Bathtub Packard 

"JR1" (type35bugatti) 08/19/2015 at 08:24 • Filed to: Packard

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I don’t think I have ever seen one with a solid wood dash before. If I am right and that is a rare option this is a steal for 10k in my humble opinion.

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SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > JR1 08/19/2015 at 08:26

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Speed holes!

ptak appreciates old racecars > JR1 08/19/2015 at 08:28

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Buy it and give it some proper thick whitewalls.

JR1 > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 08/19/2015 at 08:29

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Anything it takes to get this boat down the road!

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > JR1 08/19/2015 at 08:29

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everything works except brakes

Uhhhh.....

absolutely no rust anywhere

Umm... Absolutely none?

JR1 > ptak appreciates old racecars 08/19/2015 at 08:29

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Go full white wall or go home!

JR1 > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 08/19/2015 at 08:30

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Hey it is a craigslist ad give the guy a “brake.” See what I did there? No? I’ll see myself out.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > JR1 08/19/2015 at 08:32

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Yeah, this is definitely rust free by craigslist definitions. Absolutely means nothing but a bit around the barrety tray.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > JR1 08/19/2015 at 09:16

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That is a good deal, but not crazy good. It’s not the Ultramatic, which is in the highest demand, but who cares? Desert Classics were trying to sell one a little rougher than this (a ‘49, I think) in possibly higher trim for $8k a while back.

kanadanmajava1 > JR1 08/19/2015 at 09:34

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The dash (and the other interior pieces) aren’t made of wood. They are just carefully painted steel. That looks pretty nice for the price if it really is rust free.

My ‘48 also had severe brake issues but luckily parts all still well available.

JR1 > kanadanmajava1 08/19/2015 at 21:53

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I think I knew you had a 48 how does it drive?

And I thought it was wood but you would know better than me considering you own one.

JR1 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 08/19/2015 at 21:54

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Desert Classics always has some nice stuff. And without the Ultramatic it is still probably fun to shift 3 on the tree. I assume it is 3 gears I am not sure

kanadanmajava1 > JR1 08/20/2015 at 05:52

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I could try to take a close up from the dash someday. It’s a mystery to me how it has been painted as it seems to have taken a lot of time from someone.

My upper arms have really bad outer joints so in curves it is quite horrible. But otherwise it is quite nice on the road yet far from modern. I should get the full maintenance kit and solve the front suspension issues. It’s around ~$500 and it includes every joint from the front except the upper inboard joints that are acting as shock absorbers too.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > JR1 08/20/2015 at 08:58

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Desert Classics is definitely somewhere I’d consider for something if I didn’t care about the price. Just on the fact that they tend to have what you might otherwise spend months looking for (bathtub Packards, Studebaker business coupes, etc. etc.). I find their prices are generally 20%-30% over what you’d find it for elsewhere, sometimes more, but that ignores the value of being sure what the body is like, and having somewhere established that you might be able to get some spares from in future...

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > JR1 08/20/2015 at 09:01

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Something I forgot to note on this the other day: it’s a four-door, which means it’s the second series in this body style. (Some minor tweaks to construction). I think since most non-verts are two doors, that might elevate the price some, but not a huge amount.

JR1 > kanadanmajava1 08/20/2015 at 18:13

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Well a Packard isn’t really meant to take corners anyway. It is meant to arrive in style providing opulent pleasure for its passengers.

And honestly $500 seems pretty cheap for such an extensive repair

JR1 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 08/20/2015 at 18:14

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There is something to be said about having the reassurance that you know the car will be in good shape when you buy it. Furthermore like you said knowing that it will always be there to get parts from

JR1 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 08/20/2015 at 18:15

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So you’re saying because it's a four-door that is worth more?

kanadanmajava1 > JR1 08/20/2015 at 18:48

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The Packard guys were thinking about handling too. I guess they had to as 356 powered Packards were one of the fastest US made cars. The rear suspension has a third telescopic shock absorber mounted like a Panhard rod. I haven’t seen similar in any other car.

I’m pretty sure that mine’s currently non-functional. It probably acts like a Panhard rod but instead of limiting the rear axle’s side movement it only slows it.

JR1 > kanadanmajava1 08/20/2015 at 18:52

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So sad to see a company like Packard go away especially when they innovated like that. Pretty cool

kanadanmajava1 > JR1 08/20/2015 at 19:49

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The end of 50’s was pretty tough time for manufacturers as the design fundamentals changed very fast. Packards worst failure was to move their final assembly to the leased body plant and abandoning the old one. They couldn’t get the new factory operate in 1955 as fast as the cars were ordered and in the haste they let their production quality drop. And by the next year the problem of assembly speed was solved by declining orders.

Hard to say what might have happened if they would have remained in the old factory. And what would have happened if they hadn’t joined companies with Studebaker? Or if the planned four company AMC would have formed (with Nash and Hudson) before Mason died? The business world is cruel...