I’m considering a 1938 Cadillac Series 65 4 door convertible - your thoughts on value and any historical problem areas with these cars

[Paul Dobbin]

On 4/30/2024 at 7:37 PM, CChinn said:

Thanks Wayne and everyone who replied with their congratulatory notes. I’m really enjoying this car!  I’m still driving the ‘40 Chevy and ‘53 Packard, but find excuses to drive the 38 Caddy whenever I can. My wife says why do I need another old car, especially when her MB SUV sits outside. The price I’ll pay for that will be huge!😂

    It's not a need thing, nobody needs to be happy either, but happy is better.    Two years ago I was up to 8 and loved

    them all, but I had enough garage space.   Cars make us happy and we enjoy our wives smile when they ride with us. 

    Try a Glidden Tour for more smiles too.

[Packard enthus.]

On 4/18/2024 at 2:11 PM, 60FlatTop said:

A '53 Packard. I have a real weak spot between the ears for '51-'54 Packards....

Sad to see,  you are a rarity.   Those '53-'54 Packards, and the two years of  Packard's production that followed, are EXACTLY why Packard closed down in the midst of 1956 production.  Because the motoring public had figured it out.  If you have the opportunity to drive a  properly maintained Olds, Buick, or Cad. of that era by comparison, it will be obvious. 

 

Ever increasing issues with  declining build-quality, engineering, miserable performance and reliability explain why sales kept falling off to the point they couldn't give em away.   I recall sitting on a curb by Beverly Hills Packard, having lunch with guys from the service dept.  The service manager saw a transporter roll up with some new '54's.  I cannot use the kind of language he burst out with in disgust...cleaned up it was something to the effect "here comes another batch of "do-it-yourself" kits. (this reflected the fact dealers were getting screwed by Packard over the descrpancies in what they were reimbursed for what it took to make what Packard shoved out the factory door, to make deliverable.  As a Packard fanatic, it broke my heart to see the news article confirming "it was over" - believe that was mid-June '56.

[wayne sheldon]

2 hours ago, Packard enthus. said:

Sad to see,  you are a rarity.   Those '53-'54 Packards, and the two years of  Packard's production that followed, are EXACTLY why Packard closed down in the midst of 1956 production.  Because the motoring public had figured it out.  If you have the opportunity to drive a  properly maintained Olds, Buick, or Cad. of that era by comparison, it will be obvious. 

 

Ever increasing issues with  declining build-quality, engineering, miserable performance and reliability explain why sales kept falling off to the point they couldn't give em away.   I recall sitting on a curb by Beverly Hills Packard, having lunch with guys from the service dept.  The service manager saw a transporter roll up with some new '54's.  I cannot use the kind of language he burst out with in disgust...cleaned up it was something to the effect "here comes another batch of "do-it-yourself" kits. (this reflected the fact dealers were getting screwed by Packard over the descrpancies in what they were reimbursed for what it took to make what Packard shoved out the factory door, to make deliverable.  As a Packard fanatic, it broke my heart to see the news article confirming "it was over" - believe that was mid-June '56.

 

One of my few friends in high school, his father and he were Packard enthusiasts. He drove a 1937 Packard 115 sedan to high school. My 1929 Reo was the only regular car older than his there. They bought, worked on and sold a number of 1930s and 1950s Packards for the several years I knew them. Good people, sadly I lost track of them a few years later. During those years, they had a few 1951 through 1954 Packards, including convertibles. One a beautiful totally original 1953/'54 white convertible that ran great. Went to a few swap meets together in it. They also had a 1952 convertible, ran good but needed paint and top as I recall. As I recall, they got another beautiful car in nearly perfect condition, but didn't keep it long. They just couldn't handle the original color, pink, but couldn't make themselves repaint it either because the original paint was so perfect.

Sadly, Packard did take that bad slide down the wrong way. But not everyone hated their last cars. It is too bad that the world couldn't find a bit more room for the remaining few other marques left at that time.

[60FlatTop]

There are many cars with poor reputations. Most of them go back to first hand experience that was transferred to others whom carried on the slander. So many second, third, and fourth hand tales passed on by, what can one call them, bench potatoes? I like the post war Packards. I like Jaguars as well, 6 and 12 cylinders. There is so much accrued knowledge on the problems that nearly all have been sorted out and can be made reliable.

 

When I drive my '60 Electra out for coffee in the morning there is one person who always looks out the window and tells me what terrible cars the are. His experience appears to come from some back row used car lot specials (no pun) he bought or heard about.

 

I reminds me of a break area chat I had about the roof on part of my house. My kitchen was an addition built in 1872 with a 1 in 12 tin roof. I was considering replacing it with similar material. He was a project planner and told me not to. "Those roofs don't last". I was kind of quiet while I thought about that.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Packard was just too late to the party postwar.  Consolidate to get economies of scale and leverage new (and expensive) technology or die.  The company didn't choose to decline but the world changed around a of the independents..

 

Like Bernie I do like the styling on those Packards but cannot speak from ownership experience.  Colin seems to like his though.

  

[CChinn]

I never thought that I would own a Packard, even one from the end of their run. Absolutely no regrets. It’s a really nice solid running car and the early 50s styling is what attracted me to the car. Not over the top 50s styling that developed toward the end of that decade. And now I have a 38 Cadillac. Totally different era and style, but both are equally fantastic cars. I consider myself very fortunate to be their caretaker

[8E45E]

On 5/20/2024 at 10:00 PM, Packard enthus. said:

Sad to see,  you are a rarity.   Those '53-'54 Packards, and the two years of  Packard's production that followed, are EXACTLY why Packard closed down in the midst of 1956 production.  Because the motoring public had figured it out.  If you have the opportunity to drive a  properly maintained Olds, Buick, or Cad. of that era by comparison, it will be obvious. 

 

Ever increasing issues with  declining build-quality, engineering, miserable performance and reliability explain why sales kept falling off to the point they couldn't give em away.   I recall sitting on a curb by Beverly Hills Packard, having lunch with guys from the service dept.  The service manager saw a transporter roll up with some new '54's.  I cannot use the kind of language he burst out with in disgust...cleaned up it was something to the effect "here comes another batch of "do-it-yourself" kits. (this reflected the fact dealers were getting screwed by Packard over the descrpancies in what they were reimbursed for what it took to make what Packard shoved out the factory door, to make deliverable.  As a Packard fanatic, it broke my heart to see the news article confirming "it was over" - believe that was mid-June '56.

1954 was an awful year for Packard. First, they lost their long-time body supplier, Briggs.  When Briggs founder died, Chrysler purchased the company, and only agreed to make Packard bodies until the contract was up, and poor old Packard was on their own to scramble and produce bodies 'in house'.  That explains why the fit & finish was poor, and the 1955 models didn't come out until January, well after the important fall selling season.  It was bad timing all around for Packard, right when they were still doing R&D on their new OHV V8, which is a wonder it turned out as good as it did with no real issues, and Packard's ill-fated purchase of Studebaker.

 

Craig

Edited May 22 by 8E45E (see edit history)