Re: Kanter's 1952 Packard Limo Restoration

Posted by Rusty O\'Toole On 2016/8/1 21:08:54

This thread reminds me of a discussion I saw years ago in an old car publication.

An old time custom car designer was interviewed about the custom body business in the twenties and thirties.

He said many of the bodies were made in batches of 50 or 100 and warehoused until needed. Then they were painted, trimmed, and installed on chassis. This was only done when a firm order was received.

Most of these cars were ordered by dealers for stock, and sold off the showroom floor.

A few were ordered by the customer and painted and trimmed to their specifications.

Only 1 or 2 orders out of every 100 were special order, or 'custom built' in the sense we think of today. But all these bodies were built to the same standards by the same workmen using the same materials and all were considered 'custom bodies'.

I should think all the vehicles made by Henney would be considered custom jobs.