Nice...

"Pixel" (Improbcat) 10/06/2015 at 14:56 • Filed to: None

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A 1953 Packard Patrician for $1500. Only downside is it hasn’t been on the road in 41 years.

But how much could it possible cost to rebuild the entire brake system, replace every belt & hose, regasket & possibly rebuild the engine, redo the carb, fix the floor rust, replaced the tires, and everything else it would need to move down the road again?

And given the last Packard was made 3 year later in 1956, it has to be easy to get parts for one of these. Right?

http://boston.craigslist.org/nwb/cto/525492…

iSureWilll > Pixel 10/06/2015 at 15:00

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Buy and resell to a collector/restoration shop for $3k.

Quick $1500 profit.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Pixel 10/06/2015 at 15:00

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Everything? If you’re extremely thrifty and it doesn’t need as much as it might, maybe under $3k in parts. Lots ‘o’ labor, though.

Needmoargarage > Pixel 10/06/2015 at 15:09

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1) Shop around to get an idea of availability of parts.

2) Put together a list of estimated total expense to fix it up.

3) Triple the time needed and double the cost.

Then you can decide if it’s worth it :)

punkgoose17 > Pixel 10/06/2015 at 15:17

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NP

gin-san - shitpost specialist > Pixel 10/06/2015 at 15:24

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I suppose keeping it as original as possible would be ideal, but I just keep thinking it would be more hilarious with an LS swap.

Future next gen S2000 owner > iSureWilll 10/06/2015 at 15:26

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This.

JR1 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/06/2015 at 16:13

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Who cares then you get to say “I own a Packard.”

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > JR1 10/06/2015 at 16:28

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It is the Packard with chrome-edged tailfins. That counts for something.

AMC/Renauledge > gin-san - shitpost specialist 10/06/2015 at 16:41

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Ripping out the brilliantly smooth Packard Inline-Eight and bespoke Ultramatic transmission to turn this thing into a heavier garden variety Tri-5 Chevy/Pontiac resto-mod would be an incredible waste.

AMC/Renauledge > Pixel 10/06/2015 at 16:43

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Luckily, the 1951-56 Packards all used the same basic bodyshell and chassis. So you have more parts availability than you might think.

If I had the cash, I’d jump.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > AMC/Renauledge 10/06/2015 at 17:02

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I had no idea what I was looking at.

After looking it up: I still don’t really get it. You also say the LS would be heavier, but the straight eight appears to be close to double the weight of the LS1. The straight-eight is 5.3 liters or so, 150 hp, and the ultramatic appears to be a 2-speed autobox. What is it about this engine/transmission combo that is so good? At first glance it doesn’t really seem like much, and despite what I’m reading, it doesn’t convey what made it special.

Older American cars like these aren't something I know much about, so it'd be nice to know.

AMC/Renauledge > gin-san - shitpost specialist 10/06/2015 at 17:20

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The Packard I8 is way heavier. What I meant is that the Packard itself is heavy car. An LS swap would be worth it in a lighter car like a Tri-5 Chevy or Pontiac. If you want 0-60, that’s a much better idea. Especially since they’re *much* more common.

Straight-8s are incredibly smooth and torquey. They make I6s and V8s feel like I-3s. And while the Ultramatic isn’t full of “dynamic” superlative performance, it’s also a rare and special Packard-exclusive and well matched to its buttery engine.

Packards are special. Turning them into Chevys takes that away, IMO.

Kinda like Jag V12 and Aston V8 swaps do.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > AMC/Renauledge 10/06/2015 at 17:30

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That makes more sense - the character of this car would be ruined without the engine/transmission combo. Whenever I see disused cars or nice looking shells, I always imagine what kind of ridiculous swaps could be done.

After reading about it further, it starts to make more sense - it looks like this was Packard’s comfortable luxury car of the time. At least I learned something today - I knew the Packard name existed but didn't know anything about their cars.

AMC/Renauledge > gin-san - shitpost specialist 10/06/2015 at 17:43

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Exactly how I see it. Of course that’s just my little ol’ opinion.

ranwhenparked > gin-san - shitpost specialist 10/06/2015 at 19:14

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Packard was traditionally the most prestigious of the American luxury brands. Prewar, they competed directly with Rolls-Royce in price and exclusivity. Postwar, Packard went downmarket and became more of a mass-market luxury brand, competing more with Cadillac and Lincoln. However, because of where they started, they still had a bit more cache than a Cadillac, especially among older buyers.

ranwhenparked > Pixel 10/06/2015 at 19:17

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For having not been on the road since 1974, that’s actually in really good shape. Once you did the mechanicals and rust repair, it doesn’t look like it would need any cosmetics, other than the drivers seat.

The question would be, though, if the car is in this good of shape after 41 years of storage, how much better did it look in ‘74, and what the hell went wrong with it back then that led to the owner parking it? I bet there’s something very expensive that went wrong, and now you’d be dealing with 41 years of age and inactivity, on top of whatever repair sidelined it in the first place.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Pixel 10/06/2015 at 21:50

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If it wasn’t on the opposite side of the country I would buy this right now and slowly make it road worthy again. Unfortunately I can’t justify the cost of transporting it cross country at the moment (meaning I don’t have that much cash available right now).

pip bip - choose Corrour > Pixel 10/07/2015 at 05:39

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parts will be a piece of piss...NOT!

otherwise easy to do.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > ranwhenparked 10/07/2015 at 10:12

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That’s the kind of impression I got when reading about them - it’s a shame an American company can’t revive the name and have a true American luxury car. Lincoln and Cadillac I consider to be “premium” rather than “luxury” - Rolls Royce and Bentley are luxury.

That said, I wonder if there will ever be a revival, even if it's under non-American ownership (like RR being BMW, Bentley being part of VAG).

ranwhenparked > gin-san - shitpost specialist 10/07/2015 at 10:47

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There was a company in the 90s that secured the trademark and built a prototype of a new Packard Twelve. It was a Mulsanne-sized car with an ugly front end, but a bespoke aluminum V12 and a custom space frame chassis. They tried to drum up investors for about 10 years or so, but the project never got off the ground.