My service manual states tire size of 8.00x15. I don't know if that makes much of a difference from O-D's recommendation.

John,

Thanks for playing the Faygo jingle. That really took me back. Must be a Detroit thing. Let me know if you're ever playing in the Chicago area.

Dezi

Fran Roxas is a noted Chicago area restorer who has won many awards for his work with the classics (Packards, Dusenbergs, etc). I didn't know he had branched off into the customs. Is he the owner or the architect?

Hey John,

I caught the show on the way back from America's Packard Museum Winter Weekend. It was great to hear you in front of the home town crowd. I've been listening to PHC for 20+ years and now I can say I know one of the celebrities

BTW - It was great to see some of the Motor City Packards folks this weekend.

I think this question has been asked before but what would have happened if Packard had scaled down to produce exclusively for the upscale market? Perhaps 20,000 vehicles per year to an exclusive clientelle (ala Mercedes Benz or Rolls Royce/Bentley). Going after new money from Hollywood or Wall Street with flashy advertising, new V8 and maybe Italian designs from Ghia or Pinnafarina?

Dave,

I haven't had a chance but will look at the pictures in the PAC forum very soon. Is the article you wrote also posted there?

Thanks

A couple of observations. While Packard relied on the pre-war Clipper styling until 1948, Buick kept their same basic body design from 1942-48. Also, Buick had a straight eight (albeit with overhead valves)until 1954. I don't think the Dynaflow auto trans came out until '49.

Lincoln styling was pretty much the same from 1940-48. It being powered by the anemic V12 they had since the 30's.

Packard's coffers should have been pretty full after the war from lucrative government contracts. They had $33 million in cash in 1945. What did they do with that money from a development standpoint? What about marketing? According to the Kimes book they spent a lot of money winding down war production, reconverting East Grand Blvd and resurfacing the test track. George Christopher also scaled up for 200,000 unit production but 1946 production was only 42,102. Material shortages and labor unrest surely had a lot to do with this but the result was the company posted an operating loss in '46 and '47. Still there should have been some cash left over.

It seems to me senior management really didn't know who their customer was. The old monied "400" of years past were gone. The company needed to create some sizzle with marketing and advertising to the middle and upper middle class. While the 22nd and 23rd series design was controversial, it won awards and earned the company $15 million in 1948. I think they could have used this momentum to create some real excitement over new innovations (V8, automatic transmission, leading edge design)for 1951. However the marketing and styling for 1951 are a bit underwhelming IMHO.

Bottomline - I think they were trying to be all things to all people and did not focus on a target market. Consequently pleasing no one.

Attached (hopefully) are photos of the hot air heater register in the rear passenger compartment. Also an attachment to the firewall in the engine comaprtment. All I have as the car is 30 minutes away and my camera batteries died.

O-D, are you familiar with this? I looked and could not find any markings or writing on the pieces. I don't know if this is similar to Bill Wurts set up on his 39 Super 8.

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Sorry, meant hot air heater. The attached list indicates price was $37.50.

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The double hot air cleaner was also offered as extra equipment for the 1937 120 closed cars. I have an opening in the rear compartment for the heater register on one of my cars. The rest of the set up is in pieces but it may be worhtwhile trying to salvage. O-D, would this have been a Kelch unit also?