Re: Peter Wherrett's 1956 Packard Review

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2010/2/2 12:29:26

Think they were perhaps done by Kellow-Falkiner in Melbourne, similar to how the UK conversions were done by Leonard Williams? I don't know how long the relationship existed between Packard and Kellow-Falkiner, all my info on them is from the mid-30s - is that known to you?

The only other non-US plant that assembled (from KD kits) Packards that I'm aware of (other than Packard-Canada until 1939, which was really an assembly plant) was D'Ieteren Freres of Belgium, a company still very much in the automotive business, and from what little I've read they did only a handful, and all LHD. They had a very, very longstanding relationship with Studebaker assembling from KD kits for the lowlands market, and also assembled VWs in Belgium. They were in the 20s and 30s a very high-end coachbuilder noted for work on Minerva. I assume you can Google them and find their current involvement in the auto industry.

If that car can be seen, I'm still curious how they handled the defroster without the conventional heater.