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

Just for fun, who has stories or pictures of what some of the celebs did to their early Packards? We already know the story of Cooper's Deusy racing Harpo's Mercedes, there was a couple special built 29 "speedster" type cars, but there had to be more. Rightfully so, we tend to focus on what was offered as standard models and coachwork. I'm not a minority in thinking Packard had few equals in engineering and quality and they catered to a discriminating clientele. Still, sometimes what the OEM offered wasn't enough. So, who's got what in stories and pics of some early Packard "Hollywood Hotrods"? This could be fun. I have a 29 640 with a 740 body fitted and it was delivered in San Bernadino. Could be an awesome start and I just can't shed myself of the idea. Thanks in advance and le's have some fun!

Highlander, once we drove across Hollywood.

In Portland,OR we have a 34 Packard super 8 supposedly been owned by Clark Garble. No documentation just word of mouth.

Locally, a late dentist and Packard guy owned a '27 closed car that he clamed was owned by a Hollywood madame...again no documentation, just word of mouth. How can you prove something like that?

It seems the topic's getting off track a bit. I/we know several Hollywood stars and moguls had Packards. That's not the issue. I'm interested in modified Packards, cars that may not necessarily have been coachbuilt but worked over in minor ways to express their individuality or to boost performance. I have a vision of a late 20s to early 30s roadster with twin rear spares and no running boards. I'm thinking that with the advent of the Jesse Vincent speedster project and the subsequent 626 and 734 hot rods that perhaps some individuals wanted theirs "hopped up" or customized vs buying new. We've seen a few bad attempts from the postwar era, how about some that worked. Also, maybe it doesn't have to be a Packard. It's more a sense of style I'm looking for. Every time I walk out to my garag I want to start tearing into the roadster to do just that. The finished vision is a concours type car vs a marque-specific "judged" example. Taking one to OEM spec is easy. Taking one to a period custom from the early 30s, well that sounds like fun to me. Thanks again. I'm figuring this might take a while to sort out. I got time...

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Interesting. Tom Moretti (died a few weeks ago) from Chicago area claimed that his car (Twelve) was Gable's. Is there documentation on the car from Oregon?