Re: Radiator Drain on a 1936 120?

Posted by Dave Brownell On 2015/5/25 20:31:20

It's a Dietrich Convertible Sedan. There's a series of correspondence with Ray Dietrich that confirms that it was probably a prototype, possibly a one-off, built to show Packard some possibilities for a production model that apparently never came about.

But from what I can see, it's a very mildly different car from a regular Convertible Sedan, including the two trunk/tire lids that were unique to 1936 120B cars. My friend's father bought it from the original family when the car was less than a year old in 1937 after it was involved with a family member and a traffic death. The Vehicle Plate says that it was delivered by Packard New York (57th and Bdway) on 5-28-36. Ray Dietrich's correspondence says Murray would often "pitch" a concept and if it did not get approved, Packard would often sell/dispose it through a Distributer. He did not personally recall this car (it does have the one Dietrich plate on the right side, under the hood body line) but assured the father "that all materials would have been of the finest available at the time".

My friend is currently in the throes of deciding what to do and what not to do with a survivor car that was his father's proudest possession for five or six years before his birth. Most of the paint and all of the leather is original but in need of restoration if that's his course. I am warning him that doing too much is a slippery slope, but for the time being, he's wanting to gauge his own opinion of having something like you might call a Barn Find. It's anything but.