Re: Work on the 1953 Derham Formal

Posted by 58L8134 On 2017/6/16 10:38:16

Hi Stephen

Here I go relying on long-term memory: It might have been on our 1966 trip to the Canadian National Exhibition at Toronto. My father typically drove Rt. 78 when going to Buffalo as he had for a local feed mill after the war. When we passed through East Aurora, I noted that Kelver Motors was still selling Studebakers, had a new 1966 in the showroom although it was August, months after the announcement of the end of production in March.

After turning on Transit, I spotted your car at one of the many small repair garages along it maybe a mile or so up that road. I don't think it was as far north as Holiday (or was it Tunmore) Oldsmobile. That stretch is so changed and built-up now, it's impossible to be sure where the garage was.

Seeing the image in my mind's eye, it was parked off to the right of the garage doors, nose in so the padded top was immediately visible, no other cars were parked close enough to obscure the view. I knew that Derham customized 1950's luxury cars in that manner from those advertised in popular car magazines. Receipt of my copy of the Turnquist book would shortly confirm what I saw. My instant impression was the upper surfaces were still clean, the paint held a shine but the lower areas showed deterioration from the rigors of heavy road salt application typical during Niagara frontier winters. It still looked far better than what few postwar Packards I was encountering by the mid-late 1960's which were pretty rough and ratty.

At least it didn't live out its days as one dull dark green 200 did: the feed mill mentioned above was an active place in those years, farmers bought cheap old used large sedans to use as pickups. Preferred cars seemed to been 1949-'54 Mopars but one fellow had that 200, which with trunk lid up and the rear seat out, was loaded down and packed full with 50 lbs sacks of feed as much as it would take. It was squatted right down but still ran smooth and quiet, albeit with a wisp of blue oil smoke after every shift ("used oil is good enough for her" old farmer mantra). That tough old 200 lasted four or five years, looking more tired and rough each time I saw it. So, Ross isn't the first practical fellow to see the utility in Packard 200's!

Steve