Re: Packard Mortality Statistic

Posted by drofmotors On 2021/12/20 15:29:17

Unfortunately, it seems that maybe a lack of desire to spend the time and $$ to get it original. It is hard to find original even from the Big Three from the sixties.

But even among mostly stock Packards, I find it hard to find a commitment to originality even among the high $$$ cars (to me, under $100k) . Or at the big old car dealers.I’ve been looking for 1940-1942 120-160 coupe/ convertible . The following is just a sample of cars meeting my search criteria.

Cheats most often come in non- original interiors, colors and , accessories .For example, vinyl interiors, or non-original materials/patterns, paint colors like Viper Red (currently at dealer), or fabricated fender skirts (at dealer also), or 15” wire wheels,etc. So it’s not just the big stuff like engines and transmissions, it’s multiple other derivations from stock.

I look at my Packards as not just fine cars, but representations of the time in which they were built. I shouldn’t have to pay $ 100k to find a car with attention to originality. And I’m not a no modifications either as I like to drive my cars. So modifications for reliability, like electronic ignition or bias look radial tires to enhance handling are perfectly acceptable to me as long as they can be hidden and reversed.

So to conclude my vent, the demise of nice Packards, especially junior series, is not just due to sloppiness of builders but through buyer acceptance of it either through ignorance or lowered expectations.