Re: Lets Start Planning for Warren

Posted by BH On 2008/7/20 9:03:22

Mr. Pushbutton -

Although the skies were overcast when I got up, making me wonder if rain was imminent, the gods favored us for the day. By the time I got to Warren, it had become a mix of clouds and sun, which helped keep temps down and a gentle breeze up for most of the day. It was pretty darned hot and humid by 2PM, though. Rain only came later that evening, and it poured here, back in PA.

Since none of my Packards are roadworthy at present, I brought the next best thing - my dad, a former Packard dealership mechanic. Randy Berger found a nice place in the shade to park and provided refreshments, and several other P'Info members showed up throughout the day.

Of course, John Shireman (Packard53) and his grandson were there, and Donny sure knows his cars. While he's clearly at that age where fast cars and women have caught his attention (Donny, that is), I bet he'll end up with a fine Packard someday. Then, packard0820 from VA, stopped by to say "Hi", and acolds from Pittsburgh sat with us for a good while.

34PackardRoadsta made it "on the way home" from MN with his recently restored 1934 Super Eight Coupe Roadster. Of course, his car won the long distance award, but it also won the Ted Hirt award. I'll leave it up to Tom to tell you more about that when he's ready.

BTW, Randy's '56 Four Hundred won Honorable Mention in a 1951-1958 category - second only to a nicely restored '54 Caribbean.

While attendance was down, I chalk that up more to the price of fuel as any perceived threat of rain, but there was no shortage of interesting vehicles to see.

Yet, as a fan of concept cars, my personal favorite was not a production Packard or even a complete car. Dennis Heitzenrater, of Punxsutawney, PA brought a rolling chassis - a recreation of the all-new chassis that Detroit engineers had been working on for 1957. Dennis is the fella who recreated "Black Bess" several years ago, and his goal is to build a complete 1957 Four Hundred. Dennis is not yet a member of P'Info, but I gave him a biz card with the URL and invited him to tell us more here.

All in all, it was another great meet, and I'm sure other attendees will chime in on this.