Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Hi all,

Been here off and on for a while and have been considering buying a Packard for quite some time. I just came across one near me that looks decent, but need some opinion/advice from those experienced with these cars...I'm rather inexperienced when it comes to this.

The car in question is a 1941 110 Deluxe Touring Sedan. It appears that the car may be in original condition, but I'm not sure if there's any way to prove/disprove that (is there???). The paint is presentable with the expected chips and wear. Rubber appears in good condition on running boards and weather stripping. Windows are in good condition apart from some crazing around the edges of the rear side windows.


Interior seems to be decent condition considering the age. Wear on the carpet and a bit faded inside, but no tears or serious damage.






No way of knowing if the mileage is correct. The gentleman bought it about 10 years ago from a man in Vancouver, who in turn had purchased it from the original owner in Cincinnati.


Car runs and drives, though seems a little rough right now (hasn't been used much). There is an obvious exhaust manifold leak, and another hole at the tailpipe. Needs a tune up I'm assuming as well.

Also noticed some wetness around engine block and transmission (bad pictures, sorry):






So now for some advice:
1.) How difficult is it to repair/find replacements for the manifold? Expense?
2.) What might the leaks be caused by on the engine block and trans? Hoping to avoid any major work here.
3.) Is there a way to tell if the car is original or has been restored? If it is indeed original then I would leave it in that condition. If not, then I would consider restoring certain areas (engine block and bay for example).
4.) What can I expect as far as issues common to this year/model? If I pick this car up I want to go in fully aware of what I might have to face.
5.) The gentleman is asking upwards of 13K for the car. Fair price for what you see? I'm considering offering lower with knowledge that I will need to put in some work.

Thanks for any advice you can give me!

-Kevin

1 Ease to find.

2 Sm. leaks are no big deal.

3 Hard to tell.

4 Trans will sometimes lock up when you sift but you will learn to live with it and sift more carefully.

5 Go for it.

G.

Nice and concise, thanks for the info saltydog. I'll check around and see about a replacement manifold.

-Kevin

Or go to the PAC Website via this link

Click on "Packard Classifieds"

Click on "View Ads"

Click on "Packard Vehicles for Sale"

Currently about 4 entries down is a '41 120 Sedan with sidemounts for $8800.

Worth a look?

Most likely it does not need a manifold: just have the old one machined flat and install with new gaskets. The interior is certainly original. You can check for repaint by looking very carefully at edges of chrome and weatherstripping. The engine leaks appear trivial. Oil is cheap, and so is a sheet of cardboard to shove under the car.

Mal - Yes, I had seen that car. Looks like a nice project, decent price too. The only hesitations I have with that car are the amount of work it would take to restore (paint, chrome, etc) and that I would have to pay to ship it. Really nice base car though....now you have me considering. There is a nice '38 110 on there too for the right price....

Ross - Good to know about the manifold. If I end up getting this car then I'll look into having it machined first.

-Kevin

Quote:

Kevin (kevinpackard), the interior is looking marvelous and I like the color of this green steering wheel. But with a propability bordering on certainty this isn't the original condition of a car, that is 75 years old. The interior seems to be restored years ago. Take for example all of the plastic parts (ashtray, waterfall grille, speedoframe, knobs and especially the steering wheel. All of them would show cracks and shrinkage. The softener (plasticizer) of the plastics escapes as a gas as soon as the light of the sun touches the surfaces. Over the decades the lid of the ashtray would be warped and twisted, the knops shriveled and the steering wheel would show many cracks.

Just as with Gusha, my first thought was the dash plastic was in REMARKABLY GOOD shape for a 75 year old car. I would have to have a much better photo to say they were NOT original. Even if all the plastic is not original, then they were replaced with the correct color and with much better material.

If Yesterday's Radio was still around, then he would charge $1,605 for a complete dash set, all knobs and the vent handle.

I do have a couple of other items. The car has the optional "Multi-Tone" interior, thus the correctly painted instrument panel instead of a Cuban mahogany woodgrain. I see too many "restorers" painting the instrument panel in non-Multi-Tone cars instead of going through the cost of woodgraining.

The 1941 Data Book (found here on this site) mentions on page 35 that Deluxe 110s should have a chrome frame for the windshield and rear window.

Normally the steering wheel column and emergency brake were painted a dark tan color - in this car they are painted the same color as the instrument panel. Maybe that is the way it is supposed to be for Multi-Tone Cars. I could not verify that reading the Data Book. Others may know.

Guscha - I noticed while looking through the interior that the door lock knobs (the knobs on the top of doors) were in really rough shape compared to the rest of the plastic. A couple of them were so vulcanized that they looked as if they had been set on fire. One of them was missing all of the plastic. So it would appear that the dash plastic has possibly been replaced at some point since none of it appears to be as affected as the door lock knobs. The steering wheel has a leather wrap on it, so no idea what the plastic is like underneath....but I can assume it is cracked.

Roger - thanks, that is all valuable information. I'm going to find and download '41 data book right now and have a good read through it. I had no idea about the "multi-tone" option. I was wondering why there was no woodgraining in there, and now I know.

When you say the windshield and rear window are supposed to have chrome surrounds, are you referring to the interior or exterior?

Also, I'll see if I can post some blown up portions of the above pictures.


-Kevin

See also the 1941 Dealer Information booklet that can be found on this site.
It shows colored steering wheels as an option for the 110 Deluxe models. Lots of other good information as well.