I've not heard that the Father Divine Duesenberg survived, but I suppose it could be hidden away in some garage in Philadelphia, Duesenbergs have a VERY high survival rate. Brings to mind Mr. Leno's recent "find" of a Duesenberg which some of you may have read about recently.

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Thanks, how do you do that? (that is, add the link to a thread into your response).

There was a recent, long, long thread on the topic of the Packard sixes which has all the information (and perhaps more than you want) on this, including the 6 cylinder export cars, taxis, use of the 245 six in Packard marine engines, the White COE truck, etc. Suggest you browse around to find it or perhaps someone will post a link to it, it's titled "last 6 cylinder".

I likewise have always liked the Reinhart 51-56 body shell and thought it quite competitive for a conservative style. Kevin makes a great point about how well the same concept succeeds on the Chrysler 300. I thought the 51/52 models a bit plain and frumpy, even the Patricians were frugal compared to the 23rd series Custom 8 and it was a major error that the convertibles and hardtops weren't a senior car, but by 1953 and 54 I thought the whole line was very attractive and nicely trimmed. One of my largest suprises years back was when I realized the 55/56 cars were reworks of the basic 51 shell, it was nothing short of an amazing transformation; though those cars were glitzy, colorful and chrome-laden, that's what the public wanted - just look at a 56 Hudson or DeSoto/Chrysler for comparison.

I like some of the bathtubs (owned 2), especially the Custom 8s and especially the victorias of that model, but overall the 22nd/23rd series were, while perhaps competitive with Nash and a few other bulbous designs, good sellers in the market but the passage of time hasn't treated them as well as it might have. Tough luck for Packard that WW II took away the excitement and momentum of the original Clipper design. Hindsight is always advantaged of course, but I would rather have seen the 42-47 Clipper style soldier on another year another or two, with a convertible added, and skipped the bathtub era altogether.

I'll let others more familiar with this car comment in detail, but let me just comment on the sharing of IFS with the 120. When the senior cars went to IFS in 1937, it was based on the design already in use on the junior models, but they really didn't share all the exact same components. Spring capacities, rates, shock absorber valving, brakes, wheels, etc. were different, and there may have been other differences as well but I'm not really familiar with them in detail though a quick glance through the parts book should show where differences existed.

Yeah Jack, I'm a bit suprised also that it doesn't have a FLAMMABLE and TOXIC shipping label, though the product label contains both warnings. I spent a lot of years doing health and safety labeling for hazardous chemicals, I'm not an expert on shipping classifications but I'm also suprised to find that loaded ammunition and gunpower just comes regular mail or UPS despite it's hazards. The bottle carries profuse and professionally written safety warnings, and the label states that it contains 14.8 grams of tetraethyl lead per quart. It also states that the mixture is "EPA Registered" though it's unclear to me just what that means. Directions for use indicate that 1 quart per 10 gallons of gasoline will raise the octane about 1 point, and 3 quarts per 20 gallons will raise 99.5 octane gasoline to 103. I don't think it's relevant whether that's "research" or "motor" method for this statement.

What I can say about it is about a quart every other tank fillup essentially quenches the preignition that I get on hard fast drives.

Photo isnt clear enough to be certain, but that MAY be a '51-52 upper shell.

I don't believe so, the upper corners of the windshield are square and they were rounded on the 51-52 models weren't they?

Ah, a wannabe Derham. Thanks Kev, when I ran across that picture in my file I couldn't remember where it came from or those details.

Here's a cousin, it not quite so nice condition. And another (1953) in very fine condition, this one with a divider window.

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Your temperature extremes in Milford CT are about the same as mine in NJ; I use my cars rarely in the winter and hence heater output is not too relevant and do occasional long, hot parades on July 4th so I've opted for the 160 degree and you may wish to do the same though engine efficiency will be a bit improved with the higher thermostat.

I forget what model 39 you have, does it also have a shutter-stat?