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

See this link to an Old Motor article on the Packard Straight 12.

Interesting tread wear pattern. I assume the right front tire is bald due to high speed trials on the proving ground.

Thanks for sharing the link.

There have been any number of good articles on the "Monoblock 12" (or the "12-45" as it was titled in several Werner Gubitz style drawings) in The Packard Cormorant and also a brief description in the Kimes-edited book, pg. 306 in the 1st edition. The story goes that it was re-engined with a conventional 8th series engine and exported, most often cited is export to South America. Some years back there was a flurry of activity within the hobby that it has been located - I think it was Neal Donovan who was hot on the trail - which turned out to be cold. That photo of the engine had apparently not yet surfaced at the time of publication of the Kimes tome.

I bet it had some ridiculous torque.
I never heard of this prototype, what was the thought behind a straight 12? Can you imagine how that long hood looked from behind the wheel? 1 word descripes it all: impressive!

The monoblock 12 is a great story and I am glad the word is getting out about all of Packard's achievements.

For those of you who clicked onto the Old Motor article and read some of the reader's comments one fellow speculated that the photo was taken at the PPG. I do not believe that to be correct. So I added the following:

While we have an aircraft hanger at the Packard Proving Grounds, it is not the hanger in the photo. The subject hanger is much larger in width and height than ours and has stone work at the corner columns. The hanger at the PPG is an all steel-sided structure and much smaller in scale.

My opinion is that the photo was taken at Detroit City Airport - about 2 miles away from the Packard Plant on E. Grand Boulevard.

I have also looked at photos Packard Field at Gratiot Road and Frazho Road, but all of the hangers there are small and all steel buildings. Secondly, I looked at photos of the Grosse Ile (Isle) Airport (near where Warren Packard suffered his fatal accident) and ruled that our too. Finally, I reviewed the seaplane hanger at Windmill Pointe on the border of Detroit and Grosse Pointe Park, MI, but that building is very much smaller.

Hope this helps.