Re: Newbie Questions. 1937 120

Posted by su8overdrive On 2012/4/6 23:55:59

Chad, excellent advice above from all, and i second the Wizard's above invitation to list your lovely "new" car on the Owners' Registry. It took the Depression irritated oyster of Packard's nonpareil engineering and quality, and some GM production men, to produce the pearl, the cognac that was and is the One Twenty, arguably the finest prewar road car from either side of the Atlantic.

As mentioned, the British hp tax encouraged small bore, long stroke engines, just as well given most Britain's roads in those days before the M5, hence the One Twenty's "33.8 hp" overseas rating. One Twenties were popular in England, because of their more rational size, economy, roadability.

Many owners of '30s senior Packards, Twelves, Super Eights, prefer to drive their One Twenties.

The model designation refers to the 1935-37 models' 120-inch wheelbase. Horsepower for the debut year was 110 hp, that year's engine displacing 257-ci, same bore/stroke as the concurrent Oldsmobile, which was used in the 1934-36 LaSalle, which the One Twenty handily outsold, as well as Lincoln's new Zephyr, introduced '36, and all others in its price class. For 1936, the engine was stroked to 282-ci, in which size it ran through the final 1947 junior Clippers.

Each year, the Packard One Twenty or its later Clipper counterpart was rated Best Buy in its price class by Consumers Reports.

Since you live in warm Santa Clarita, my only suggestion after following the above gentlemen's' advisos would be to use nothing, nothing but soft water---never distilled, which is ion-hungry and leaches minerals from your cooling system, the last thing you want--- and a quality rust and corrosion inhibitor. At the risk of boosterism, i heartily recommend www.norosion.com since i and my circle, which includes troublesome Cords, have used nothing but since the mid-'90s. It's also economical as it protects for five years, though you can check your coolant anytime with litmus paper.

Owned a '40 One-Twenty many years. They're husky, dependable, wonderfully engineered, smooth cars, "climb hills like a goat," as the late Bob Turnquist told me not long after i bought mine back in 1974. Your '37 has a more traditionally bespoke look than the later 120s, and being on the shorter 120-inch wb, which Packard brought back for the 1942-47 junior Clippers, is more nimble, as good in town as country. If you want your chest to swell even more, just park next to a 1946-on Silver Dawn or R-Type on the same 120-inch wheelbase and see which is snappier as well as more elegant.

Nice going. Keep 'em flying, and please post it on the Owners' Registry.