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

flackmaster, et al --- I found the photos of the air conditioned 1941 Clipper. Go to the Salado Meet photos. The two photos are 0146 and 0183. In the close-up you can see the rear package shelf outlet for the system. Pretty car too.

The same person who owns the 1941 Clipper with a/c also owns the 1942. I talked with him yesterday, and found out that the 1942 is not the 120 Clipper that we owned for several years.
That would make three known 1942 120 Clippers that were factory-equipped with a/c.

The whereabouts of the Packard that we owned is still unknown. It is not listed in any Packard directory. I suppose it's possible that it was parted out just for the a/c, which would have been a crime as it was a very solid and original 38,000-mile car.

If anyone knows where this car might be today, I sure would like to know. Its original color was dark blue, and we sold it to a man in Ohio in 1988.
Interestingly, the "Air Conditioned" plate on this car was actually ON the hood as opposed to the fender as mentioned on another car above. That is not unusual, as there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for where those plates were located on all a/c equipped cars. Some of them were located on the side-mount cover (Senior Cars), some were on the panel between the fender and hood (Senior cars) some were vertical part of the fender (junior cars) and like this one, on the hood itself. Also, some a/c cars did not get the plates at all

West, memory is a bit fuzzy here but I also have seen the AC script on both the sidemount cover and hood side cover on 1941 models, but I don't think I've seen it at all on the 1940 models.

Sorry we didn't get a chance to meet in Hershey.

If my memory serves me right, I have seen one 1940 Packard with a/c with the "air conditioned" trim. I believe it was on the side-mount cover, but I'd really be stretching my memory as far as the exact location.That would have been about 25 years ago. The car was owned by Jim Kaufman in Atlanta.

flackmaster, I don't know why you'd think it would be unusual for a '41 Clipper to be equipped with factory a/c since it was priced BETWEEN the 120 and the 160.......

The cost of the '41 Clipper was priced slightly more than the 120; $1,291 for the 120 vs $1,420 for the Clipper, a difference of $119. However, the Clipper was priced $589 below the 160 at $2,009.
A/C was unusual for the model 120s AND Clippers.

If there was any doubt that a couple of extant examples constituted proof of A/C availability in the 110 model at least in 1941, the enclosed advertisement would seem to clinch the matter. From Time Magazine.

Attach file:

---

  (151.82 KB)

This is a 1941 120 with a/c. Note the compressor is incorrect. The reason i post it is because of the trim tag, and where it is located.
I do not know if this car was factory done, or installed during restoration.

Attach file:

---

  (50.29 KB)

My father had a 1941 model Packard one ten (six cylinders)which had a factory fitted air conditioner .The car had inscriptions as 'AIR CONDITIONED' by the side of the bonnet .I heard this was the first air conditioned model in the world .It did not have a power steering , yet the steering was very smooth and I as a 10 year old boy could drive this car very easily

Thanks for joining in, and we would all love to hear some more about father's car. Welcome. Did he have the car in India? Yes, those cars did steer beautifully.