Jim: Thanks for getting back on this matter so fast. I took the information you people had printed on the display sign and looked at as a person who might be interested in Packards and might do some research.

If that average person does some research on the history of Packard and research on the information given about the Packard that was on display, that person can come away very confused, about what is actually the truth. The sign is full of errors right from the beginig to the end, that its not even funny. Let me just skip over the errors in the sign on Packard history.

So the average persons takes the information that you give on the car based on the horse power and the statement that the cars has a long wheel base. Go to his reference book sees the all the 120 models for 1936 are rated at 120 hp with a wheel base of 120 inches. Go to the next section of his reference book sees a listing of 130 horse power engine for the senior model straight eight and sees bigger wheel bases for those models longer than 120 inches. Looks at the body styles under the senior line for 1936 and see convertible sedan all the door are hinged on the B pillar and the bumpers look different, from the model he has seen on display at Harrisburg. Then the fellow figures some body has made a mistake. So he takes the information given him and goes to the 1937 models and see no convertible sedan listed under the 120 model line for 1937. Goes to the senior model line and sees listing for an engine of 130 horsepower and sees a listing for convertible sedan, and see a picture of the car notes that the front doors are hinged on the A pillar and the back doors are hinged on the B pillar. Looks at the style of bumper on the senior models for 1937 and comes to the conclusion that this has to be a 1937 Packard Senior model.

So just for the heck of it I loudly took the position that it was a 1937 Senior Packard model, to get a responce from the AACA to point out the fact that when you print information that is incorrect like you did about the car and the history of the company, you are doing the general public a great dis-service.

The bottom line to all this is that make sure the information you print about a car or the history of the company that produced the car is correct. I just can't understand with all the fine research materials that the AACA library has, the fine museum that you are part of, that such errors could happen.


John Shireman

Hello Again to All Who Have Commented on the Museum's Packard:

A check of the Packard's VIN (as found on the manufacturer's tag on the firewall) revealed an identification number beginning with "997." This is in keeping with the car's current identification as a 1936 Convertible Sedan, Five-Passenger.

Again, I appreciate everyone's interest in our car. I hope you will take the time to visit the Museum next time you are in Hershey.

Jeff

Jeffrey Bliemeister, Curator
jbliemeister@aacamuseum.org

I will post my answer tonight when I have more time


John F. Shireman

Well one good thing about Packard was the fact the the door pillar tag and/or the firewall body plate usually makes it very clear what model, and series the car is. The engine number helps to verify that the engine is correct for that Model, Series also.

I often find people get screwed up because they look at the delivery date on the pillar tag. A car could have been delivered on Oct 15, 1937. But that car is really a 1938 for example. Some people just don't understand that, and I think that is where some of the confusion can set it for people.

Jeffery--I work in an automobile museum, and the one axiom we have about labels here is that "those who should read the labels won't(the general public), those that do are experts in one make,model and year, and they want to find all of your mistakes". No museum official wants to misrepresent objects on display. The best method is to aviod "catch-all" books like the "standard catalogue of American cars 19XX-19XX" (good books, but no book containing that much data can be 100% correct) and instead get all of your facts and figures from period sales brochures from that manufacturer for that make, model and year. Sales brochures are printed later than salesman's data books and tend to reflect last minute production changes. It also helps to have more than one person double check the text.

I am not familiar enough with the Packard 120 to be able to distinguish between 1936 and 1937 years based upon these two photos. The Convertible sedan was offered in 1936 and 1937. Perhaps John or someone will be able to explain what they are. I am familar enough with Packards of the era to recognize the car as being a 120 Model. The information sign states that the car is an eight cylinder so if it is indeed a 120 model it should have a 120HP engine not 130 HP as stated. I believe that the 130HP, 320 CI engine engine was exclusive to the Eight in 1936 and the Super Eight in 1937. It is very nice of Mr. Bliemeister to respond in such a timely manner.

Hello John and the others who have commented on the AACA Museum's Packard:

First, thanks for visiting the Harrisburg Auto Show and taking time to view our exhibition. Attracting positive attention for the Museum is the reason we were there! I hope you liked the other cars we had on display with the Packard.

As a museum professional I take my job seriously. I am a trained museum curator with a long history of employment in this field. If I am an "expert" on anything that is it. I am also a long-time antique automobile enthusiast and a member of the AACA.

You guys on this forum are here because of your specific knowledge and interest in Packards. At the Museum we are fortunate to have a large and diverse antique vehicle collection, all donated by folks like you. This collection grows every year. To write a meaningful 8 line label for each car is sometimes challenging. All of us here are basically generalists doing our best to get it right. We do not object when enthusiasts and visitors kindly point out our mistakes and oversights. If an error is documented, it is quickly corrected.

In the case of the Packard, there are obviously a couple of typing errors and an incorrect date. These have been corrected and a new label is in place for this vehicle. As for whether the car is a 1936 or 1937, I honestly don't know. All of our registration and donation information for this car lists it as a 1936. That is the information I inherited and no one has ever questioned its year until now. If it truly is a 1937, we will correct that as well.

To do this, I will need to know the distinguishing differences between the two years. Or, if someone who has commented on this lives close to us, I would welcome the opportunity to have them go over the car with me, pointing out the differences and possibly checking the VIN, if that will help in identification. I welcome the opportunity to increase my knowledge of Packards.

Again, thanks for your interest in the AACA Museum. I look forward to receiving your help with this matter.

Jeffrey Bliemeister, Curator
jbliemeister@aacamuseum.org

John,

I'll contact the Museum Director and point out their error. If you like you can contact them. Here is their contact information:

AACA Museum
161 Museum Drive
Hershey, PA 17033

Phone:717.566.7100
Fax:717.566.7300

e-mail:info@aacamuseum.org

Either way I'm sure they'll fix it if neccessary.

Thank you so much for pointing it out and being a gentleman about it.

Peter

Kevin: I know that the people at the display that day were
volunteers who certainly wouldn't have known. However I have been to AACA Museum a couple of times. I know that some of the people running the museum are paid employes, and the people from the museum probably transported the cars there to Harrisburg from Hershey and setup the display, being as the cars are part of the museums collections. There for the information printed on the signs also had to have been printed at the museum.

I know every body makes mistakes, but having said that, the paid people running the museum and incharge of setting up the display are just being plain sloppy in doing there jobs.

Its not the volunteers fault for the screw up, its the paided staff of the AACA that is the fault for this. If they are going to be paided to put fourth the history of this hobby, then they should pay attention to the fine details of things.


John F. Shireman