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

Hey all,

Thanks for letting me join!

I have not yet owned a Packard, but am here to ask the man who owns one.. I do own a number of classic cars of other types though and consider myself somewhat handy.

I have the opportunity to buy a 1941 Packard One-Ten Special four-door sedan. The car is a basket case, completely disassembled. It does appear to be all there, rust free, and most things including the interior are in good shape. The car was taken apart in 1992 by the original family owners for restoration and then stored in a garage. Clear title.

It seems these cars have mixed reviews and are not worth a fortune, so it would be easy to end upside down on it.. but I think they are beautiful cars nonetheless and would love to save this from the crusher. The disassembly was documented through two albums of photos.

I know it's cheaper to buy a restored one but that's not what I want. I'm looking for advice on fair price for a car like this and anything else you can offer.

Thanks in advance!

Kent.

The 1941 110s were good cars and nicely styled, being the first year for in-fender headlights and even the sedans had nice proportions. Remember that a 110 is not a Classic so if that's important to you, look for a 160 or 180 of any body style. That said, if you like the car and you're willing to put much time and effort into it that would probably exceed any foreseeable value, it seems a good car to save, especially if it's all there and intact.

Thanks for the feedback.

Should I go for it, my plan would be what I call sympathetic restoration and keep the car as original as possible. I would simply be cleaning and reassembling the car and making sure it is mechanically sound and safe.

I know it's nearly impossible to say without detailed photos, but does $1900 Canadian for the car I described sound like a fair price?

I'm afraid I know nothing about values as most of my Packards were acquired back in the day when they were a couple hundred each even for prewar cars. I know I'm dating myself but that said and without having seen it, the price seems fair. Perhaps if you posted some photos it would help.

G'day Kent(saiers),
to PackardInfo.

From your description, "The car is a basket case, completely disassembled. It does appear to be all there, rust free, and most things including the interior are in good shape." and the indicated cost, my view is that it appears to be a reasonable ask.

And, if you do purchase the '41 110, I invite you to include it in the Packard Owner's Registry.

Hi Saiers,

Welcome to Packard Info. $1900 (providing that is one thousand nine hundred) CDN $$'s ($1400 USD) is practically free. Heck, with it all disassembled, you could part it out on Ebay and make money at that rate!! Scroll through '41 Packard parts and accessories' on Ebay and see what fenders and some of the harder-to-find parts go for - one could spend $1400US in a big old hurry, I know; I HAVE!! LOL If you're interested in the car, I'd go for it. I think it's fair to say that fully assembled and all in working order, you could put another zero on that figure for value....

The price does not sound unreasonable and re-assembly with limited restoration would get you a nice driving car.
Overdrive is a plus on these cars for driving on modern highways.

Just to encourage you: buddy stopped by today with his 41 110 coupe with just 43K miles that he has owned since the sixties. We just conspired on a ring and valve job on it to freshen it up.

The car is a pure delight to drive with easy steering, effective brakes and a smooth ride. Underway, the engine has a nice burl as you take off from a stop but is pretty much unnoticable at moderate speeds. MUCH easier to drive than any of the senior cars that I have tried and because of the light weight, pretty well as snappy. The lack of sidemounts is a huge plus as far as being nimble is concerned.

Sidemounts weren't available anyway on the 110 but what you said of the engine is quite true. The 245 cid had nice power and my 1940 could even spin its tires on occasion. After I replaced the exhaust it was so quiet that it was difficult to know it was even running.