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

this thing makes me giggle in my pants. tmi i know....but still. drool!

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It's a tempting car. I agree the price seems to be very, very good (based on my extremely limited experience in the stratosphere of the Packard 12). The fear I would have would be the long-term care and feeding of the 12. Everything that engine requires for maintenance and repair is prohibitively expensive. I don't mind being a little upside down with my Packards but I wouldn't want a Packard that I couldn't enjoy because I couldn't afford to maintain it.

Keeping my 356 straight eights running is expensive enough, but at least I can still get a distributor cap for considerably less than $1,000.00.

I think the Packard 12's are, due to their rarity, for those with very deep pockets to maintain them.

I thought long and hard about it. Even called up and spoke with them and checked on airline flights. But in the end I have a nice 32 Coupe Roadster and two cars have never worked out for me. I always end up favoring one and using that one all the time. Aslo I have to park my daily driver outside in rainy Oregon.

I figured that to safely get that car on the road, you are looking close to 10K which includes transportation, rear bumper, new rubber, glass, sorting out all of the systems etc .

But it is tempting. If you tried to restore it to a high level, I think you be upside down fairly quickly with paint, chrome and interior work.

A friend tried to concince me, but now he's considering it.

Other things I learned.

There's a knob to left of the steering wheel that says free wheeling. When I said packard didn't have that in 37, they said the cable goes to the tranny.

Right rear door sags when opened so it may indicated wood issues.

Tehy have only had it up to about 30. hey have renewed the gas tank, installed new gas line and installed electric fuel pump to get it running. It came to them with the water drained from the block and radiator. Shutters appear to work.

I'm just glad that this thread is now on the right track after surviving a problem-loaded start-up phase.
Both, advertised car and advertising price are very interesting and tempting. I don't have x-ray eyes but if the drive train is free of hidden defects the offer would be fair enough (even a couple of naked entry-level models of today's carmakers are more expensive than this crown of prewar automobile manufacture).

Interesting that prices seem so low these days. Here is another 12 cylinder car, a one-of-a-kind 1937 Lincoln with a custom body and very attractive. The price on it is $23,500. I like the Lincoln coupe better than the Packard limousine.
http://forums.aaca.org/f169/what-model-willoughby-313728.html

you shut your mouth...blasphamy!!!!! lol!

I didn't go to the school of one brand. I like about everything with wheels, and Lincolns are very well-engineered automobiles. I've never liked the look of limousines, even though I own one, and this Lincoln coupe looks so good I'd pick it (condition for condition) over any number of Packard sedans and coupes.
Interestingly, if it were one year older, I'd hate the hell out of it.

I like the Lincoln coupe, but condition wise I think the Packard is definately ahead of the Lincoln and more usable immediately though the Lincoln has a more desireable body style. There's soem stuff missing on the Packack, but not much.

I was thinking of the Packard V12 as a car I could use in inclement weather for touring. Or as my friend said, if I ever was homeless I could live out of the car as it's big enough.

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The Lincoln is beautiful! I like almost anything with wheels as well...

I was excited by a 12-cylinder Packard with a price tag NOT in the six-figure range...and I'm partial to '37s.

Certainly a 12-cylinder coupe/convertible would be even BETTER...but I'd take a limo...

Comments regarding maintenance, upkeep, and making it road-ready make a lot of sense.