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

Hyman. Ltd has a 1930 734 Boattail for sale which, according to the description, was delivered to Mrs. Sealey on 7/7/30 in Portland, OR.
I've asked Hyman's and the Lyon Museum, which owned the car previously, for any info more about Mrs. Sealey. The Hyman description include VIN info, too.
hymanltd.com/vehicles/6033-1930-packard-734-speedster/

But I'm wondering if anyone has build order records for custom cars like this 734 to see if it was ordered at announcement time, like Aug 1929 before the Crash, but took a year to build. Or if, by spring of 1930, the person who ordered it cancelled the order and the car was offered at a bargain price.

I've seen articles stating that wealthy people, if they managed to preserve their wealth after the Crash, were not inclined to drive around in flashy, expensive cars even though they could afford them. The 734 Speedster would certainly have been in that category. Even more so in Portland.

I'm planning to visit the Oregon Historical Society archives today to do some research on Mrs. Sealey, who must have been quite a woman with a car like this.

I don't have much information on this one. In 1958 it was owned by Mr. Julian Eccles of Klamath Falls, OR. Also noted that there were 12 other owners between 1939 and 1958.

Interesting, Dave, if you're going by the VIN.

I rode in Julian's car in 1975. He told me he loaned his speedster to Harrah's so they could cast parts from it, like manifold, head. In exchange they painted his car for him.

So I don't think this one for sale, once owned by Harrahs before being purchased by Gen Lyon, is the same as the one owned by Julian, unless Harrahs bought his after they borrowed it, but that would have been after 1975. Or their provenance isn't accurate.

Does anyone have PMC records of custom orders? Any other research suggestions on 734s or Packard-buit custom orders?

I was going by body number (442-26).

Thinking WEST PETERSON is who could answer all ur questions. Believe his father Don has had his 734 longer than West is old.

I believe the longest current owner of record of a 734 may be Fred Kanter who bought his (452-6) in 1972.

Ive often wondered the story about this 734 Runabout of Mrs. Sealey from Portland, Oregon. From what i remember the car is a rebody copied from Julian Eccles 734. If the car was in that poor of a state when it hit HARRAHs how did they trace it back to this Mrs Sealey? Grapevine there is a HARRAHs file of the car.

Examining the 1929 and 1930 Portland city directories, we found a Marie M Sealy (different from Sealey) living in Portland Heights (the primary neighborhood where wealthy families live), wife of Neagle P. Sealy, who owned a brokerage. The car may have been purchased in Mrs. Sealy's name for tax reasons. The Service and Sales Inc Packard dealership was located at 645 Washington St, Portland.

Part of this puzzle is that the car was delivered on July 7, 1930. How long after receiving an order, did it take Packard to build a 734 Speedster Runabout? Could you expect your car in a month or 2 or 6?

And why would someone order a car as conspicuous as this after the Crash, especially if one owned a brokerage?

Could the car have been ordered closer to announcement, typically in August, in 1929. Then the crash hit on Oct 24, 1929. Did an order require payment in advance?

Or perhaps the order for the car was cancelled because of the Crash by someone other than Sealy and Packard held it in inventory unable to sell it. Then, a month before the 1931models would be coming out, the price was greatly reduced and Sealy bought it.

So much conjecture. Yes, the Harrah archives have correspondence between the service manager and Julian Eccles. Julian told me his car was used by Harrah to cast some engine parts for a 734 they were restoring.

From a HYMAN site of a few yrs back

"At some point during the 1960's or early 1970's, the Boattail body was built by the renowned Richard Kingston of California Metal Shaping, using an original 734 Speedster Runabout as a guide."

hymanltd.com/vehicles/5895-1930-packard-734-speedster-runabout/

Have to wonder if this Mrs Sealey-y is one of those
HE SAID - SHE SAID
Love someone to put me straight.

Might this be the 734 owned by duBois-Reymond of Z?rich Switzerland during the 90's? If so I believe sometime prior to that it was located in South America (Argentina?).