Re: Advice from those in the know on 1949 Super 8 Coupe

Posted by packardsix1939 On 2022/6/30 11:23:14
Many years ago, I owned a 1949 (22nd series) Super 8 Club Sedan, Model Number 2275-9. This was a California black plate car (the old CA plate was still in the trunk) that had had a complete engine rebuild. In the early 1970's a former owner had driven it from California to Connecticut. He kept a journal of his trip that was included when I purchased the car from a subsequent owner. According to the journal, the car performed extremely well on the journey and hit some pretty impressive speeds on the interstate while delivering respectable gas mileage. I owned the car for a few years and can attest that it was a lively performer. The combination of the larger 327 CI engine in the shorter 120-inch wheelbase made it a true factory muscle car, a concept (big engine in a smaller, lighter body) that would go on to dominate the auto industry in the 1960's. I ended up selling it because the car just needed too much work to bring it up to the level I wanted. The interior was in especially poor condition. Below are some pictures I have of the car. The first photo was taken in front of the Connecticut State Capitol building in Hartford, CT at a car show in the early 1990's.

I see several things wrong with the car posted by HH56, some of which have been noted by previous posters, including the incorrect 24th-26th series tacked on front fender trim. It will be difficult to correct this as I assumed the person responsible had to drill several holes in the fender and door areas for the mounting clips. Ditto the Custom 8 trim on the rear panel, though I rather like the look of this addition. The engine, however, does not look correct. The air cleaner on the Super 8 models went horizontally across the top of the engine. The 1948 Super 8 Convertible Victoria I later owned had the same engine. We would need to know the engine serial number to verify, but I suspect that the engine might be a 288 instead of the 327. HH56 did not include any interior photos, but a correct 22nd Series Super 8 would have the wide pleated seats as seen in the interior photos of my car. The interior in my car, although badly worn, was totally original. The less expensive Standard 8 and Deluxe 8 models had much plainer interiors than the Supers.

Hope this helps. I'm also attaching photos of the 1948 Super 8 Convertible Victoria that I owned from 2001 to 2008. It was a beautiful Packard, but it had so many problems that I finally decided to let it go and did not own another Packard for a number of years. But this does bring back some happy memories.

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jpg  49Super8ClubSedan1.jpg (146.09 KB)
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jpg  49Super8ClubSedan2.jpg (232.50 KB)
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jpg  49Super8Conv.jpg (162.62 KB)
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