Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Of the two Hyman runabouts:

a) Orange/black Chassis 184006/Engine 184009 replicated body built in early 1960s after purchase by Harrah's, $595K

b) Red/black Chassis 184088, Engine 184095 Body 442-26 $1,800K

"b" was the one owned by a Mrs. Sealey-y of Portland, the person I'm trying to identify. If only 113 734s in various body styles were built, the ID numbers on "b" suggest it was built toward the end of the model year, which coincides with delivery in July 1930.

So my questions remain..How many months between order and delivery of a Packard custom shop car? What did sales look like for very expensive, custom built models after the Crash of Oct '29?

My next step is to search the Oregonian newspaper files. I've been told that purchases of expensive items were mentioned in the paper at that time.

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Unless your mailing addressed happened to be in the Hamptons or Beverly Hills, there was definitely a down side to driving around in extremely expensive, flashy cars in the Great Depression. Not only were the driving conditions of most of America's highways not in the best of shape, but when people are reduced to living hand to mouth, seeing people in high-end cars was a little like rubbing salt into the wound.

My mother told me that in the small Mississippi town where she was born, she remembered men in shabby clothes coming up to the back door of her house asking for any kind of work. She said her mother would tell them there wasn't any work, but would always send them on their way with a sandwich and something to drink.

At that time, my grandfather had a good business and would probably have had no problem affording a Packard or Pierce-Arrow, but he chose to drive a Ford sedan instead.

Anytime people are faced with hard economic times, luxury car brands are the first to suffer. There is no shame in driving a modest car during those times instead of flaunting one's obvious wealth. This might account in part for Packard producing cars like the Light 8 and the 120 and 110 in the mid-1930s. A person could still drive a Packard and not be a snob about it.

For those of you who say the 110 and 120 brought down the stature of Packard, you might want to remember that there were a lot of empty factories and unemployment lines containing employees of companies like Pierce-Arrow, Marmon, Stutz, and Auburn/Cord/Duesenberg.

So HARRAH had (2) 734 Runabouts?

RED & BLACK
"Chassis number 184088, this fabulous machine was delivered new to a Mrs. Sealey from Portland, Oregon. The firewall data plate confirms this information with a stated delivery date of 7-7-30 by Service & Sales, Inc. Portland, Oregon. It isn't known how long Mrs. Sealey retained her Packard, but it was acquired by William F. Harrah in 1960, and it became part of his famous, world-class collection of motor cars. Mr. Harrah retained this Packard for twenty-six years"

http://www.classicandperformancecar.com/packard/734/1930-packard-734-speedster-in-united-states/336235/ad

ORANGE & BROWN
"Our featured example, chassis number 184006, has enjoyed a - In the 1962, this car joined the renowned William F. Harrah collection in Reno, Nevada."

http://www.classicandperformancecar.com/packard/734/1930-packard-734-speedster-runabout-in-united-states/317536/ad

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184088 Data Plate with the ORANGE
https://rmsothebys-cache.azureedge.net/3/8/0/4/6/0/380460d394e9492fb62fa529e43344045309307c.jpg

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(1) ENGINE #
(1) CHASSIS #
Same car ?

Something seems amiss. How can the orange car's data plate be the ID for the black and red?

There is another 734 runabout from Oregon. I've written William "Bill" Hellie of the NW Vintage Car & Motorcycle Museum in Brooks, Oregon, about records on the 1930 Speedster Runabout he sold to Julian Eccles of Klamath Falls. Julian's car was considered the all original gold standard and may be the car with chassis in the photo possibly used as a pattern for the orange car's replicated body.

The black & orange speedster is not an original. According to the Hyman ad it is believed it left the factory with a Victoria body, and was rebodied later on to a speedster. While part of the Harrah collection the boattail got redone using another 734 speedster as a guide.

What you say is clearly in line with the rest of this thread, but how does your comment explain why the black and red's data plate appears to be attached to the orange car's firewall?

At one point or another in their ownership histories, Harrah's had their hands on at least 5 speedsters. By their motor numbers they were 184009, 184024, 184058, 184095 and 184118. Apparently a fair amount of assembling from parts and rebodying went on at Harrahs.

Maybe HARRAHs had a
-Title and Data Plate with
Chassis 184088, Engine 184095,
-Piece of a Body or number listed on Title
442-26
AND maybe this Title had Mrs Sealey as owner.

MAYBE !!!!!!!!!!!!

and the car got built with
-Chassis 184006 Engine 184009
-New Body wearing 442-26

MAYBE !!!!!!!!!!!

Quote:

No. That car is currently in the Dayton Packard museum.

Quote:

Bruce Grinager has owned his Speedster phaeton since 1960, my father has owned his since 1974. I was 14.