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Absolutely beautiful car. Can't wait to see pics of yours. Good luck in getting her running!

Hello John, I wrote and submitted this before I read your interaction thread on growing up with PACKARD and have edited it accordingly. Congratulations on starting to revive such a rare car in OZ. I have a 35 Super limo and have been involved with OZ Packards for over 50 years. You have been given some great advice. Pick of them is to drop the sump and clean the screen as you will find over half an inch of sludge in the sump. For some unknown reason , it is rare to find the data plate of Australian delivered Packards stamped. My 35 Super is a well known car in SA but the data plate is not stamped. I would suggest that your 35 is from Detroit not Canada. The RHD Senior vehicles from around 6th to 16th Series still have the actual operation of the clutch and brake same as Left hand Drive but use rods and linkages to operate from the RHS. The steering is of course from a RHD steering box and has an entirely different steering crank and linkage and front suspension set-up. The exhaust manifold is also different from RHD to LHD.

Best regards, Peter Toet

John, I'm looking forward to some more pictures of yours. You don't have the side mounts which makes the car look sleeker. Down side is that you won't have a luggage rack I think.

Yes Peter, our plate is definitely from Detroit, and is unstamped as you predicted.

I'd love to understand its place in Packard history a bit better... 117 estimated in total according to Owen... some Canadian, some American; most LHD, this one RHD. I wonder; how did it end up sold new in Melbourne all by itself? Why don't there seem to be other coupes? Was your Su8 imported and sold by the same vendor? Curious...

Peter, your name sounds familiar from when my dad and I were members of PACA and PI for a while in the 80s; great to reconnect! I sense that I might lean heavily on your expertise in months to come, if that's okay?

Sloride75, thank you. I have attached an old snapshot from the last year that it rolled out of the shed.

John

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If sold new in Melbourne it was almost certainly imported and sold by Kellow-Falkiner on Kilda Road, Packard's long-standing agent in Melbourne. Their facility still stands. I have some sales records from Kellow-Falkiner for 1934 Model 1100s, they delivered a lot of them, but no records for other models or other years.

View this link on The Packard Club forum.

packardclub.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2000

Packard also had agents in Perth (Faulls Limited), in Sydney (Ira L. & A. C. Berk Pty Ltd), and Adelaide (Sporting Cars Ltd.).

BDC, it looks embarrassingly rusty and neglected, sorry, like a barn find, although it was never lost. I don't have any really interesting pictures to share, sorry, but I'll trickle you a couple. I've got two pictures from the very last day the engine turned over. We drove it around our family property on my wedding day in 1993. You can see that it was running rough then.

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And this:

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Interesting to see that the rumble seat steps are on the left on a RHD car, but the fill opening stayed on the left.

Rumble steps on the left because kind engineers did not want you to trip and fall into passing road traffic. Plus, a curb would more often be on the left of a RHD car, minimizing the step up required.

Have you also noted the world-wide tendency that if a car has a single exhaust, it is usually on the opposite side as the fuel filler? Less chance of drips on a hot pipe. For people who drive rental cars, that little arrow on the fuel gauge that points to the side of the filler is a real bonus clue to an infrequent driver.

I don't remember when it stopped, but for many years door key locks were only placed on the curb side, presumably to lessen the risk of a person opening a door and exiting into traffic. Bicyclists have been more endangered since this practice stopped.

John,

Great wedding day photos of your wife and yourself with the Coupe.

"Peter, your name sounds familiar from when my dad and I were members of PACA and PI for a while in the 80s; great to reconnect! I sense that I might lean heavily on your expertise in months to come, if that's okay?"

Hope Peter "Packard" Toet doesn't mind my writing on his behalf. Peter is PACA's Technical Officer and your efforts to bring the Coupe back to life will be enabled by Peter as he's usually only be a phone call away.