system and most other parts. The carburetor, generator, starter and fuel pump had all been rebuilt and the oil pan and gas tank had been cleaned. I added a modern K&N air filter but still had the original. The engine, transmission, clutch, steering and brakes all worked very well and the car was a pleasure to drive - a TOTAL improvement over my previous pre war car.

[AURktman]

Just a bit of info to make it full circle, I believe this is the original owner.  Maybe one day a trip in the car? 

 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/228345682/theodore-elmer-frey

[TexRiv_63]

You may have noticed in my last post that the areas on the rear axle where the tie down straps from the transporter rode showed blue paint. The build sheet indicated "standard black chassis parts" so this intrigued me. I partially cleaned an area around the front spring and found blue paint, and all the brake drums also showed it. That was all I exposed but I did clean the drums and sprayed them with a semigloss clear. I know the painted chassis was optional, would everything under the car be painted or just certain areas?

[TexRiv_63]

My car came with some interesting factory accessories. It had a locking gas cap which still worked along with its original box. Inside the box was the original plain gas cap which apparently had never been used. It also came with a "Handy Kit" of various polishes and chemicals, it was incomplete but what remained were in very good shape and still in the original red and gold box.

[edinmass]

Handy kit and box are more rare than the car. Take good care of them, and be sure and try to complete the entire kit. Cadillac kits in similar condition bring 7500 dollars.....and you can't find them.

 

PS- Nice car!

[1935Packard]

Love it.  And I remember the thread on this car from years back.  Great stuff. 

[TexRiv_63]

21 hours ago, edinmass said:

Handy kit and box are more rare than the car. Take good care of them, and be sure and try to complete the entire kit. Cadillac kits in similar condition bring 7500 dollars.....and you can't find them.

 

PS- Nice car!

Everything that came with the car stayed with the car when I sold it.

[edinmass]

22 minutes ago, TexRiv_63 said:

Everything that came with the car stayed with the car when I sold it.

That’s the fair and correct thing to do. Unfortunately, only one person in a 100 does that.  👍👍

Edited March 11 by edinmass (see edit history)

[TexRiv_63]

Right after I received this car I joined the Packard Club and their online forum. I started posting there right away and the first warning I got after uploading engine pics was about the oil filter. Some previous owner had removed the large original filter and replaced it with a small bypass unit with tiny 5/16" lines adapted to the original fittings. Dave Czirr (who owned an identical car) told me the factory filter was a full-flow unit and that the bypass piece was dangerously restrictive. So the very first thing I did was contact Burr Ripley, who made cosmetic reproductions of the large Purolator unit that used a modern spin-on type filter hidden inside. It was an easy installation and I even cleaned a bit of the crankcase while I was at it.

[TexRiv_63]

One of the factory options on this car were rear view side mirrors mounted on the fender mounted spare tires. They were stamped "Packard See-Right" and employed mounting brackets which included small padlocks. I loved the way they looked but were totally worthless for actual rear vision no matter how I adjusted them.

[Walt G]

See-Rite was a well  known manufacturer of mirrors when these cars were new, advertised all the time in the souvenir programs of the custom body salons held thru 1932 and I believe were manufactured in Brooklyn , NY or near by. Car manufacturers would contract out to assorted manufacturers to have accessories made that would not be worth their time to have done "in house" nor the space to do it due to the limited interest ( extra cost - it was the depression years) things like these mirrors, stone guards, back up lights that bolted on, wind wings for open cars and enclosed cars ( before they were incorporated as part of the car styling by 1933) Vanity mirror and smoking stets as well.