Re: Packard-built Custom Car Records

Posted by Joe Santana On 2018/1/15 16:20:31

Examining the 1929 and 1930 Portland city directories, we found a Marie M Sealy (different from Sealey) living in Portland Heights (the primary neighborhood where wealthy families live), wife of Neagle P. Sealy, who owned a brokerage. The car may have been purchased in Mrs. Sealy's name for tax reasons. The Service and Sales Inc Packard dealership was located at 645 Washington St, Portland.

Part of this puzzle is that the car was delivered on July 7, 1930. How long after receiving an order, did it take Packard to build a 734 Speedster Runabout? Could you expect your car in a month or 2 or 6?

And why would someone order a car as conspicuous as this after the Crash, especially if one owned a brokerage?

Could the car have been ordered closer to announcement, typically in August, in 1929. Then the crash hit on Oct 24, 1929. Did an order require payment in advance?

Or perhaps the order for the car was cancelled because of the Crash by someone other than Sealy and Packard held it in inventory unable to sell it. Then, a month before the 1931models would be coming out, the price was greatly reduced and Sealy bought it.

So much conjecture. Yes, the Harrah archives have correspondence between the service manager and Julian Eccles. Julian told me his car was used by Harrah to cast some engine parts for a 734 they were restoring.